I guess a lot of people really care about Morgan’s case and want to see her get justice.

There have been over 5 million views on this blog since I started it the summer of 2012.  The largest amount of people that ever viewed this blog in one day totaled 227,488 and that really blew me away.  It was by far the largest number we have ever seen in one day, and since then the numbers have stayed pretty consistent on average between 1,000 – 3,00 per day.

I am so excited that more and more people are reading her story, and awareness of how brutally harsh the reality of stalking is grows.  About how stalking turns your life upside down.  If one thing could come from the absolute horror that Morgan’s stalking and murder were I would want it to be awareness.  Awareness so that others do not suffer the same fate.  Morgan did nothing to deserve what happened to her, nor do the other victims of stalking, they all deserve the rights we all hold so dear.  I am determined to raise awareness about the seriousness of stalking so change is eventually made and victims can get the help they need, not only to just survive, but to get their lives back too.  Stalking victims have so many of their rights stripped away from them, and we all have to do a better job to help.

But yesterday as the number of views on the blog spiked up to 11,172 – there was something else that was going on at the same time.  While so many people were reading Morgan’s story, I was doing my best to help another victim of stalking.  There are decisions that need to be made by the victim and they are very tough decisions, each and every one of them holds the possibility of profoundly affecting their life.

For instance there is the subject of protection orders.  The idea is simple, once you know who your stalker is then go before a judge and request that your stalker can’t be anywhere you are.  If granted by the judge then the victim now has a little safety, as long as the stalker obeys the law and respects the order.  Only the stalker is already breaking the law repeatedly by stalking and what if they don’t respect the court order to stay away?  Worse yet what if the order to stay away only angers the stalker and the victim is in more danger than they were before?

This is what I mean by very tough decisions, every one of them.  In Morgan’s case we were asked to delay getting a protection order so the sheriffs could have a better chance of catching him.  Morgan wanted the protection order, but we decided to trust what we were being told so we did wait, only the wait became another wait, and then no protection order ever.  Now of course I feel like that was such a mistake. I know that protection orders can come with dangers of their own, but never getting one didn’t help Morgan either.  Tough decisions.  How much easier it would be if you were not being stalked at all, no stalker, no victim, no need to stress over a protection order.  In a perfect world wouldn’t that be nice?

Stalking victims truly lose so much of their simple everyday life.  Think of your cell phone, leaving anything like, “find my phone,” turned on in case you misplace your phone is out of the question, too dangerous because it could very easily be tracked by your stalker.  Social media, forget about it, no selfie pictures, no gushing about the restaurant, or your fabulous vacation, or even your flat tire.  Anything that gives away your location or patterns can be used against you by your stalker.

Please always remember – anyone at anytime can become a victim.  It is never the fault of the victim.  Although women are more likely to be stalked than men, anyone can be a victim of stalking, including college students, victims can be from any economic, ethnic, or religious group.  The National Center for Victims of Crime says that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 13 men will be victims of stalking in their lifetime.  Stalking is the most under reported crime in our nation at this time and it is serious… so change has to be made.

I just have to share this closing thought from the Legislature of Colorado in their decree on stalking.

The general assembly hereby recognizes the seriousness posed by stalking and adopts the provisions of this part 6 with the goal of encouraging and authorizing effective intervention before stalking can escalate into behavior that has even more serious consequences. 

Thank you all for supporting Morgan as well as sharing her story with others in order to raise awareness.  Morgan was taken from us by her stalker, but I want her story to be a reminder to everyone that stalking can be deadly, so always please take it seriously, especially if you should ever become a victim, and if you are not a victim, then reach out to  anyone whom you discover is a victim.  There might be some little thing you could do that would bring a measure of comfort to their lives.

Thank You…