Saturday, September 3, 2011 – The 33rd day of Morgan’s stalking & the sheriff department’s plan to catch the stalker

Posted on by
In the morning, I sent our neighbor Elliott a text, “Last night was great – nothing happened.  I hope tonight is quiet as well.  The officers are still patrolling a few different times at night.”  Elliott sent me back a text with all his contact information and reminded me if anything happens, and Morgan gets scared she can always call him, or come over to their house, where he had showed me where they hide the front door key.  I don’t know why, but I was getting that really strange gut feeling that this somehow sounded wrong.  Seems silly I know – he was just trying to be helpful and kind. But my mother lion instinct had me questioning everyone and everything.
 
Morgan went off to visit friends and Steve and I raked and watered every patch of dirt around the house to catch any shoeprints.  On one hand, no one cared about the prints, so why bother?  On the other hand, Steve was fixated on determining how this stalker was coming and going so easily right under our noses.  We had to face the fact that the stalker was really good at hiding, and concealing himself.
 
Steve spent the afternoon following the few trails on the berm out back.  He found a well worn trail behind Brooke’s house and he thought it was significant.  He also thought it could be someone’s trail to Highway 82, which was right behind Brookes‘s dad’s house.  It bothered me that Steve was always looking for an innocent explanation.  The sheriff deputies were much quicker than us to fixate on a person.  They were not interested in our suspect list.  They just wanted to know who we thought it was.  A couple of suspicious actions, and they had their man.  For Morgan neither way was working, the sheriffs were never close to catching him, and we were never close to catching him – there has to be something better.
 
Approximately 10:00 pm Morgan called to confirm she was going to spend the night at a friend’s house.  I was in my office, in the very front of the house, it overlooks the driveway. The window was open a few inches for fresh air, as it was very hot while I was in my office, and the paddle fan was spreading the cool air coming from the window, throughout the room. The instant I told Morgan I would see her in the morning (I had her on speaker phone), and to sleep tight, a large rock or something struck my window.  It was unexpected, and really loud!  I jumped, expecting shattered glass, which did not happen, and called out for Steve.  Our dog Tessi had been lying on the floor right next to where I was standing and when the “BANG” hit the window she didn’t bark but she JUMPED too!
 
I ran out front, pepper spray in hand, in my robe, ready for a confrontation.  I wanted to call out into the darkness and challenge him, dare him to show his face.  Steve was by my side, and as I started to explain he wanted to go inside first.  He wanted me to call dispatch, and then go to a quiet room with the windows closed, and at least try not to have this stalker hear everything we were saying. 
 
A few minutes later one of the deputy called back , and Steve talked to him.  They said they were going to try to bring a tracking dog, and wanted us to stay inside until they got there so as not to contaminate the scene with our scent.
 
I think that after spending most of the day in the yard our scent is everywhere already, but I am happy they are at last giving the dog a chance.  It seemed like forever, and I kept hearing noises outside, hard to explain, but they were like taunting noises. The motion detector alarms kept going off, and I knew he was right out there. It was driving me crazy.  Steve and I were soon fighting about running outside to chase him down, or waiting for the dog.
 
Finally I just absolutely could not take it any longer.  Having a rock smash into the window as I sat at my desk, allowed me feel first hand what this was like for Morgan, it was horrible, and I wanted this guy now.  I told Steve I was going out to catch him, and if he didn’t want to, he could just wait inside.  Steve tried to talk me out of it, and when he saw there was no chance of that happening, he said he would go outside, do one sweep around the house, and then stand up on the berm – but only if I agreed to stay inside and manned the phones. I said OK and he was gone.  It didn’t take long to discover I had made a huge mistake.
 
The sheriff’s deputies were not bringing a dog, that was only an excuse to keep us inside.  Deputies had parked far away and were closing on the house from all angles – this was a really good protocol to catch the stalker.  Poor Steve saw someone trying to hide on the side yard, and thinking he finally had the B… he charged, pepper spray in his hand.  Big mistake! He came perilously close to almost actually pepper spraying a deputy right in the face…Steve was shaking.  I watched the driveway out my office window as Steve and the deputy shook their heads and talked, then another joined in, then another.  Soon there were four of them with Steve, and I could see at least two more out in the street. 
 
They were suddenly on the move and Steve had unfortunately stopped them, then he ran back to the house and stuck his head in the door, “We just blew that plan, you stay in the house, they are going to interview Keenan.”      
 
The group was marching quickly down the street, and my cell phone was ringing. It was Rhonda next door, she was out in her yard, and she said, “there are cops everywhere!”
She wondered if I knew what the H… was going on?  I explained, and she wanted me to join her in the front, but I told her I told that I promised Steve I  would stay inside, it wasn’t easy, but I did.
 
From the end of her driveway she could see Brooke ‘s house.  We stayed on the phone and she gave me constant updates, she could see Steve out in the street.  The sheriffs were banging on the Brooke’s front door.  Nobody was answering.  Deputies were circling the house, there were flashlights everywhere, this whole thing was creeping her out.  I felt so bad for Rhonda, she was caught in the middle of this stalking, and was always the last to know.
 
The deputies persisted on knocking on Brooke‘s door.  I called Steve to see what he knew.  They wanted to talk with Keenan, but nobody was answering. He had seen movement in the front room, but didn’t know who, or how many there were inside.  I told him to come home, I was scared he would get in their way, he agreed.  I truly believe these officers were amazing – they really wanted to catch the stalker, and in my opinion this was the closest they ever came to doing just that.
 
After Steve left, someone did finally answer the door, it was Brooke, Rhonda heard her out on the porch talking to the deputies and called me.  We found out a little later that she refused to let them in without a warrant.  She had said that Keenan was home, sleeping and she could not wake him up.  The deputies indicated they did not believe her. Nor do we, but there was nothing more they could do.
 
One by one they left and within five minutes of the last deputy leaving there were rocks on our back window.  All I could think of was, “Thank God Morgan wasn’t home for any of this.”  Steve was running out the back door, and I called dispatch. They were going to patrol off and on all night, but they would not come to the door so we would not see them, but they said please stay out of the yard.  I called Steve in, and we stood in the kitchen. Then I called Rhonda, and filled her in on what had happened.  She said they were talking to Brooke for a long time.  Keenan’s car was there, but she never saw him.  I told her Brooke said he was sleeping, and she couldn’t wake him.  Rhonda said, “Yeah, right!”  I agreed, we wanted to not jump and accuse the wrong person, but it was certainly getting hard.  As far as Steve could tell the two other people on top of our suspect list were not even home.  Even Elliott was gone.  A motion detector alarm beeped punctuating the futility we were feeling right now. Steve said, “If this is how he gets his rocks off, then he is having a wonderful evening.” I nodded and again I was so glad Morgan was not home for this.
 
 

Click here to read about the 34th & 35th days of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=978

18 thoughts on “Saturday, September 3, 2011 – The 33rd day of Morgan’s stalking & the sheriff department’s plan to catch the stalker”

    • She is, and this is a very important picture to look at – Morgan was asked to drive her friend Nathan to the Aspen airport, in February 2011 – he was leaving for Australia and Morgan was the only one with access to a car that day. Nathan called back before Morgan left, and said some of his friends wanted to go in the car too, to see him off. He told Morgan that ? had called him, and wanted to go.

      Nathan knew Morgan didn’t want anything to do with ?. Morgan told me this that morning, because she was so upset, and didn’t want ? in the car with her. I suggested to Morgan that she just tell Nathan no, you would prefer if ? found her own ride to the airport. Nathan instead talked Morgan into taking ?, and they all went to the Aspen airport to see Nathan off. This picture was taken on that day, and if you look closely you can tell the body language in this picture.

      Shortly after Nathan left for Australia was the day Morgan walked into her friend Calder’s house, and saw ? and Keenan together – she turned around and walked right out of the house without a word being said. People that were in the house at the time said they heard ? say, “That Bitch is going to get it.” Right after that Morgan’s car was “keyed” in the college parking lot, while Morgan was in class. A gouge ran from the front of the car on the driver’s side, all the way to the back of the car, all the way down to the metal, and the word “Bitch” was scratched in huge letters, also all the way down to the metal.

      This was reported to the Carbondale police, the officer took pictures of the car the next day. The officer said it looked like whoever did this had a lot of anger, was probably on drugs, and if your daughter doesn’t have any enemies the car was probably mistaken for someone else’s car. I believe in my heart that this was the start of the stalking, we just didn’t know that at the time. That is why on August 2, 2011 I wrote this is when the stalker decided to let his presence be known – in most cases of stalking, by the time you know you have a stalker you have probably been stalked for quite a while already.

      • Just like watching a scary movie you have seen over and over, I am reading your blog hoping against hope that the ending will turn out differently, and that all these bits of evidence lead to a successful conclusion. I know that is not the case, and I applaud you for what you are doing here. Garfield County should be ashamed. At the very least you are shining a light on injustice which should make people question these so called authorities. But of course you are already doing so much more than that in making people more cautious in their movements and more aware of their surroundings. God bless you and your family. I pray you will have the justice you deserve and the criminals in this matter are dealt with severely.

  3. First let me say I just found your blog 2 days ago and have read every post so far. My heart goes out to you, I am so sorry for your loss. But I am so glad that you are such a strong and courageous woman to fight for your daughter like this.
    I have one question. In your above comment, it sounds like Morgan and ? had problems before the stalking started…is that correct?

  4. Very important question… were Keenan’s etnis shoes black with purple or solid purple? do you remember??

  5. I just found your blog through a friend as well. I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. The whole thing is just insane. I have worked in the domestic violence shelters before and we used to take in victims of stalking. I am wondering if ? maybe instigated the stalking, Keenan started harassing Morgan for ? and then he fixated?

    Is Keenan in that pic that Jess posted the link too?

  6. Did you guys ever consider E, the helpful neighbor? The ones that are the most guilty are the ones who try to hide it the most and deflect any attention towards them. Plus he seemed a little too concerned about details and such… idk just a thought. Maybe I watch too much Law and Order.

  7. I’m sorry but ? Looks like an absolute scumbag as well i just saw her facebook.. I’m not one to judge but sometimes i call it like i see it. I’m sure her parents are extremely proud.. Your Morgan looks like the most down to earth happy person in that picture..

  8. Was there some kind of bad history between Morgan and ?, or between Morgan and Keenan? Why did she dislike ?, or why was she afraid of her, if this was the case? (I mean, before the stalking began. Did they have some kind of bad history with each other?)

    • I know Morgan never liked her – ? was younger, but that didn’t make the difference, Morgan said she didn’t trust ?, and after ? had been in and out of rehab, and beat up a girl, and ran away to be with a gang (these are all then things Morgan told me as well as some of her friends, and the mother of one of her friends) Morgan just really didn’t want anything to do with ?, their lifestyles were completely divergent. ? still kept trying to ask Morgan to hang out with her, but Morgan just avoided ?. After the stalking had started and Morgan found out Keenan was living 3 houses from us with ? she was very upset – Morgan only remembered meeting Keenan once at her friends house and was so thoroughly creeped out by him that she wanted nothing to do with him. She did not know him, she just knew of him from friends – and her friends all told her he was an extremely bad person, and he was a drug dealer. Morgan shared this information with me and of course I shared it with our felony stalking detective. Our detective then interviewed Keenan’s employer/manager at work and according to our detective that person gave Keenan a completely clean bill of health stating he was a model employee and he could tell he never had anything to do with drugs. Fade in, fade out Morgan is found dead on December 2nd and on December 23rd Keenan is arrested (in another jurisdiction) and charged with felony drug distribution – which I found out about, not from our detective, but from a newspaper article that my daughter-in-law brought to my attention. Making matters worse for him, according to the article he was initially pulled over on a warrant for the sale of stolen jewelry. We have tried so long and so hard to get information about this jewelry from law enforcement but they have been completely uncooperative to date.

  10. Just checking out K”s Facebook page. The whole family look disturbed… Check out the cousin!!!

  11. I watched your story on the Dr. Phil show and have been reading your blog all evening. Words cannot even begin to express my deep sorrow for your loss. God will be the One to get you through this.

    Toni, is it possible that Morgan was not, initially, the intended stalking victim?

  12. Jesus christ. Just so you know. I am reading this in order. I keep telling myself I will finish before I say another word.

    Are you writing this FROM A JOURNAL AT THE TIME???????

    IF SO HE WAS DEFINITELY INVOLVED IN THE STREET THEATER WITH THOSE COPS.

  14. Found a link to your daughter’s story on another site, and have been reading through the pots today. At this stage in the reading, it seems that ? and this Keenan person could likely have been in on this together, and also that whatever struck your window cold have been someone on the roof, even then. That would explain how the stalker was able to avoid police, and still be there so fast, as he was to get caught in that picture. Another thing I wonder, with the case being handled as it was, is whether or not one or both of these people know someone in authority. The coroner’s actions alone are beyond inexcusable, and I have to wonder if you’ve considered a civil lawsuit. Not for monetary gain, but to perhaps bring attention to the whole issue. Staking is considered a crime these days, but it sounds as though there is still a lot of work to be done, in how cases are handled.

    I notice that you mentioned your older dog, one god at guarding, died shortly before the stalking started. Any chance of that being related? A good guard dog could have spotted, and perhaps stopped, this jerk (or jerks, as the case might be!). and I can fully understand not replacing an old loved dog so soon, even with all that going on.

    As a mother, I can only imagine what you must be feeling, and no words can express how sorry I am that you have had to go through all of this. Even years later, I know the pain is still there. That you were able to post this blog, and try to bring attention and help to the issue of stalking is truly amazing, and to be commended. Others who have problems could be helped by your willingness to share.

    I’l be reading the rest now, and will offer any insight, in case this is still unsolved, as I go. One ay or another, though, justice will be done. God sees and hears, and He will hold accountable anyone responsible. For now, may He hold your family close, nd bring you the strength you need.

    • Thank you so much for your kind words of strength for our family – they are greatly appreciated.

      I will try to answer some of your questions. You are correct there was more than one person involved in the stalking. And yes, most likely the thing that struck the window was most likely a metal washer hung off a piece of dental floss that was dropped down from the roof, but at the time we had no idea anyone had been on our roof. After Morgan was dead we had a tip to check the roof, and sure enough there was evidence. The detective was told, but would not collect the evidence. And I am amazed that you mentioned our dog that died just before the stalking started. At the time we had no idea that it was anything but her age that was making her bloated and sick, but the vet told us her veins were collapsing and now I have been told she could have been poisoned. We have no way of knowing if that is true, but it is very upsetting. She was old but would always bark if she heard or smelled anything outside of our house – she made it her job to always alert us…that would have made her an obstacle for these sick people to want to remove from the picture. Morgan brought home a puppy, but she was still under 6 months old when Morgan was murdered. If she had been fully grown she would have been able to protect Morgan as she has now come into her own and is now very protective.

      I know the pain will always be there and helping others helps me through the tough days.

      Take care!

Comments are closed.