Tag Archives: FOHVAMP

Do you have a Missing Person or Murdered Loved One? Please Read…

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It is already fall and October 1st is rapidly approaching – I would like to let everyone know that the FOHVAMP (Families of Homicide and Missing Persons) Annual Meeting is being held in Colorado on that date.  If you, or anyone you know of, has had a loved one whose case has not yet been solved please read the invitation to this meeting, as attendance is available to anyone, whether or not your case is in Colorado.  This would be a good venue for you to attend – it could prove to be invaluable to your case.

The main feature this year will be a Cold Case Study in which co victims will learn more about the complicated nature of how our system of justice works, and possibly glean ideas on how to better manage their own unresolved homicide or missing person cases.

It is such a HUGE undertaking to attempt to make our system better, but I believe education and communication for both the families, as well as law enforcement, will accomplish a lot when it comes to solving these type of cases, before they become cold.  If there is no justice there can be no peace.  Families need answers.  Families need to know that everything that can possibly be done is being done, and that their loved one is not forgotten.

Personally, Steve & I have learned so much since the morning we found our youngest daughter Morgan dead.  In our case, when it happened I went into a kind of shock.  I started telling myself I was just dreaming, and that I will wake up any moment and she will still be alive.  Then I started to beg for a reset button so that I could be transported to the day before she was gone forever.  I wanted so desperately to hit that reset button and see her smiling face again, so I could take her far, far away, where evil couldn’t find her.  You beg, you plead, and eventually you slip into what I call “survival mode.”

survival-mode

For me survival mode occurred when I realized it wasn’t a nightmare – it was really happening, our youngest daughter was dead. I knew there was no reset button, and I could never bring Morgan back. I understood that the searing pain I had in my heart was never going to go away – how could it?  A piece of my heart had been cut out and was now missing forever. I had to evolve into some new version of myself – someone that could still move forward.  While my mind was telling me there was no way I could ever go on with my life, my heart kept urging me to hang on.  Oh, how hard moving forward is when you have lost a piece of your heart forever.  I chose to move forward, as painful as that was.  I felt it was the right choice.  I had always taught Morgan, as well as our other two children, that giving up was not an option, so how could I just give up?  No, that was not an option for me either.  It took years for me to grow out of survival mode, to actually understanding my new life, and path that I am now following.  I guess you could call this an act of surrendering to this new path instead of allowing my pain to become all consuming.  I knew in my heart (not my mind) that there were things I could do, that we can all do, to make changes, big changes, so other families in the future won’t have to suffer as we have.  FOHVAMP has always tried to facilitate these type of changes.  They want to help these families, and that is why I support FOHVAMP.

The FOHVAMP Annual Meeting is a wonderful opportunity for law enforcement to hear how the families feel, and learn how the families can actually help the case.  It is also a good time for the families to hear about some of the challenges law enforcement has and together maybe they can both find ways to “pool” their information and solve the cases much faster.

For detectives, looking to earn P.O.S.T. certification credits, you can register as well for a $40 class fee.  In my capacity as the California Representative for OCCA (Organization of Cold Case Advocates) I would like you to know that all the co victims I have worked with over the years want the same thing…ANSWERS.  The more all of us learn how to find those answers, the faster we can solve these cases.            

 FOHVAMP

ANNOUNCEMENT

 FOHVAMP Annual Meeting

Saturday, October 1, 2016

 9am to 4 pm

Brittany Hill

9350 Grant St
Thornton, CO 80229

BrittanyHill

Cold Case Study Co Sponsored By;

ucd

Center for Domestic Violence

nccs

Overview

         This year’s Annual Meeting will be at the beautiful Brittany Hill Conference Center located in Thornton Colorado just off I-25 and Thornton Parkway.  Our main feature this year will be a Cold Case Study in which co victims will learn more about the complicated nature of how our system of justice works, and possibly glean ideas on how to better manage their own unresolved homicide and missing person cases.

            In the course of this Cold Case Homicide Study, we will hear from many of the actual key figures in the investigation such as District Attorney, Crime Lab Experts, Police detectives, victim advocates and co victim. 

            Through the course of this study, it is our sincere hope to bring out lessons learned from all of these individuals as to the need for good communication between Co Victims and law enforcement, between law enforcement agencies, District Attorney’s, Coroners, crime lab experts and others.  Our first presentation was one where law enforcement and authorities involved in these very complicated and difficult investigations learned a great deal and were able to take those lessons learned and apply them to their own individual cases.

            Admission will be $40.00, which includes a fabulous lunch and the conference center fee.

You can pay online ahead of time or you may pay at the door before the start of the meeting.  Follow this link if you prefer to pay online: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=MYLUGF6HfKc_xBrV-nrmeUCUovIxn2u1QPwV8j2XCL0kXV9W62o3_HwAu3G&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d4fe1dd75ca3bd4f11d72275b28239088 remember to write under “purpose” Annual Meeting & your name, so you will be on the list of paid attendees.

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And for all of you that have lost a child, here is a poem that explains a little about the “exclusive club” that none of us parents would have ever wanted to become a member of, and would never, ever wish upon another family.

WHEN I TELL YOU THAT MY HEART STILL HURTS,
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
WHEN I TELL YOU THAT MY EYES STILL CRY,
YOU LOOK THE OTHER WAY.
HOW COULD YOU KNOW THE PAIN I HAVE,
AND THE SORROW THAT I FEEL
FOR YOU HAVEN’T LOST A PRECIOUS CHILD
SO FOR YOU THIS ISN’T REAL.
I CAN’T SAY THAT I BLAME YOU
FOR I ONCE WAS JUST LIKE YOU
I WOULD TURN MY HEAD AND WALK AWAY
NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO.
BUT NOW I KNOW, OH HOW I KNOW
WHAT ANOTHER MOTHER FEELS,
FOR ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE LOST YOUR CHILD,
OUR SHARED PAIN IS NOW SO REAL.
THIS PAINFUL LOSS THAT BEREAVED MOTHERS SHARE
BRINGS US CLOSER IN OUR HEARTS
NOW WHEN WE MEET AND SHARE OUR CHILD
WE ARE FRIENDS RIGHT FROM THE START.
(Author Unknown)

hands 

MONSTERS…yes, they are real and they live among us

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monsters

When Morgan was growing up she only wanted to see the good in people…she was not naive by any means, but she was a kind and gentle soul, and was very trusting of people.  She wanted to see only the beauty in the world, so she did ignore the dark side, she thought by staying away from sketchy people she would be able to avoid their dark side.  I only wish now that I could have shown her, that in reality evil people that are capable of doing horrible things, things like were done to her, do live among us, and they do sometimes look like our neighbors, and they can still cause great harm…

Ponder this for a moment. More than 211,000 homicides that have been committed since 1980 remain unsolved – a body count greater than the population of Des Moines, Iowa. That figure is not readily apparent in the U.S. Department of Justice’s annual estimate of killings considered cleared through arrest, but if you do a little digging you will read that Scripps News reveals it.  And the sad truth is that homicides are less likely to be solved today than they were 40 years ago.  So unlike the TV shows that are so popular today – you know the ones that show murder cases solved in 60 minutes – in reality that does not happen very often – in fact if it does happen it is front page news.

There are states that don’t even report their homicide statistics to the federal government so those numbers are not in the statistics.  In fact, in 2015 a serial murderer was finally arrested…he had been actively killing since the 1990’s.  Now that is the reality that this country faces.  We need law enforcement agencies and all states to accurately report their homicide cases and we need a national database so we can have a fighting chance of catching these monsters.

Our beautiful, sweet Morgan was then gone without a case – a victim that died during an active felony stalking investigation, her death said to be a mystery the day she died by the sheriffs, and yet there was NO actual investigation other than a autopsy with false information, false information that was never corrected when brought to the coroner’s attention.  So Morgan’s murder is not even a number in the cold case statistics, but the evidence proves she was murdered, so how many REAL cold case murders are there in this country?  It could be even more staggering than the statistics show.

I believe this is how murderers get away with murder, and this is why we have so many unsolved cold cases in this country – with the number growing greater every year.  And don’t think for one moment in time that all murderers are older, creepy looking men…no, they come in all ages, genders, and looks.  They can even be the innocent looking teenage girl down the street.

Desperate People Do Desperate Things….

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resistance becomes a duty

I never imagined when I first published this website & blog that it would result in death threats, horrible things said about me that absolutely are not true, Facebook pages built to harass, my family contacted, etc. But through it all we never gave up and never will.

Losing a loved one is life-altering.  It changes you… forever.  In my case I woke up one morning and knew I had a mission to fullfill in this lifetime.  In the midst of unending pain, that mission became clear as day.  I will always continue to spread the truth about what happened to Morgan so others can learn from the truth.  Stalking, bullying, sexual assault, and murder do not just happen to the rich and famous. We read about in the news, it can and does happen to people from all walks of life…stalking is dangerous, stalking is a crime, and stalking is many times a precursor to other violent crimes, including kidnapping.

Having your youngest child taken from you in a violent act is hard enough, but then to have the crime covered up is entirely another thing altogether…how are grief-stricken parents supposed to deal with that?  Maybe that is what they are counting on?

Here is just one example of a person in public office that is supposed to be above reproach, a governor who lied to cover up his corruption…why people would think that this is something that never happens is beyond me.  Do people really think the “bad guy” just confesses when he or she is caught?  Read the papers – this type of thing has been going on forever, and it will probably continue to go on forever – the only difference being, if law enforcement and the judicial system go after the perpetrators of such a crime, like they did in this case, and then build a case, and follow it through, then eventually those in power may think twice before attempting to break the law.  A federal jury found former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of public corruption, once he heard that he was being investigated he threw back at his accusers, “Why would I risk everything to do something like this,” that is something that has been heard over and over again for many years by officials that think no one will find out that they broke the law.  I would like to say when there is financial gain, or if they are protecting themselves from something that they have done that is illegal, officials do lie. I think most logical people that read the news understand this.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcdonnell-jury-in-third-day-of-deliberations/2014/09/04/0e01ff88-3435-11e4-9e92-0899b306bbea_story.html

Desperate people do desperate things…look behind all the one-liners that you hear from these people, and keep asking questions.  Don’t just believe what people say when they try to dismiss any further questions from you.  Know that you are going down the path to finally see the truth when you keep digging and you don’t stop at just scratching the surface.  This is a very valuable lesson I have learned in the past 4 years while Steve & I were doing our “digging” into Morgan’s case, and digging into everyone that was associated with the false reporting of her case. It is so amazing the things we uncovered…shocking to be sure, knowing the public has no clue as to how people in high places get away with breaking the law year after year with no fear of consequence.  There is no transparency, no accountability and no real justice when these type of things are allowed to exist.  Laws were made to be followed, but what happens when people in power break those laws and get away with it?

Attracted to her light…the good, the bad, and the ugly

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Morgan in the light

“People are attracted to the #light that lives inside us by the quality of our character. Let your #life shine brightly.” 

Morgan was a very bright light from the moment she was born.  She was sweet and kind.  She was always more concerned with others than she was with herself.  Her smile illuminated any space she was in, and she had a way of easing others pain.

I firmly believe that the light she emitted came from within…her character was the reason that people loved her.  After her death I ran into so many people that I had never met before, they came up to me to tell me they had known Morgan, some only for a short time, a few only met her once or twice, but they all had the same thing to say, that she was an amazing person, like no one they had ever met before.  They all described her as a very happy, engaging person that made them feel good about themselves.  But there were also bad people attracted to her light – some were jealous of the attention she received, and others became obsessed, and had ulterior motives. Then there are some people that never knew her at all, but they like to make things up in order to bolster their story about who she was, because she is no longer here to defend herself…although knowing Morgan she would not even bother to defend herself from such nonsense, she would just say those people really don’t matter.  Why try to convince someone of the truth when they only want to believe in the lies – these type of people like to create drama, they live for it…something Morgan always refused to be a part of.  They are people that did not know her, or what she truly was like.  So why would one bother to try to convince someone of the truth when that is not what they want to hear?  And then there are people that did know Morgan BUT they are connected to those that were involved in her stalking and murder…these people have an agenda.  It is a no-brainer to understand why those people are making up stories (anything but the truth) in order to cast the light of truth away from those involved.  They do not want to go to jail, and those who are helping them will and have done whatever they can to try and sway people to believe in their lies…lies that they constantly change in order to not loose their readership – pretty sick, huh?

Anyway, what does any of that matter in reality?  It doesn’t.  In reality the only thing they have been able to accomplish is to confuse some people as to what really happened to Morgan.  But it is really up to the factual evidence to get justice for Morgan, and that is why I firmly believe justice is coming…words mean nothing compared to real evidence and that evidence does exist.  Again, there is no statute of limitations in a capital murder case.  Team Morgan, hang in there…justice is coming.

Internet harassment is now the norm…

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Never waste your time

While reading USA Today on April 28, 2016 I came upon this article by Natalie DiBlasio.  This is a great article and worth reading.  Internet harassment has become the norm and women (as well as every human being) should be sick of it, and we should all want to put a stop to it.

I have been attacked online, as have many others that have come out as supporters of justice for my daughter Morgan.  Vile threats that I stopped reading a long time ago, because in reality they do not help me along the path to my higher purpose in life.  I choose to ignore them knowing I am coming from truth and whatever agenda they have does not concern me.  I also choose to rise above them, and yes, I do know they will still be there tomorrow as Natalie states.

I have been told by authorities in the “know” that I am not special in this regard as unfortunately many victims and co-victims that tell their story are all attacked.  The telling of their story helps so many others so this harassment aimed at stopping them is really aimed at allowing the perpetrator of the crime to continue offending with no consequence  ever.   What do you think should be done about it?  Your thoughts are welcomed if you would like to write in to me.  Thanks.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2016/04/27/voices-plague-internet-harassment/83590044/