Tag Archives: garfield county

Morgan’s Murder – Day 1…It was hard to see through our shock for a very long time

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The truck that Morgan needed after she was killed, The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, not a Hearst.

The truck that Morgan should have had on scene the morning her body was found, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, not a Hearst.

Morgan’s murder wasn’t really thought to be a murder at all, not on that first day, it was explained to us by the Sheriffs detective as clearly a mystery.  There were many things accepted as facts that morning as they came rolling out, first we were told there was no connection to her stalking – none at all, this took minutes for the detective to determine this fact, so you would assume there was great evidence to support this conclusion, and we trusted and believed we were being told the truth at that time.  We were experiencing shock and horror at that very moment and could not wrap our heads around anything. Next we were told there was no sign of forced entry, no sign of sexual assault, no sign of a struggle, and no sign of suicide.  I can remember those words whistling through my ears, and the foreign reassurance they brought with them, but I can’t help but wonder how could they have known those things at that time without any investigation? Why did they not collect any forensic evidence that very morning?

But then, if you had been Morgan’s mother for twenty years, there were things you would know, things deep within your heart, things akin to all the mother/daughter attachments Morgan and I had always shared over her lifetime.  What was being shared with me that morning about Morgan’s death seemed attached to strange external forces, things beyond any of our control, and not by any means logical or intuitive…just strange, for lack of a better word.

While so much of that day was clouded within the grief of the moment, at the same time I remember some things very vividly as they transpired throughout that day.  As in the detective from Garfield County, Robert Glassmire telling me that they had scanned the entire room and they had found no bodily fluids anywhere.  I can still see myself responding immediately with disbelief, as I told him that Morgan had not yet washed her sheets this week, so there must have been something detected, she had a puppy, and a cat, and.…he assured me that there was nothing.  Now I know why her sheets didn’t show anything – her sheets were gone!  I am no investigator, but I would think that a detective being told that she hadn’t washed her sheets yet, knowing her sheets were missing just might think that something is wrong with this crime scene.  Where were Morgan’s sheets?  Who took them?  They never showed up anywhere…unfortunately we didn’t realize they were gone at the time, because we were only focused on calling 911 and giving her CPR until the emergency responders showed up, we were trying to save her, and then we were told to leave our house.  I never realized her sheets were gone until we received crime scene photos of her room almost 2 years later.

I vividly remember that her body seems posed to me.  That was the worst feeling, that her body position was all wrong, so wrong.  I told Detective Glassmire exactly how I found Morgan and how it looked all wrong, for reasons I can’t fully explain.  I can tell you exactly where I was standing, and even the position I was facing when I told him.  I will never question the strange feeling I had at the time, nor will I ever fully understand it.

There is always that saying you have all heard – having a child die is every parents worst nightmare.  In the many days that followed after Morgan’s death, days that all melted together, and then the months that followed that day, Steve and I would meet someone from our little valley that had been at our house that morning.  They would offer condolences, and they would also wonder, “How are you holding up?”  Are you okay?  They were parents too, and were shaken when they arrived on scene and found that Morgan was only 20 years old.  Today, I would tell them that if I ever experience anything worse, which is not even remotely feasible to me, that I would be sure to tell them.  But the ability to understand is something that comes with time, if ever.  A long time, exactly how much time I am not sure, definitely different for everyone, but for me it did not come within months, and only now can I see that within years I am finally beginning to understand.  All this time I thought I was being strong, asking questions, digging for answers, but in reality when I look back now I can see that my realization had been slowed by my complete and overwhelming grief.  If it wasn’t for our amazing grief counselor I don’t know how Steve and I would have made it through the first two years after Morgan’s murder.  And with the support and love from family, friends, and even strangers I was able to become stronger and stronger, but it still has taken such a long time.

Morgan’s room was still taped off as a crime scene when the Sheriffs all left, Steve and I would not be allowed back in there for days.  Days later we were able to see her room again. Then it was years upon years later before we would know any of the answers to the many questions we had asked on the morning of her death.  While there is so much I did not know that morning on December 2, 2011, there is so much I have very painfully learned over the months and years since.  And there is one thing I knew that morning for sure – that my very dear and very beloved daughter was now gone from this earth, in a way that continues to become only more horrific to us as time passes, and we learn more details about how she died.  This is the beginning of the story of Morgan’s murder…

So many have commented on what they perceive to be amazing strength to be doing what I am for my daughter, and I want to address that perception.  I appreciate people telling me that, it is so very kind and I am grateful, but in reality I don’t perceive myself as being strong, I am hurting inside just like any other mother would be, and doing only what I think any other mother would do in my situation, because they love their child so much, and want truth, and justice to prevail.  Morgan deserved so much better, and as lie after lie is exposed – what mother’s blood would not begin to boil?  I am just a mother who still wants the truth to be told, and only the truth to be told about what has happened to Morgan, not the lies and misdirection that have played out since her death.  It will happen one day, of that I am quite sure, and I will not rest until it does.

If you followed my blog about Morgan’s stalking you already know the Garfield County Sheriff’s department took over the investigation of her death, and pretty much have done whatever they pleased with the facts.  Beyond that it is safe to assume that murder, and Morgan Ingram will never coexist for Sheriff Lou Vallario who stands between Morgan and justice.  For Steve and I it has been quite a different path that has led us to today.  We have questioned what happened, and asked for answers from those most qualified to give them.

As the truth never changes, there are some truths about that day in 2011 that did not become known to us until much, much later.  Keenan Vanginkel, only days before Morgan’s murder was determined by Sheriff Detective Glassmire to be 100% guilty of Morgan’s stalking.  His work hours show that he clocked in at his job at 2:00 am the morning Morgan was killed, even more interesting is the fact that he clocked out for a break at 6:37am that same morning, this time may be significant as it was minutes after the ambulance carrying the first responders entered our driveway in a futile attempt to save Morgan.  This time clock also uses some biometric feature to insure that the represented person is the person who clocked in.  I have been assured of this by the security person that works for his employer.  So hypothetically,  if Brooke were to see the myriad of flashing lights three houses down the street from her house (she lived only 3 houses down from us) and called Keenan, he might clock out and go outside, well that much is not fact, but conjecture on my part.  I do know Brooke’s dad James called and left a message for his client that he could not make their meeting that morning because the sheriffs had put crime scene tape around his neighbors house, a house that had a girl that had been stalked, a stalker that the police thought was him at first but now they know it is his daughter’s ex-boyfriend and he has to stay home and monitor the situation and protect his daughter…I thought this was powerful when I heard about it, I told Detective Glassmire to speak with this client, the woman is the wife of a Pitkin County Sheriff, but Detective Glassmire could never seem to find the time to interview this witness.

Since that morning, in a constant way, my life has become a series of conjectures about what may have happened, and then a crusade to gather evidence that would support or dispel those theories.  I’m told this is called an investigation.  Something Morgan never had, for those of you who do not already know, Sheriff Lou Vallario went on TV to announce there would never be an investigation into Morgan’s death.  That was on the day her death was reclassified from natural causes, to a suicide, eight months after she was originally said to have died of natural causes.  You can bet that this assertion of natural causes and then suicide has been dug into deeply, and the facts I have to share are quite voluminous for just one blog, so I will only say this one thing below for now.

The Coroner decided, years after Morgan’s death, to release pictures to our family that were taken of the death scene the morning her body was discovered.  Not being experts in any way, we decided that only a very select group of expert individuals should review these pictures.  The first fact to come out was that Morgan’s body was moved after she had died.  Moved postmortem!  Please, someone  explain to me how a person’s death goes from natural causes to suicide when their body was moved after they were already dead?

On top of that, do not even bring up the fact that I was threatened by the contracted forensic pathologist that if I kept asking questions, and having Morgan’s doctors contact him with medical facts different than what he believed to be true that he could revisit her manner of death, and could possibly arrive at accidental overdose or suicide.  Which is exactly what he did months later after I did not “back off.”  This is the contracted forensic pathologist that works closely with the Garfield County Sheriffs department, the same Sheriffs office that were told verbally and in writing about those threats, and yes the same Sheriffs department that would never open an investigation into Morgan’s death in case you are wondering.  The same Sheriffs department who concluded within minutes, on the morning we found her body, that Morgan’s death had no connection to her stalking.  These facts are completely separate and I wanted to bring them all out into the light of day so that others who might be in a similar situation can learn from our families experiences.  I believe people in positions of trust should not be allowed to do these things.  I am sure in most cases families are in such immense pain, and suffering that they can not even bring themselves to ask questions of the authorities, even though they can feel that there is something wrong with what they are being told.  Revictimizing families is cruel and unjust and should not be allowed.

People say these things are only the shrill cry of a mother who can’t accept the truth – really?  When a mother finds foul play in the fact that her daughter’s body has been moved after she died, and a Sheriff that says he will never open an investigation into what is possibly a homicide, is that perfectly normal in any death amid a stalking under suspicious circumstances?  No wonder there is rarely ever a murder in Garfield County – for the previous six or seven years prior to Morgan’s death there were no murders, they want us to  just ignore the pesky fact that bodies kept showing up.  Just ignore it like Morgan’s stalking, ignore it all.  Accidental deaths and suicide are the accepted manner of deaths, but can we believe what we are being told?  I no longer do.

I guess Garfield County doesn’t want us to pay attention to a United States Congressman who states that every victim of stalking that he has heard about was murdered by their stalker.  I guess Garfield County thinks it is acceptable for everyone to believe without question that Morgan’s death had absolutely no connection to her actual felony stalking at the time her body was discovered.  The stalking that was feared to escalate days before her death.  The stalking that had patrols of our house and our neighborhood increased in the days before her death.  The stalking where she had positively identified her stalker and was scheduled to have a videotaped interview with the detectives in a few days, an interview that never took place, because she was killed. Specifically the stalking that supposedly had no connection to her murder.  Morgan was scheduled to leave that same morning on a pre-planned babysitting assignment for the returning military heroes defending our country.  These heroes that were going to a family retreat and recovering from their own ordeals…Morgan was stopped from going by her murderer.

And while it all seems and sounds to be so horribly wrong and completely dire, I would quickly like to say that while it has been all that and more for us and still is, there is something more to the story of Morgan’s murder, and that can’t be lost here.  Steve and I have come to learn something that is very important.  We have learned with so many that have come forward to help in the fight for justice for Morgan, that they are amazingly in this for the long haul.  It portents solutions, and even healing for other victims as well, for the victims of stalking, as well as the victims of every other crime, including the families of the victims of capital crimes after their loved ones have been robbed of their most basic liberty – their life.  With the support of these caring supporters victims can, and do recover.  These victims need to be believed.  They need someone to help them.  Morgan would never have cared about herself over another.  It has been without doubt the hardest lesson that Steve and I have been forced to learn since her tragic death.  That she was far more understanding of the world than we were.  That our daughter had lessons to teach us even after she died.

I will now leave you with this…as Morgan died, she managed to communicate more than I could even begin to understand.  This story that I will now be writing about will be about death and murder, and all of the unpleasantries that go hand in hand.  It will share most all, but never all the facts that I have come to know since her death.  There will always be the facts that only Morgan’s murderer would have known.  Hopefully that part can keep secreted away until it is needed.  Until then, we all miss you Morgan…and I will never stop expecting that in the end you will have justice.

Sarah Afshar’s Exclusive Interview with Morgan’s brother Ryan

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Ryan.Morgan.1999Morgan’s older sister and brother both adored her.  She was their baby sister.  She was 13 years younger than her sister, and 10 years younger than her brother, and she would have been 23 years old this past August 16th.  Her brother Ryan wanted to be able to speak out about what happened to his sister, he wanted to share his inner most feelings about the pain in his heart that he has had ever since Morgan was taken from this world.  There are people “others” on the Internet that want to attack victims and co-victims, and Morgan’s brother has also been attacked.  Up until now he has not come out and said anything, and these “others” have spent a lot of time making up whatever they want as if it came out of his mouth.

It’s very, very sad that people do this kind of thing.  I recently heard that an old friend of mine lost her boyfriend to a heart attack, and even she was attacked on the Internet by people saying very cruel things to her.  She was a person that lost a loved one to natural causes.  Yet they said things like, “He was never your boyfriend” along with really nasty lies…why?  Why do some people have the need to attack others that are grieving for absolutely no reason?  Have they lost their humanity or are they just a product of a very sad reality of their own?  Just like in the most recent tragedy of the loss of Robin Williams.  It has been reported all over the news that “others” attacked his daughter so viciously on social media that she took down all of her sights.  How could people be this cruel?  And the next question I have is why would good logical people ever begin to believe the lies and filth these people try to float?  Why would they even want to read any of the things these people write about?  And my last question on that subject is if any of the “others” really were knowledgable and were ever coming from truth then why are they always anonymous?  Why do they always use fake names, and fake accounts?

I have had people tell me that the “others” on the Internet have said stuff about Steve and I – they said we took out a life insurance policy on Morgan so we don’t want people to know she killed herself.  We never had a life insurance policy taken out on Morgan, or any of our children – why would we?  Our children are supposed to outlive us as parents.  If the mere thought of someone thinking this wasn’t so sick it would almost be laughable, but it’s not, it’s disgusting.  What kind of people think that way?  I wish the others would get a clue – Morgan never committed suicide – Morgan was murdered and there is still a murderer out there. There is ample proof that she was murder in a horrific way and If you knew your daughter had been murdered, if you had seen and heard the evidence that proves she was murdered would you just sit back and let her murder be swept under the rug?  Would you just allow false allegations to be tossed around without trying to bring the truth to light? I don’t think so.  Yes, it’s painful, but it is a reality and something we have to do, and there is no getting around that fact.

The loss of his sister has been extremely hard on Ryan.  He was so filled with anger for the first 2 years he couldn’t talk about it, but now he wants justice and has faith that Steve and I will be able to keep pushing forward until Morgan’s case gets opened, and those responsible for her murder are arrested.  He always gives me a little nudge over the phone at least once a week, “keep going Mom, what are you waiting for, hurry up.”

Morgan wrote this to her brother Ryan:

January 06, 2009
To the best brother a girl could ask for, when people tell me that the world is a cruel and horrible place all I can do is smile. I smile because I know them to be wrong. I know that the world is a beautiful place worth fighting for. I know this because of you. When I think of you I feel my heart, not the one that beats, rather the one that feels. Seventeen years here on earth, I have seen bad people and good people, but you Ryan, I know to be the best. For reasons I can ‘t quite explain, I see you more clearly than other people. I see your struggles and your triumphs, but mostly I see your heart. I am truly blessed to have a person like you in my life, a person who makes hope look so tangible, so real. ~Morgan

Please click on this link to read Ryan’s interview.  Thank you Sarah Afshar for giving Ryan a chance to use his voice. http://www.sarahafshar.com/2014/08/morgan-ingram-exclusive-interview-with.html

 

 

Is there something very wrong in #Garfield County, or is it just me?

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garfieldcountyLong ago, right after the blog of Morgan’s stalking was just getting going I was contacted by a local author writing a piece about the great disparity between suicides, and homicides in Garfield County.  What was shared with me was fascinating, and troubling all at the same time.  But back then we were being told by Garfield County that Morgan’s death was from natural causes, while at the same time Morgan’s doctor believed her death was a homicide, and another forensic pathologist was telling me she did not die from natural causes, it was a suspicious death and should have been listed at the very least as undetermined until a full investigation had been done.  Along with all of this I was being threatened by the contracted forensic pathologist for Garfield County.  He said that Morgan’s manner of death could be revisited, and could possibly be changed from natural causes to an accidental overdose or suicide if I didn’t back off…I believe the grief, shock and stress I was feeling at the time was paralyzing me in so many ways, and I heard what I was being told by all these different parties, but at the same time my mind couldn’t properly grasp it all.  Writing on this blog about the things that happened to Morgan during her stalking helped keep me going, but looking back on it now I only thought I was pushing hard, truth be told I was only a fraction of myself.  Oh the things you learn as you come out of your grief bubble…
 I  honestly do not think Morgan’s case is the only one like this in Garfield County.  I have talked to other families and friends of missing, and dead loved ones, and I hear the same run-around that we received given to others, along with all the same non answers that we got.  These other families speak of the same unanswered phone calls, emails and letters.  They speak of evidence that the Sheriffs department or Coroner’s office had that has now gone “missing” or was “accidentally destroyed”, I even received a call from a mom that had spent her whole retirement account hiring a ballistic expert, private investigator, etc. and had solid evidence that her son did not shoot himself, but was shot with a completely different gun then the gun the police took into evidence (the gun that had been collected from the scene had never been shot and it was a different caliber than the gun that shot the bullet into her son’s body), and they still would not open that case or change his manner of death from suicide.  
In an article written by John Colson for the Post Independent newspaper about Morgan’s manner of death being changed from natural causes to suicide (and yes, this was after I was threatened by the pathologist to back off in trying to facilitate other doctors, and experts into explaining to him how his first conclusion was incorrect, that Morgan did not die from natural causes, and yes again, the Sheriff and Coroner had been notified about the threats, but would never respond) on August 31, 2012 Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario is quoted as saying that he would stick by the contracted forensic pathologist Dr. Kurtzman’s conclusion of suicide.  Sheriff Vallario wrote in an email to the reporter, “The results of the autopsy and pathology reports were that the manner of death was suicide.”  The sheriffs knew that her death was considered a suspicious death because of her stalking (that is why an autopsy was done, that was why crime scene tape was put up all around our house and we were asked to leave the scene), but they decided on the exact morning her body was found that it had nothing to do with her stalking.  Then right after the Post Independent article came out, Jeff Todd a reporter for CBS in Denver filmed Sheriff Lou Vallario right in the front of the courthouse in Glenwood Springs, CO stating that he would never open Morgan’s case.  Never?  I thought if evidence is brought forward in a capital crime that there is no statue of limitations, and a case can be opened at any time?  Am I mistaken here, or was Morgan’s case, like so many other suspicious cases in Garfield County closed, shut down, and buried for some sinister reason?  I really need to know the answer to that question – I feel that I deserve an answer to that question, wouldn’t you?  Please look at the following report from Garfield County and tell me what you think.  Is it just me or does something look wrong with these numbers?
 garco.suicide.homicide
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Maybe it is just me, but when I look at this stat sheet for Garfield County it suggests to me a story about a county that does not want any murders on its books…natural causes, accidental, or suicide those are all okay, along with run aways, but not foul play, murder, kidnapping, or rape…they don’t want any of those on their stats. As you can see on the Garfield County stats that listed results of Colorado Death Dataset Query for suicides, and homicides- I have circled the 5 years ending in 2011 (the year Morgan was murdered) it shows 53 deaths (due to suicide or homicide), 50 were determined to be suicide and the other 3 are not listed under homicide, so they are either not accounted for, or undetermined…in my opinion this is why Garfield County has been said to have one of the highest suicide rates in the country, but I don’t believe they are all suicides, I think they have listed other types of deaths like Morgan’s as suicides that were really not suicides.  Anything to not have a homicide on their stats.  This type of protocol only causes to re-victimize the already traumatized families.  Not only re-victimizing families, but allowing a murder to never be investigated would seem to me to be dangerous to others in the community, unless of course Garfield County feels confident that a murderer will never murder again.  How confident do you feel about that?
Does anyone know when this type of thing started?  When did Garfield County start to go down this slippery road?  Is there any turning back?  I have to hope they can turn this all around, and start to uphold the law, protect their citizens, make the truth their number one priority.  It may take the citizens of the county to join their voices in protest and show the elected officials what they expect, and in an election year such as this one, it seems like a good time to make your vote count.  Speak out – write in to the local newspaper (like the Aspen Times, or the Post Independent).  Take a stand, make your voice heard.  No one wants this to ever happen to their family, so please make sure it can never happen to another family in Garfield County, or anywhere else.  Change is needed and change will come – hopefully sooner rather than later.  Thank you so much – each and every one of you have the power to move mountains!

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” 

 

Yesterday – it’s been 2 years & 6 months since we found Morgan’s body

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Yesterday…  I could not for the life of me figure out why my whole body was vibrating.  I was in such an emotional state of frustration and could not shake it.  This morning when I woke up and looked at the calendar I realized that as of yesterday it has now been 2 years and 6 months since we found Morgan’s body – I can not believe it has been this long and an investigation into her death has never happened…I am outraged!

COLORADO – TAKE A STAND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

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I can not understand why Garfield County does not care about violence against women.  In March 2013 President Obama signed the revitalized Violence Against Women Act  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/obama-violence-against-women-act_n_2830158.html 

Under the leadership of then-Senator Joe Biden, Congress recognized the severity of violence against women and our need for a national strategy with the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. This landmark federal legislation’s comprehensive approach to violence against women combined tough new provisions to hold offenders accountable with programs to provide services for the victims of such violence.  Read the Act at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf

In the Act it is proudly points out that all states have passed laws making stalking a crime.  In the state of Colorado (the state that Morgan was born in, the state that she grew up in, and the state that she was killed in) the following stalking law is in place:

Colorado’s legislative declaration states:

C.R.S. 18-3-601. [Formerly 18-9-111 (4) (a)] Legislative declaration. (2010)
(1)  The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

 (a)  Stalking is a serious problem in this state and nationwide;

(b)  Although stalking often involves persons who have had an intimate relationship with one another, it can also involve persons who have little or no past relationship;

(c)  A stalker will often maintain strong, unshakable, and irrational emotional feelings for his or her victim, and may likewise believe that the victim either returns these feelings of affection or will do so if the stalker is persistent enough. Further, the stalker often maintains this belief, despite a trivial or nonexistent basis for it and despite rejection, lack of reciprocation, efforts to restrict or avoid the stalker, and other facts that conflict with this belief.

(d)  A stalker may also develop jealousy and animosity for persons who are in relationships with the victim, including family members, employers and co-workers, and friends, perceiving them as obstacles or as threats to the stalker’s own “relationship” with the victim;

(e)  Because stalking involves highly inappropriate intensity, persistence, and possessiveness, it entails great unpredictability and creates great stress and fear for the victim;

(f)  Stalking involves severe intrusions on the victim’s personal privacy and autonomy, with an immediate and long-lasting impact on quality of life as well as risks to security and safety of the victim and persons close to the victim, even in the absence of express threats of physical harm.

(2)  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.

And then:

C.R.S. 18-3-602.  Stalking – penalty – definitions – Vonnie’s Law. (2012)

(1) A person commits stalking if directly, or indirectly, through another person, the person knowingly:

(a) Makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly follows, approaches, contacts, or places under surveillance that person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship; or

 

(b) Makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly makes any form of communication with that person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship, regardless of whether a conversation ensues; or

 

(c) Repeatedly follows, approaches, contacts, places under surveillance, or makes any form of communication with another person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to suffer serious emotional distress and does cause that person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship to suffer serious emotional distress. For purposes of this paragraph (c), a victim need not show that he or she received professional treatment or counseling to show that he or she suffered serious emotional distress.

(2) For the purposes of this part 6:

(a) Conduct “in connection with” a credible threat means acts that further, advance, promote, or have a continuity of purpose, and may occur before, during, or after the credible threat.

 

(b) “Credible threat” means a threat, physical action, or repeated conduct that would cause a reasonable person to be in fear for the person’s safety or the safety of his or her immediate family or of someone with whom the person has or has had a continuing relationship. The threat need not be directly expressed if the totality of the conduct would cause a reasonable person such fear.

 

(c) “Immediate family” includes the person’s spouse and the person’s parent, grandparent, sibling, or child.

 

(d) “Repeated” or “repeatedly” means on more than one occasion.

(3) A person who commits stalking:

(a) Commits a class 5 felony for a first offense except as otherwise provided in subsection (5) of this section; or

 

(b) Commits a class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, if the offense occurs within seven years after the date of a prior offense for which the person was convicted.

(4) Stalking is an extraordinary risk crime that is subject to the modified presumptive sentencing range specified in section 18-1.3-401 (10).

(5) If, at the time of the offense, there was a temporary or permanent protection order, injunction, or condition of bond, probation, or parole or any other court order in effect against the person, prohibiting the behavior described in this section, the person commits a class 4 felony.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or diminish the inherent authority of the court to enforce its orders through civil or criminal contempt proceedings; however, before a criminal contempt proceeding is heard before the court, notice of the proceedings shall be provided to the district attorney for the judicial district of the court where the proceedings are to be heard and the district attorney for the judicial district in which the alleged act of criminal contempt occurred. The district attorney for either district shall be allowed to appear and argue for the imposition of contempt sanctions.

(7) A peace officer shall have a duty to respond as soon as reasonably possible to a report of stalking and to cooperate with the alleged victim in investigating the report.

(8)

(a) When a person is arrested for an alleged violation of this section, the fixing of bail for the crime of stalking shall be done in accordance with section 16-4-103 (2) (d), C.R.S., and a protection order shall issue in accordance with section 18-1-1001(5).

(b) This subsection (8) shall be known and may be cited as “Vonnie’s law.”

(9) When a violation under this section is committed in connection with a violation of a court order, including but not limited to any protection order or any order that sets forth the conditions of a bond, any sentences imposed pursuant to this section and pursuant to section 18-6-803.5, or any sentence imposed in a contempt proceeding for violation of the court order shall be served consecutively and not concurrently.

So where was the effective intervention before Morgan’s death?  Only 3 days before we found her dead body the felony stalking detective (Detective Robert Glassmire) who was assigned to her case told me that he felt like the stalker was going to escalate – his words not mine.  So where was the intervention?  How did he know the stalker was going to escalate?  And why did he tell us the morning we found her body that her death had nothing to do with the stalker?  This is before her body was taken away for an autopsy.  He said her death was a “mystery” at that time.  A mystery?  If it was a “mystery” then why not do an actual investigation, collect evidence, interview our next door neighbor that had information and waited for a call that never came, a Pitkin County Sheriff’s wife that had information, all Morgan’s close friends, her teachers, fellow students, employer, as well as us, her mom and dad.  Why didn’t they ask the really important questions?  More correctly, why didn’t they ask any questions at all.  Why was was Morgan, an innocent women being stalked, completely ignored, while her stalker was given a free pass?

Also, where are all the Sheriff’s reports for ALL the incidents of stalking that Morgan, as well as Steve and I told them about?  The detective met with Morgan once a week to get all updates and this was in addition to the daily calls we were making to dispatch.  In Morgan’s case were they really responding, and investigating the reports?  If that ever happened where are the reports?  I’ll tell you there are not any.  It felt like it was more like the felony stalking detective was trying to convince us that the car with the suspect in it that Morgan reported to him wasn’t really the suspect or his car, and the truck that Steve and I saw surveilling our house over 3 times, and we wrote down the license plate number and gave it to the detective, along with an exact description of the vehicle, he told us it had not really been there, plus more and more incidents that the Sheriff’s office refused to investigate and went as far as to make up excuses for.  Is this what they call investigating a report or cooperating with the witness?

To treat a stalking victim/murder victim in this manner is not only disgusting, but needs to end…2 years and 6 months later this is now only the start.  Morgan will get justice and Steve and I will never give up!

Morgan’s murder…we fight back with truth & facts

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Colorado - beautiful, but what secrets lurk?

Colorado – it’s beautiful, but is it now a happy hunting ground for predators?  And I am not referring to mountain lions.

A very interesting occurrence keeps repeating itself over, and over again.  Recently when I blogged about releasing evidence on Morgan’s case it brought out the same bottom feeders that have been spreading lies all around the Internet about me, Morgan, our family, etc. ever since this website, and blog was originally launched.  They came out in force – calling my cell phone, attacking some vocal supporters (Cyber-stalking by calling their place of business, calling their cell phones, blasting loud music over the phone, and on and on), going on the Internet to again spread untruths as if they know what they are talking about – which they don’t. I want to be very clear that as far as Steve and I are concerned we view it all as a distraction (even though cyber-stalking is a crime, and should be punished as one), if we let it get to us it would distract us from what we need to do in order to get justice for Morgan, so we don’t – we do not want or need, and will not engage in any distractions.  It is like having a fly in the room buzzing around – you may want to take the time to swat at it, but if you are in a rush to get something done you just don’t bother. Now after getting that off my chest I know I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned it, but I have found out from many national victims experts that this is a phenomenon that is occurring all over our country – people attacking victims, strange, but very true.  Sometimes they are the family of the criminal, sometimes friends of the family of the criminal, and sometimes even families of other criminals that feel like by attacking other victims it justifies their existence…either way it’s sick!  And when members of the criminal justice system do not respond appropriately to this type of intimidation, and fail to correct system deficiencies that enable opportunities for these people to intimidate victims and victim’s families, they become inadvertent accomplices to these intimidators.  FACT:  As stated by someone else in September of 2011 –  Morgan’s stalking was not a figment of a young woman’s imagination.  Her terrorizing was not only observed by others, but also recorded on security cameras placed around her home (and yes after we realized she had a stalker we had a camera pointed at her bedroom windows, as did the sheriffs themselves, once it became a felony stalking case, they had their own camera pointed at it as well).  The case was elevated to the level of felony stalking by the Investigators due to escalating events, not by Morgan or her family.  In other words, evidence was there to prove a perpetrator existed. FACT:  Predatory stalkers – for the predatory stalker, stalking is foreplay; the real goal is sexual assault. Steve and I believe this is the type of stalker Morgan had.  Please read this article by Joni E. Johnston, Psy.D. that was published in Psychology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-equation/201212/the-predatory-stalker  FACT:  It has been a very long journey since the morning we found Morgan’s lifeless body in her bedroom, and our lives were forever changed.  That cold grey morning on December 2, 2011 I screamed for Steve to come into Morgan’s room, as Steve ran in and rolled Morgan over from her side onto her back, I called 911, I could hear Steve – crying out and begging Morgan to breathe, while giving her CPR.  I could hear him while I was on the phone with the 911 operator, my world was starting to swirl out of control – my soul was telling me she was no longer in her body, but I was trying not to listen to myself, I wanted with every cell in my body for Steve to be able to save her. There was so much that we did not know back then, and in our complete shock and horror we could not see the forest through the trees.  We were too trusting…the only thing that kept us asking questions was a gut feeling, and the need to keep busy, and get answers.  We were told by the lead detective that very morning, before her body was taken away for an autopsy, that her death had nothing to do with the stalking.  How could you know that we asked?  We were told there was no signs of forced entry, no sign of a struggle, no sign of sexual assault, no sign of suicide, it was a mystery until the autopsy was completed, and the toxicology results were in.  Then on the 19th of December we were told Morgan died of natural causes.  We desperately needed to understand how our healthy 20 year old could die of natural causes when she had a stalker that we were told would most likely escalate his behavior only 2 days earlier.  We were worried that if it really was natural causes that our grandchildren could be in danger.  We needed answers, and refused to give up.  The quest for answers was extremely painful as we slowly peeled back layers and layers of deceit, that at times were so hard to understand due to lack of response from the Sheriff & Coroner’s offices. The forensic pathologist would not budge from his decision that she died of natural causes, although the information that was being given to him, information that would explain how his conclusion was incorrect came from specialists in the medical field, not us.  In our quest for the truth I was threatened, I then informed both the Sheriff & Coroner’s offices, they did not respond, only to have that exact threat fulfilled when Morgan’s manner of death was changed from natural causes to a suicide 8 months after her murder.  I guess everyone thought we would back off…the truths we have uncovered have taken us over 2 years, and it has been a slow tortuous journey.  We have been told time is on our side – I really couldn’t comprehend that statement at the time, but now after information and evidence has presented itself so long after her murder I finally do understand the truth in that statement.  What we know today we did not know 2 years ago, not 1 year ago, not even 6 months ago.  My blog reflected the truth about what we knew at that time that I made those entries, using what we had in front of us at that moment – what we know now is so much more.  This has been a process, and a journey I pray no other parents will ever have to go through, although I know there have been other families that already have gone through this nightmare, and many more that will probably go through this same thing in the future if changes are not made.  It is NOT okay to be complicit when it comes to a crime I don’t care who you are; especially if you are sworn to serve and protect.  The truth always needs to come out, and should not be buried and ignored. FACT:  The first thing I want to say is that Detective Rob Glassmire (the Detective assigned to Morgan’s felony stalking case) told me 2 days before Morgan’s murder that the following Tuesday he would be picking up the SUSPECT’S time sheet from City Market in El Jebel and would be laying it over my timeline in order to see if the SUSPECT’S hours coincided with the stalking events.  He not only did not do this at that time, but we never got to see the work hour schedule until over a year after Morgan was murdered.  I have since entered the SUSPECT’S hours into my timeline, and it makes me sick to my stomach to now see, in black and white,  almost every single incident of stalking/harassment/torture and murder that happened to Morgan was just before the SUSPECT clocked in at work, or right after he got off from work.  He worked mostly the graveyard shift, and it takes less than 5 minutes to drive from his place of employment at City Market to where our house was at the time.  This not only flies in the face of the STALKER’S mother’s email to me informing me that he wasn’t even in the state at the time of the murder (another lie), and that the SUSPECT was never around during any of the stalking incidents (how would she know when the stalking incidents took place?), but also the big question is why did Garfield County Sheriff Detective Rob Glassmire (the lead detective in Morgan’s FELONY STALKING CASE) not overlay the hours like he said he would? FACT:  By the time Detective Glassmire collected the SUSPECT’S hours he already had a dead 20 year old woman, one that had been in excellent physical condition, except that she had a stalker, she had identified the stalker, she had wanted to get a protective order, he had said 2 days before her murder that he felt the stalking was going to escalate. Unbeknownst to us at the time he had told one of the SUSPECTS, only 4 days before the murder, that the following week he would be collecting the suspects hours to overlay them over my timeline and that on the same day he would be formally interviewing Morgan on camera for her official statement.  Now was this a rookie mistake?  Was this intentional?  Did this contribute to Morgan’s murder?  We may never know, and by the time that Tuesday came when Detective Glassmire was supposed to collect those hours, interview Morgan, and wrap up the case, Morgan had already been dead for 4 1/2 days…it was too late.  Is this why the very morning he arrived at our house, after we found Morgan’s lifeless body, he had emphatically told us her death was a mystery, but he was positive it had nothing to do with the stalking?  Why would he say that without an investigation?  What was he trying to hide? Was the Garfield County Sheriff’s office planning on making an arrest the following week with just another slap on the wrist and then releasing the SUSPECT again, just like they, and the Glenwood Springs Police had done so many times in the past?  Did their plan go horribly wrong?  FACT: The SUSPECT had had at that time multiple past arrests for criminal trespass (maybe I am missing something here, but isn’t that what stalking is called before it becomes a felony stalking case?), suspicious events, drugs, drug paraphernalia, underage alcohol, etc. and then 24 days after Morgan’s murder the SUSPECT was arrested again.  This time he was pulled over on a “warrant” for selling stolen jewelry.  When Glenwood Springs Police pulled him over (the police dog alerted to the car he was driving so it was searched) he was arrested on multiple charges of having drugs, drug paraphernalia as well as felony distribution.  Before I ever knew about this arrest, in the first week after Morgan was murdered I had verbally told Detectective Glassmire (on phone calls, as well as in person) about items of jewelry that were missing from Morgan’s room.   He had asked me to let him know if I noticed anything missing the first day we were allowed back in her room.  He seemed to be concerned because I had described a few of these items that were missing, and told him a couple of the missing pieces of jewelry were from old boyfriends, he told me in a stalking case that could be a very big tip-off.  One (and only one) of these items was found in the first week after her murder, but none of the other pieces were ever located (they were, and are still gone) and Detective Glassmire was told that as well as a detailed description of these pieces.  So of course Steve and I felt the details of this arrest would be very important to find out about.  When I called Detective Glassmire to tell him about the arrest he told me he did not even know the SUSPECT had been arrested.  We never thought of it at the time, but now wonder why a report of stolen property was never filed on the missing jewelry – why?  FACT: Why was the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not called in the morning we found Morgan’s body?  I asked Detective Glassmire that exact question, and the answer he gave me was, “if we called in the CBI on every suspicious death we would be perceived as lazy, and not wanting to do our jobs.”  What kind of answer is that?  Doesn’t every family deserve answers, especially when their daughter has a stalker with an active felony stalking case?  Especially when the morning her body is found your house has crime scene tape around it, your told it’s a crime scene, you are told they are taking her body away because she died under suspicious circumstances.  Isn’t the truth important – not only for the family of the victim, but for society in general?  If you have a suspicious death (as they called Morgan’s death, because of the ongoing felony STALKING case at the time) shouldn’t you use whatever methods you have at your disposal to arrive at the truth?  If a murder is ignored wouldn’t logic predicate that most likely that murderer will go on to murder again?  How is this fair to the next victim?  What about the protection of the citizens of the Roaring Fork Valley – will they wait until another murder happens, and just call it another suicide?  Is this why the suicide rate in that part of Colorado is so much higher than almost anywhere in the country? FACT: I know Garfield County would like people to believe there was never a stalking (pretty hard to believe since Morgan’s stalking lasted 4 months, and was an active criminal felony stalking case, with a detective assigned to the case, and plenty of evidence, footprints, video images, physical sightings, and many of her friends, friend’s parents & teachers were aware of it, etc.)  I know they want everyone to believe there was no stalker, because Sheriff Lou Vallario went out in the front of the courthouse in September 2012 and spoke into the camera of CBS News stating that his officers went out to the Ingram’s house over 50 times and never saw a STALKER.  Back then I had no idea why he would say something like that – we were still in a deep bubble of grief, the Coroner had Morgan’s manner of death listed as natural causes all those 8 months, but we intuitively felt that couldn’t be correct, and then the Coroner changed the manner of death to suicide, we knew that wasn’t correct either.  Of course the Sheriff’s Deputies wouldn’t be expected to drive up to our house, long after we called about a stalking incident, just in time to see the STALKER sitting on our lawn just waiting for them to get there…I would be shocked if they did see the stalker, but they did see, and they did receive from us many forms of evidence of the stalker over that period of time and they knew Morgan had a STALKER.  The Sheriffs are the ones that showed us the footprints outside her windows, they are the ones that pointed out to us the well worn trail in the berm behind our house that led directly to the back of our house, I even called in one of the stalking incidents (probably the closest they ever got to an apprehension) when Morgan was not even home at the time – it happened to me, and scared the hell out of me.  So why did Detective Glassmire say Morgan’s death had no connection to the stalking the very morning her body was found, and why did Sheriff Lou Vallario tell the press, 8 months after her murder, that his officers came to our house over 50 times and never saw a stalker?  Why did the Sheriff Lou Vallario state that he would never open Morgan’s case?  I thought there was no statute of limitations in a murder case?  I have never heard a law enforcement agent say they would never open a case of murder – if he wanted to believe it wasn’t murder he still could have said if new evidence is presented then her case would be opened, but that is not what was said…why?  And now why, over 2 years after Morgan’s murder do the Garfield County Sheriff’s office, and the DA’s office tell people that call them about Morgan’s case that there was never a stalker, and that Morgan committed suicide, case closed?  How are people with credible information going to be able to give that information to law enforcement if law enforcement doesn’t want to hear it?  What are they trying so hard to hide?  FACT: Morgan did have a stalker.  Steve and I lived in the same house as Morgan – we heard and experienced it with her, and believe me it was traumatic!  Her stalking was not the figment of her imagination.  Her terrorization was not only observed by others, but also recorded on security cameras placed around our home.  We lived through motion alarms (positioned all around the house) going off in the middle of the night, along with motion lights (by almost every window and door) going off and on. And again, her case was elevated to the level of a felony stalking by the Investigators due to escalating events, not by Morgan or Steve and I.  In other words, evidence was there to prove a perpetrator existed.  Patrol Officers spoke with Morgan every time they showed up, and once it turned into a felony stalking case she spoke with the Detective assigned to her case almost every Sunday, they just never wrote up the reports on every incident, and we did not know at the time to request the reports after every incident, so we had no idea that the reports were not being typed up.  None of us asked for this to happen to Morgan or our family, and just like so many other victims we had no idea what to do.   Morgan was an extremely strong young woman and was NOT driven to the point of no return.  She was scared, but also very ANGRY, and angry people do not end their own lives.  Angry people go after those who are stealing their personal joy in life. She refused to allow the stalker to stop her from going to school, work or visiting friends that needed her.  She was very careful to always have pepper spray on her, she tried to always have friends walk her to her car and have me meet her in the driveway when she returned home.  The last week of her life she tried to always have a friend stay overnight with her when she slept at home, even though we were there as well – she was frightened. The night before her murder she asked for a knife to protect herself, and Steve bought her one…it was in her bed when we found her on the morning of 12/2/2011…it was never collected by the Sheriff’s. The same night she was murdered she had a bad feeling, she was extremely scared, she tried to sleep over a friend’s house.  I never knew this for a long time until I spoke with the Aunt whose house it was.  Through tears she expressed to me that she told Morgan that she had a migraine when she came home, and did not want Morgan to sleep over – Morgan told her it was okay and not to worry. When she heard about what happened to Morgan her guilt at sending her home that night wore on her, and consumed her.  I told her it was not her fault, none of us had any way of knowing what would happen that night…this was the fault of her murderer, and no one else!  FACT: Morgan had NO alcohol and NO illegal drugs in her toxicology results, and I wouldn’t have thought there would be, but the Sheriff’s office seemed like they were prepared for just that outcome…must have been shocking to them at the time when there wasn’t anything like that in her system.  People may not want to believe what they are being told, maybe because it does not fit into what they “believe” in their view of the world, but Morgan really was a very conservative young woman, she would never even drink a sip of wine with dinner if she knew she would be driving, she had a medical marijuana permit because she wanted to be able to handle any pain she may have in a natural manner (she had hyperalgesia), she did not like prescription meds, and did not want to use marijuana unless it was legal.  Even with a medical marijuana permit she still hardly ever used it.  She did not “recreationally” use illegal, or prescription drugs.  When I was sent the 1st Postmortem Examination Report, along with the toxicology results on December 19, 2011 the only thing she did have in her blood was an extremely high level of a drug called amitriptyline.  Morgan did not have a prescription for amitriptyline, she had an old bottle that was expired.  She had taken a low dose of 25 mg years ago for chronic nerve pain, a condition that caused her to develop hyperalgesia after long-term low level exposure to Carbon Monoxide (25 mg is not used for depression, it is used for nerve pain – Morgan was NEVER diagnosed with depression).  Through diet, exercise, hyperbaric chamber treatments, and stress control, using all the methods she had learned over the years (yoga, piano, etc.), she was able to overcome this condition that had been robbing her of a normal healthy life.  She was a fighter – an extremely strong, and intelligent girl – she would not allow anything to stop her.  She loved life, and wanted to live it. FACT: Besides the accepted uses of amitriptyline it has also been used in a less desirable, nefarious way as a tool of not only date rape, but also murder.  Several high profile and many lesser reported cases throughout the world have documented the use of amitriptyline as a weapon against other humans.  This drug has been used by rapists and murderers.  That is why it is one of the drugs on laboratory sexual assault panels.  Amitriptyline not only has the ability to produce fast results in subduing a victim (when administered in medically unaccepted methods), but also is easily available, not only on the street but via online shopping.  The Coroner’s office and the Sheriff’s office are negligent in their duties as employees of the people when they choose to label a death by drugs as a “suicide” when there is no evidence to support drugs were taken willingly by the victim or with a particular intent.  “Morgan Ingram died from “amitriptyline intoxication” according to Kurtzman’s 2nd Postmortem Report, it listed her manner of death as suicide.  This is not definitive of “suicide” and the only conclusion for the Coroner’s office giving this new diagnosis of death to the public, months after Morgan’s death, is the Coroner, in an attempt to stop any further investigation by our family and friends decided to publicly discredit any information that was in direct disapproval or contradiction of his departments procedure and actions.  FACT: Morgan was murdered!  Now over 2 years after Morgan’s murder I will tell you all the biggest fact of all…neither one of the stated “manners of death” that the Coroner’s office has stated are true.  How do we know that you wonder?  Very easy, after the 1st most horrific day in our lives we had a 2nd horrific day – the day we learned that Morgan really did die “face down” as the Sheriff’s reports, and the PER’s stated…I was the first person to find her, and then Steve ran in her room, threw the blanket off her, and rolled her on her back in order to administer CPR – I found her lying on her right side, not face down, Steve saw her on her right side as well, we told the first responders this fact when asked, we also told the Sheriff’s and Detective Glassmire – they were all told this on that very morning before we were asked to leave our house as the crime scene tape was put up.  In fact I described in detail that she was lying on her right side, with the blanket only partially up her arm.  1/2 her bare arm and shoulder were exposed, I shook her shoulder and realized she was not responding.  I ran out of her room and yelled for Steve to come right away.  Steve ran in her room, with me leading the way, pulled her blanket off, which is when we both saw that her eyes were wide open, knees pulled slightly up, elbows bent and hands clenched.  Steve rolled her on her back and started CPR.  I also told everyone that I thought her body had looked “posed”.  The reason for this was that she was on the opposite side of the bed from where she usually slept in an unusual sleeping position.  I had never seen her sleep like that – little things like that you “know” more than think at the time.  We tried many times to have this statement corrected on her PER’s to reflect the correct position her body was found in, but to no avail.  We did not know the significance of this one thing at the time, but now we know it is huge piece of evidence!  We have now been told…NO – BODIES DO NOT MOVE ON THEIR OWN Morgan’s murderer posed her body after lividity had already set in, now that we have discovered this fact we had no choice but to accept the fact that there is no question that she was murdered.  How could she have died from natural causes or suicide if her body was moved after death?  It can’t happen – someone else was in her room and moved her body after she was already dead, what we didn’t release until recently is that the Garfield County Sheriff’s knew that very morning while they “investigated” her death scene after interviewing Steve and I, because we told them that we found her on her right side.  Are we furious?  You’d better believe it, and you should be as well.  Now find, arrest and convict her murderer – do not wait until there is another body Garfield County – you now have less than 90 days to remedy this situation! Steve and I have tried to engage the community and raise awareness of stalking and it’s consequences.  When laws are passed at the Federal and State level in order to protect victims of stalking from ending up like Morgan, and those laws are ignored by law enforcement what is the remedy?  We have known so many amazing law enforcement agents over the course of our lives – true unsung heroes, so we were not prepared to have been failed so miserably in Morgan’s case.  We want justice in order to create change.  Having great anti-stalking laws on the books is wonderful but what happens when they are not enforced?  How do regular citizens get help when law enforcement will not even speak with them, or answer their letters, or look at the evidence that they have uncovered and presented all on their own?  We will continue down this path of releasing ALL the facts in this case until Morgan’s case is opened, investigated and justice is served.  We will NEVER stop, and we will NEVER give up.  Morgan deserves justice, her family deserves closure, her friends want the truth to come out, and no one wants a predator to get away with murder. Morgan was a warrior and had conviction.

Never Giving Up Morgan

Never Giving Up Morgan

I will keep blogging with more, and more facts in the days to come…it is not pretty, and I wish I didn’t have to share this with the public (it literally makes me ill), but it seems like this is the only way.  The more people that know the TRUTH the better chance that there will be justice for Morgan, and others some day.  Please stay strong with us as this “mystery” that is no longer a “mystery” unfolds.  Thank you all for your support!