At least next time use the right laws – #Stalking

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imissyou

Morgan, as we all did, tried so hard to carry on with her life throughout her stalking.  She walked her puppy, visited with friends and went to school, that last semester when everything is just about taken care of, and you have to take only a few classes, but then you also take fun classes, pointe ballet, and jazz dance, just for the workout, and release, that was what Morgan did.

We all lived in a bubble where we thought the apprehension of the criminal would ultimately be by the Sheriff’s Department.  And as I look through report after report I see a problem with the approach – it goes like this.

After four months of stalking, Keenan would have been facing these charges:

  1. Third degree criminal trespass – (petty offense)
  2. Harassment (repeated communication at inconvenient hours) – (misdemeanor)
  3. Stalking – (felony)

Keenan already has two priors of criminal trespass, and it did little to stop him, because here he was, right back at it again.

Others – both Garfield officers and Private Investigators have suggested different laws enacted to deal with the crimes that were being committed, using those laws would have given the investigation more teeth, seriousness, and more chances for success, specifically:

  1. Felony Vandalism – being championed by one of the Deputies (felony)
  2. Invasion of privacy for Sexual Gratification – A sex crime which can start as a misdemeanor, and escalate to a felony.
  3. And Felony Stalking (felony)

Laws which allow for early confrontation and quicker arrest, before the crime escalates.  Read through the crime logs from any agency and I guarantee you will not see many arrests, arraignments, and high (serious) bails based on the charge of “third degree criminal trespass.”  It is a joke at best.  If you ever find yourself or anyone you love in a situation such as Morgan’s, ask about the laws, ask your victims rights coordinator about the laws, even research the laws yourself.  If the laws that relate to what is going on are not being employed, demand to know why.  Steve and I did not.  We left it all in the hands of the Sheriffs and that was a big mistake.  They of course did not want to see Morgan die, but they also were not prepared to protect us against the level of threat we were facing.

Once you have a suspect, I suggest you name him as the suspect that he or she is.  It is important for your friends and neighbors to know, who the suspect is and how dangerous is he considered!  Just so you all know I am not carelessly throwing out names, I will print a brief exchange that took place between Sheriffs concerning the suspect Keenan, and his father:

Subject of Narrative: Suspect Interview with lead Felony Stalking Sheriff’s Detective, Keenan VanGinkel

On November 16, 2011, I overheard dispatch notifying the zone one deputies to contact Wade VanGinkel reference his son being a suspect in a case.  The dispatcher advised that Wade wanted to know if there was a case open against his son.  I noted that Keenan, Wade’s son, is a suspect in this case.

I contacted Wade who was at the Sheriff’s office when he made the call to dispatch.  I offered to Wade that I could meet him and Keenan at around 1600 hours that day.  Wade told me that he had heard from his son that Keenan was being accused of stalking a girl.  Furthermore, Wade said that there was somebody on facebook.com threatening him.  Wade also said that he heard that there were some deputies at City Market, El Jebel, looking for Keenan.

This, of course, is the stalking that, James Harris, Brooke Harris’ father did not know was happening on the Dr. Phil episode and “wished we had told him.”  Actually Brooke did not speak up to correct her father about the stalking, the stalking that Brooke had heard there was video evidence that exonerated her boyfriend Keenan.  I’ve come across four instances of Keenan referring to this “video evidence that exonerated,” day when he “heard about an incident” but he was in Texas so it could not have been him.

Also, I have heard that you do not have to go out into the wild web very far to read that there are people stating now that there was never a stalking, either Morgan or me made it all up.  Does this mean if I pretend hard enough that Morgan will not be murdered?  Unfortunately I know all to well that this is not possible.  What practical purpose in the search for truth this pretending there was not a stalking serves is beyond me.  I lived through it, day by day, Morgan did her best to be brave and persevere, right up until she was killed.  Morgan’s stalking and murder was every bit the nightmare I hopefully have portrayed it to be.  And it obviously was very, very real.  Lastly, I have been assured that NOBODY has been cleared of the crimes committed against Morgan and our family.

Meanwhile it seems now that back then everyone knew who the stalker was, James Harris named Keenan as the stalker.  Brooke Harris told Steve and I in person that she “heard there was video evidence that exonerated her boyfriend Keenan.”  Very poignant choice of words “exonerated”, by the way, because it specifically means you were convicted and then later found not to be guilty.  This was in response to the videotaped march of an as of yet unidentified perp around our house.  Unfortunately for the best laid plans of those involved, most everyone who has seen the full video agrees it is a female, and all other images of the stalker are male.  Keenan names Brooke as the potential stalker.  And if you remember our neighbor Elliott, he thought the stalker, at least one of them, was James Harris.

The argument referred to by Keenan’s father Wade, on facebook.com can be found on this post from December 28, 2012 excerpts from Facebook “threats” read what Keenan has to say, and you tell me if he does not give indications of knowledge and guilt, because I think that he does.

So you can see that I name names, but everyone else is also naming names.  Actually everyone else seems to have a person to point fingers at, anyone but themselves.  Horrors for Morgan, and after her death, casts of characters all employing their own form of protection…Internet Cyber Stalking and Trolls.

Crimes were committed, horrific crimes were committed.  Situations such as Morgan and our family faced can quickly get out of hand.  The two weeks surrounding her death contained so many little events.  Taken together they point very strongly to a seriously increased danger for a victim in Morgan’s place.  And they also point strongly to the potential for an act of desperation on the part of the perps.  The lead detective even forecast it.  There has been over a year, and a half on the part of Steve and I, and so many others with far more expertise to piece it all together on a timeline.  It was all too real, and it is the truth, I will defend that fact under oath in any court in the land.

But that is not the real reason I’m writing this today.  It is for all of the victims that might happen across this and find some good advice, or a frightening parallel.  To know the true dangers of stalking, how one day we were just a happy family planning our next outing, and the next day we were victims of stalking, and a peeping tom, who turned our lives upside down.  How one day our Detective warned that he thought the stalking was going to escalate, and three days later Morgan was dead.  How out of control it becomes.  How everything you ever planned, or dreamed of is suddenly changed forever.  Steve and I will never get to give Morgan a beautiful wedding like her sister had, we will never get to play with the grandchildren she was planning on sharing with us, we will never ever get another hand squeeze that meant “I love you” from her, we will never get to hear about what her next big adventure was to be, because we no longer have Morgan with us on this earth – we will suffer her loss until the day we die.

I never want any of this to happen to another girl, another family when the resources and the knowledge exist to prevent it.  As always – in Morgan’s memory, and honor – I wish for you to have the awareness and knowledge we did not to keep you all safe from such tragedy.

To the untrained eye…

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tceye

To us everything looked wrong, horribly wrong.  Were Steve and I fighting a realization from the very first instant?  Did we see and know more than we could process?  I believe so, a year and a half later strange as it sounds I can think back on that day, and remember details that I could not at all in the first few weeks.  At the beginning Steve and I were in some internal turmoil to come to grips with the fact that our daughter was dead, and we focused immediately on her, not things around her, then came shock.  But we did register the facts, far more that we would have ever realized.  I don’t know how it is for others faced with this kind of situation, but that is how it has been for Steve and me.

After that meeting with Morgan’s doctor in Los Angeles, and homicide became a certainty in her opinion, a lot of different questions started coming up.  First was the obvious, was someone in her room?  And then questions centered on Wylah, Morgan’s puppy, a little over 6 months old that morning.  Why didn’t Wylah sound the alarm the night before if someone was in her room?  How could she have never made a sound, never barked? It seemed to rule out an intruder actually in her room that night.  I’m reading a book on crime scene investigation, and this is a common mistake.  As in MISTAKE!  We did not have an answer for months until Steve was talking with an investigator (not a Garfield County Sheriffs Department investigator), and their conversation was very slow and relaxed, detail by detail, and Steve remembered Wylah, sitting on the bed in the morning, looking dazed, and motionless as the activity by first responders was frenetic.  They rushed in and backed out of the room as Wylah looked on in silence, he pictured it perfectly.  He remembers asking a first responder if he should get Morgan’s pets out of the room for them.  He glanced at Wylah just sitting there on the bed and said no.

While that alone does not prove someone was in Morgan’s room it’s an example of how using the dog’s lack of barking to rule out an intruder was so short-sighted, and displayed poor investigative skills on our part.  Now I’ll give you another example.

A Garfield County Detective Sergeant noted in his report from the death scene some, “blanching on her chest area, and left arm as she had been reportedly found lying on her stomach.”  Morgan was found on her side, not her stomach.  Position of the body at the time of discovery – completely wrong.  Does it matter? YES!  I have been told that bodies on their side do different things and present differently than bodies on their stomach.  As more and more facts come my way it seems as if every tiny detail has significance in a thorough investigation.

I was the one that found her and Steve was there right after, and we are both absolutely sure of the position Morgan was in.  When I saw the first PER I noted the wrong body position being put in the report, among many other mistakes, and wrote around a six page letter correcting every one.

What kind of investigation can be expected when the position of the body, when first discovered, can not be ascertained from the first person who saw her, and then correctly shared with the other investigators?  Perhaps that’s just another reason the Honorable DA decided that the Sheriff’s Department had completely botched the crime scene.  Or maybe he was told the correct position, and he just forgot.  But since Morgan only had about a paragraph or two of his time he should have at least gotten the facts right.

Then came the statement that I don’t know how to respond to.  To an untrained eye such as Steve and I must possess we see signs there was a struggle in Morgan’s room, it did not look as it had the day before, or the night before.  Panic button torn from the nightstand, thrown aside with her clothes piled on top of it, jewelry boxes emptied of valuable jewelry, why were piles of freshly laundered, and folded clothes the night before all knocked over, on and on.   But to the trained eye of a Garfield County Sheriff Detective he sees one thing – “Her bedroom was in disarray, slovenly in fact. There were numerous items on the floor.”

SO – My daughter had been stalked for four months, the Tuesday before her death, only two days, our detective had proclaimed 100% certainty that Keenan VanGinkel was her stalker. He had stated the stalking was going to escalate on that same day. Officers on stepped up patrols were searching exclusively up on the roof with their search light the night of her murder. According to official reports, our Detective notes that he divulged the date of Morgan’s interview with the Sheriffs department to James Harris, AKA Jim Harris approximately a week before she was killed. This has been identified as a huge rookie mistake, endangering the victim.  James certainly talks to his daughter Brooke Harris, and she would pass this bit along to the prime suspect Keenan VanGinkel.  It is not too far of a stretch to think Keenan also knew that the interview of Morgan had the potential to sink him.  Was that more motivation to murder our daughter?

Through the ordeal that was her stalking, Morgan had lost interest in her room, remember she spent large periods of time sleeping in our closet – because she didn’t feel safe in her room – because she was suffering serious emotional distress.  The General Assembly of Colorado recognizes that stalking involves highly inappropriate intensity, persistence, and possessiveness, it entails great unpredictability and creates great stress, and fear for the victim.  Also that stalking involves severe intrusions on the victim’s personal privacy and autonomy, with an immediate and long-lasting impact on quality of life.  And remember one of Morgan’s routines was to clean her room on Fridays?

Morgan’s life has been turned completely upside down.  Victims rights promises that she will be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.  All this and an honest to God sworn to protect us Garfield Sheriff’s Detective looks at Morgan’s room, her dead body lying on the floor and takes notes, he knows, or should have known all of the facts presented here and he produces a report that claims to provide his knowledge and insight.  He sees Morgan’s room as “in disarray,” with “numerous items on the floor.”  A struggle?   No he sees or notes no sign of one of those.  If Morgan was ever in a do or die, brief struggle for her life she might well have ended up with blood in her mouth, a thumb sized bruise on her forehead, abrasions on her hand, torn nails, and yes her room might have even gotten a little disarray, with items on the floor, whole piles of laundry knocked over onto the floor.

And not many people except the Garfield Sheriffs detectives and Kennan’s family and friends can process all this information, and find nothing wrong – no need to even open an investigation – absolutely nothing to follow up on.  And the stalker & peeping tom that for four months that terrorized Morgan and our family?  No need to catch him either, he will never do it again, the residents of the county, all the other young women who live in Garfield are safe.  And of course the stalker could not be the murderer – right?  As stalking and sexual crimes expert, Mark Wynn would say, “that is just tombstone mentality.”

But really I believe the solution lies in actions and answers before her death. Morgan needed her victims rights before she died.  A more inclusive, more thorough investigation of her stalking.  It will be a huge goal, and measure of success for the Morgan Ingram Foundation.

More on the true impacts of stalking…

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Morgan and her big sister at her sister's wedding

Morgan and her big sister at her sister’s wedding

Last week a convicted murderer entered the sentencing phase.  As a part of that sentencing family members are allowed to speak.  In fact victims of a crime are given a large latitude on their statements to the Judge and jury about how the crime has impacted them personally.

Travis Alexander is not as well known a name as Jodi Arias, he was the man that she stands convicted of killing.  Even less known is that Travis has a brother who did speak about how this tragedy has affected him.  Steven Alexander described for the judge and jury about the emotional and physical toll that he has suffered since the loss of his brother Travis when Travis was murdered back in 2008.  It has been almost five years, and to hear him talk it was just yesterday – except a lot has happened over the years.  He described ulcers, his separation from his wife, and how he has repeated nightmares that he dearly wishes he could stop.

Steven Alexander is a victim, and to hear his words helps to put a face on all the victims of crime, and the need for stronger victims rights in this country.  If existing state laws are placed under a federal umbrella they become stronger.  And they well need to be.  The federal version will come as a constitutional amendment – the first in over 20 years if successful.  It will be a momentous occasion to be sure.

To have heard about Steven and his sad ordeal since his brother’s murder helps to better understand a similar situation within Morgan’s death.  Not yet ruled a murder, because as of yet there has not been a charge filed, but even so the curse that is the life of a victim of crime lives on,  Morgan’s brother has been suffering through his own ordeal, which is very much like the brother of Travis Alexander.

He left his almost life long home here in the Roaring Fork Valley, because he could not bear to live in the place his sister had been killed.  Emotional and physical issues that do not usually belong to a healthy, and active young man in his early thirties have become all too real a part of his life.  He loved his younger sister very much, as did Morgan’s older sister.  Beside Morgan’s brother and sister, Morgan also had a cousin who was more like a sister to her, because she lived with us off and on while growing up.  She was older than Morgan’s brother and younger than Morgan’s sister.  All three girls called Steve daddy, even when they were older, the two older now in their 30’s, Morgan’s brother on the other hand called him dad – much more of a male thing I guess.  I was always called mom, and in my nieces case, she called me Aunt Toni – she called Steve daddy all these years because she never really knew her dad, he left her when she was a baby and Steve treated her as though she was his daughter, she needed a dad for the projects you make in school on father’s day, etc. and Steve very gladly volunteered, and she loved him for that.  We are a very close family, we  love each other very much, and it is very disturbing (even though it shouldn’t matter) when I hear other people say things about us when they don’t even know us.  Do they think to ask Morgan’s close friends (not people that say they were her friends, but her real friends), do they think to ask other kids that we took in to our home over the years, and actually lived with us, and interacted with us?

No they never did, because if they had they would all know that for Morgan to use the words, “I love you, and good night daddy” whenever she said good night to him (like she did the last night of her life) was totally normal – it was what she said every night of her life when she was home, even if she had friends over (it never embarrassed her).  But do these people actually question?  No – they just think they know it all – they think what they hear from strangers is the truth…just like the Sheriff’s Department, did they ever interview Morgan’s close friends, or teachers, or classmates, or the woman she worked part time for?  The answer is no.  If they had they would have known that she had told people that were close to her about her stalker, who he was, and what was going on.  The felony stalking detective assigned to her case spoke with her on an almost weekly basis, and knew what was going on, but Morgan had given up on the Sheriff’s helping her.  I was the one that kept trying to tell her they were getting close to making an arrest, I was the one that blindly believed in them, and believed in what they were telling me.  Morgan was much better at seeing through all the false promises.  Morgan did want her brother to intercede (I was the one that asked him not to), Morgan did want her friends from Aspen to come do stake-outs, and teach this stalker a lesson (as they were biting at the bit to do), but I told her that wasn’t the way to deal with this.

I know now I was wrong, and for Morgan my decision was deadly wrong.  Morgan herself was so angry one day, when she arrived home from school, because she had just endured Keenan staring her down at the same intersection, at the same time she was coming down the hill from school – she had told the detective about this many times, and instead of doing something about it the detective made up excuses that maybe Keenan’s father lived there (he admitted to me months after Morgan was killed that he had no real idea where Keenan or his Father lived, so he just lied to us?) or maybe the car just looked like Keenan’s, but really wasn’t – how dare he try to minimize Morgan’s stalking, and how dare we let him!

Morgan saw Keenan in the car, and identified him – what do stalking victims have to do to get help?  That day she could take it no more, Morgan grabbed a baseball bat when she arrived home from school after another stare down at the intersection, and told me she was going to drive around until she found Keenan, but I told her that was too dangerous, she would not take no for an answer so I followed her out to the car and I went with her to try to keep her safe.  Is this what law enforcement wants victims to do?  Because this is exactly what they forced Morgan to do, to feel she had to take the law into her own hands.  Morgan was angry, and frustrated, not depressed.  Morgan was a strong and amazing young woman that never felt like she needed to rely on others, but her stalker caused her serious emotional distress.

The Detectives called Morgan’s case a “textbook felony stalking”, and were 100% certain who her stalker was.  Morgan saw her stalker in stare downs. And Morgan was a take-charge type of person, but trying to do what law enforcement wanted her to do which was pretty much amounted to just keep a log, and tell them when anything happened, so they could come by after-the-fact, a half hour later usually, and search the grounds.  We all know the protocol failed and ended up costing Morgan her life – and that has to change!

There are so many people that have been impacted by Morgan’s death – people that I have never met, across the country and throughout the world.  Stalking extracts an enormous toll.  For example just recently, after all this time, I have spoken with one person in particular who is the Aunt of Morgan’s friend…the friend she was with her last afternoon on earth.  I know Morgan was very intuitive, and probably had a bad feeling about sleeping at home that night, so when her friend’s Aunt came home from work she asked if she could sleep over her house on her couch – I did not know this until just a few months ago.  Her friend’s Aunt told me the story over the phone, while crying and telling me she felt responsible, because she told Morgan that she was exhausted from a trying day and had a bad headache and didn’t want anyone sleeping over that night.

The “feeling” Morgan had was most likely the reason she snapped at me when she came home that night.  I was waiting for her in the driveway as usual with pepper spray in hand and started to lecture her as she got out of the car because between 4 – 6 pm that day I was unable to reach her by phone or text message, and I was really scared that something might have happened to her.  This was so absolutely NOT a fight like other people have tried to portray.  What parent in this situation would not be frightened, and not say anything, and what young adult would not at least snap back a word in response when they are feeling upset, and nervous about their situation?

You see stalking turns all the tensions to high, and the victims are somehow expected to go on as if nothing is happening.  Not so easy.  People are raised differently – they have different life experiences, and no you can not know what someone says or does not say to their parents when they go to bed at night unless you ask…don’t assume you know, because most likely you will be wrong.  Steve told the Detective that Morgan  was “just Morgan” when he saw her for the last time, “completely normal”, but tired.

We were blessed – all our children, nieces and nephews ALWAYS tell us how much they love us whenever they talk to us, and we tell them.  I believe you should tell the ones you love on a daily basis how much they mean to you – what if you never get another chance?  Until Morgan died I never really thought about that – we just all care about each other, and we were all raised to show our love to one another…for this I feel very blessed.

The stalker who terrorized Morgan walks free as if there was never even a stalking.  And Morgan’s killer at present is leading his normal life after the Sheriff proclaimed that he would never open this case.  Just look back in all of the murders in Garfield County for the last five years for another murder where the Sheriff did open the case, you will not find very many.  And please don’t tell me that is because it is a small County and that’s what happens in small Counties…they don’t have the manpower, they don’t have the budget.  We are talking about human life, and criminals here…excuses don’t cut it.  Where there is a challenge, find a solution!

And as life quickly returned to normal for most – Morgan’s brother has fallen to the ills that so many other victims face when a family member is killed.  It is also why victim’s rights laws have been placed in the revised statutes of most every state.  Because the family members were easy targets for the perps family and friends.  A disgusting loophole that the states have individually started to close, and a pending Federal Constitutional Amendment will unify protection, and take the matter a large step further.

Do not allow this problem to be minimized, If it were not such a problem there would not be such effort to close the doors through litigation.  A constitutional amendment to the United States Constitution should speak volumes to the magnitude of the problem.  And believe me, after all of the threats I have received, either naming directly or sometimes traced back to the family, and friends of Keenan and Brooke, it is another of those things I could never have imagined.

No stalker, murderer, demon, or anyone can break the bond between a parent and a child…no one!

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Morgan in Elementary School

Morgan in Elementary School

The other day I wrote this to Morgan because this is exactly how I feel.

To Morgan – I love you so much…Mom

The Cord

by Unknown Author

We are connected,
My child and I, by
An invisible cord
Not seen by the eye.

It’s not like the cord
That connects us ’til birth
This cord can’t been seen

by any on Earth.

This cord does it’s work
Right from the start.
It binds us together
Attached to my heart.

I know that it’s there
Though no one can see
The invisible cord
From my child to me.

The strength of this cord
Is hard to describe.
It can’t be destroyed
It can’t be denied.

It’s stronger than any cord
Man could create
It withstands the test
Can hold any weight.

And though you are gone,
Though you’re not here with me,
The cord is still there
But no one can see.

It pulls at my heart
I am bruised…I am sore,
But this cord is my lifeline
As never before.

I am thankful that God
Connects us this way
A mother and child
Death can’t take it away!

Some people wonder why Steve, and I would go through reliving our daughter’s stalking and murder every day – the pain is immense, but what Morgan herself was forced to go through, and endure was so much worse, and we are not the type of people who can ever forget what happened to our daughter, and just walk away from the injustice, arrogance and plain old lies that continue to this day.

Even more important in the greater context of our responsibilities to the world.  If we were to give up then that would mean leaving a predator out on the streets to do it again – they do not just stop.  Morgan had a stalker, we have pictures, footprints, she saw him, I saw him.  He did not cease to exist when she was killed.

And I say killed with very careful measure, Morgan was killed because Forensic Professionals from all walks of life have donated their time to her case to come to a conclusion based upon their combined knowledge – and they all agree with one another, except that is with Dr. Kurtzman.

Just in case you have missed this point in the Blog of Morgan’s Stalking. The contracted forensic pathologist who performed her autopsy, in two hours I believe, taking none of the samples required by law, the contracted pathologist freely admitted his lack of experience or expertise with certain aspects of Morgan’s death, and he indicated a strong willingness to hear from, “Experts out on the coast from the larger hospitals that see this kind of thing far more often than I, and have a lot of experience with it.”

Now I don’t know if Dr Kurtzman thought we were kidding or what the problem was, but as soon as doctors from UCLA started to weigh in on Morgan’s death, the promise to listen vaporized even faster that all of Morgan’s valuable jewelry on the night she was killed.

The same night (Brooke’s friend that was living with her 3 houses down from us at the time) Hannah Hurlocker’s facebook entries said:

FROM –

Hannah Hurlocker “ I CANT STOP THINKING..I JUST CANT DO IT” — with Brooke Nicole Harris. Share · November 30, 2011 at 4:40pm ·

TO –

gunna make some moneyyy niggas! Share · December 2, 2011 at 11:18 am · the morning we found Morgan’s body and her valuable jewelry was missing.

And as to why Hannah was in such an all fired hurry to set up a ride out of town right before Morgan’s death, maybe that could be a lead to investigate?

Back to the last conference call conversation we had with Dr. Kurtzman.  Up until that phone call, and actually conversations after, Detective Glassmire had a very good habbit of recording the conversation so words would not be forgotten.  I really hope he did not “forget” to record that conversation, it was certainly one of the more important for Morgan, and this was her case after all.  Just to be clear, other doctor’s and forensic pathologists pursuing justice for Morgan, continued to try to communicate with Dr. Kurtzman until, one by one, they were all cut off.  Steve and I stopped talking to him on advice from one of the doctors, establishing the fact that he was not willing to hear anything from others with more expertise on certain subjects than himself, Dr. Kurtzman did that all by himself.

Other professionals were willing, and very able to correct the mistakes being made in the death of Morgan, but Dr. Kurtzman had no desire to listen.  Just look at the last PER, he still violates Morgan’s HIPAA rights, claims facts long ago established to the contrary in arriving at her cause of death. And as I have recently learned, he bears responsibility for the crime scene investigation under Colorado Law.  The one that was “so thoroughly botched.”  Morgan deserved better, as does the next victim of stalking that suddenly dies in Garfield County, Colorado.

No that after what we have seen, and been subjected to, Steve and I could never live with ourselves if we walked away (like law enforcement has chosen to do for the stalker who hasn’t gone anywhere).  Morgan did not want to die the way she was forced to, and she would do whatever she could to help another person facing a similar tragic ending.  That is without question, because that is how she conducted her life.

Yes, we are, unfortunately, at this point signing up for that task often called,  “fighting the establishment,” how we could stand on opposite sides of the issue called stalking is really beyond me, but we are.  I live to see stalkers and perverts/peeping toms arrested to face their day in court.  Meanwhile, the Detectives state they have “run out of leads” so the case is closed until they have more leads, and then Sheriff goes on TV and says he will never open the case into Morgan’s death.  Cities across our country, and even neighboring countries have arrested, and prosecuted tormentors for driving a victim to suicide, Steve and I are quite certain it is even more sinister than that, but if GarCo wants to hide behind the suicide – why not open an investigation, and arrest the tormentor, as so many others do?  Why is that too, not a crime here?  Or did the Sheriffs department know they so thoroughly botched the crime scene it was best to just walk away?

For Steve and I it is simple, It may take everything we have and then some, but we understand material things are not the important thing in life – human life is.  For another young woman to have the chance to live on is far more important to us.

I believe things happen for a reason – we may never really know the reasons, and outcomes can change depending on the actions taken by those involved, or even those who were not involved, but choose to become involved, for the right reasons, to help. Steve and I intend to change outcomes for the better for others.

Thomas Jefferson said, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”  

I believe (just like in everything) there are good, and there are bad people in this world, just like there are good people in government, and there are bad people in government.  But the fact remains that our government passes laws that they believe will help people, and if our own local government, and law enforcement agencies do not follow those laws then what are we left with?  I believe they are required to follow those laws and the people of this county, and all other counties that see that those laws are not being followed should do something about it.  Write certified, return receipt letters to your Councilman, your District Attorney, your Sheriff’s Department, your Coroner’s office, your Governor, your Attorney General’s office, your State Legislators (some of which actually wrote the laws that are on the books in your State) and ask why certain laws are being broken and how do they intend to change this for the better of their citizens.  The power of the pen, along with the power of many people can, and will make a difference.  If you would like the information of the people to contact, along with the laws that have been broken, and a draft letter to look at please write to me on this blog as a comment, and I will answer back with all pertinent information…we can all make a difference!

 

 

 

To Morgan’s #Stalker/s and #Murderer/s : here we come…

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Camera time again for Morgan

Camera time again for Morgan

Now it’s time to start coming out of the numbing grief that Steve and I have been living through, and doing what our life experiences up to now have taught us – by the end of this summer it will be 2 years since the beginning of the nightmare that we call Morgan’s stalking.  It has been extremely challenging for us to do that which we have managed to accomplish over this time – and we are always mindful that Morgan’s challenge was far greater than ours.

What she went through should never have to happen to another person, not any little bit of it.  Not the stalking, the terror, the peeping tom, the complete invasion of her life, as well as her murder.  What we have all gone through collectively should never have to happen to another family.  It quickly expands beyond the immediate family.  Our friends and relatives have also felt the impact, and been a part of the search for answers.

All of this we intend to change for the positive, as much as possible.  While fear can be so numbing, solutions can be liberating…

Our other kids call us the dynamic duo, but Steve and I know we are not even close.  Looking back there was so much more we could have done this past year and a half, but did not for many reasons … number one, no matter how we slice it , we were destroyed over the loss of our youngest child.  Other unexpected challenges have reared their head as well, but they are behind us now.

Steve and I have discussed how there were times we felt like we were walking through a tunnel with no feeling, no noise, just walking with no destination.  Other times we were so angry, and chose to take it out on each other.  Then there were those times, almost every day, that we suddenly found ourselves crying with a pain that was so deep we had never felt anything like it before, a pain that cannot be described.  We have lost grandparents, parents, good friends before, but loosing our child as we did was far worse, the undercurrent of complete frustration will become more of a motivating force  in the near future I predict.

The good news is thanks to our grief counselor, family, friends and supporters, (so many that we have never even met, but look forward to doing so some day), Steve and I now feel like we have the strength finally to forge forward with Morgan’s investigation… we are armed with far more facts, evidence, and expert opinions that we so sorely lacked at the beginning of our impromptu quest.  Where we struggled, and were uncertain it is far more calming to feel that now we know what to do, and we will do it.

We have become more willing to accept other people’s help – up till now I have been very un-trusting of people.  And I realize now there are so many wonderful people in the world that want to help, and have very specialized talents in order to help.  In doing what we need to get Morgan’s investigation open I truly believe the road map is largely set.  And as we are able to document the successes on our journey then others that are going through a similar situation will actually get help.  Things will change, respect for the law will change, people’s attitudes will change, and our communities will change…all for the better – actually I should say they will become much safer.

Common-sense precautions need to be put in place if we are to have the safe communities to raise our children that we all want.  Steve and I are now embarking on a path of no return.  We are now ready to bring everyone involved to task.  Stay tuned – I promise to let you in on the ride as we move along.