This is posted on the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers page – if you have any information that could be useful to help solve this crime please contact Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers, you can remain anonymous. Thank you!
http://nococrimestoppers.com/unsolved-crimes/morgan-jennifer-ingram-suspicious-death
We live in Colorado, actually in Garfield County, which according to Wikipedia is the eighth most extensive and the twelfth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 56,389 at 2010 census.[1] The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield. The county seat is Glenwood Springs.
Now I wanted to start out with this bit of knowledge, because all I have been hearing since Morgan was murdered is that we live in a small town, so they have limited resources. Not enough qualified professionals in law enforcement, or in the Coroner’s office…does this mean that if you have crimes committed against you, and you live in a small town, that you have no rights compared to others that live in a big city? I don’t believe that for one minute…should over 56,000 people not be able to feel safe? When mistakes are made wouldn’t you think the professionals in charge would want to correct those mistakes in order to protect, and serve the citizens of this County as they have been sworn to do? In Morgan’s felony stalking, and murder case there have been so many mistakes made by the Sheriff’s Department, and the Coroner’s office – is this a case of CYA or is it a cover-up? I want to know – I have had people write in to me with their own stories of what happened to someone in their family, or one of their best friends, and they live in this County – this feels to me like it has been going on for a long time…like this is generational. When will it change? It will never change, and it could someday happen to your family if we don’t all come together, and demand that it change!
Our family has lived in this valley since the 70’s. This is a beautiful place, and I remember I always thought it was the perfect place to raise a family – safer than a big city, but under this beautiful face there now lies a dark secret. Very bad things have been happening in Colorado for quite some time now, and there are people that can’t afford for this to all come out. Some of it they could not contain, as when the media has taken hold of some horrid events that have happened in just the last couple of years here in Colorado – but for the sake of tourism, and the economy most things are kept under raps. Why, oh why, can’t the state enforce it’s laws, do the right thing, and go on the attack against crime? To me that seems like the best course of action. Then this beautiful state can also become the safest state – something to be proud of, instead of people referring to it as the devil with a mask of beauty covering it’s face.
Morgan loved Colorado for it’s beauty and nature. She also stayed away from certain people because they were entrenched in drugs, drama and lies, among other things. I refuse any longer to sit by and allow those people to make up lies about Morgan to protect themselves. It is time to finally go on the offensive and tell not only the truth – but the whole truth about who was involved in Morgan’s stalking and murder. Before I was waiting for another law enforcement agency to come along and look into this, but I am now tired of waiting – it has been over 6 years now! Steve and I will now through everything we can muster into getting justice for Morgan, helping others in the same situation, and making the changes we want to see made. If some people don’t like it – too bad.
We will need everyone’s help. I have realized now that when I accept others help we end up so much further along this path. I have been told that there is an army on the other side as well as an army here on earth that want to help make these changes – so here we go – the time is now!
This is exactly what I told Crime Watch Daily, “It’s not okay to blame victims, or to bully victims, they have had enough pain already. Morgan always conducted her life here on earth with grace, compassion, understanding and love…and in honor of her, we will never allow these type of people to distract us from our goal, which is, #Justice For Morgan.”
Victim-blaming can be seen as an outright attack on the victims or co-victims of a crime, or anytime someone decides to question what a victim could have done differently to prevent that crime, even if that accuser doesn’t completely grasp what he/she is doing with their actions, that person is participating, to some degree, in the culture of victim-blaming. This has been happening, not only to me and my family, but to Morgan’s good friends as well, for years now. Sometimes it has been as minor as “questioning” why we did or did not do something, and sometimes it is an outright attack of everyone that is in support of getting justice for Morgan.
Please know that everyone who knew and loved Morgan, has at one time or another, blamed themselves…they have all verbalized to me that there must have been something they could have done to help stop her stalking, or save her that night, before she lost her life. As her parents, Steve and I have agonized and asked the Universe, just like other parents who have lost their child to an unexpected violent death, why are we still alive, and she is gone?…we would rather be the ones gone, we would have given our lives in exchange for her life…but we were not given that choice. and it hurts more than words can express.
Here is another interesting reason some people may become victim blamers: “I think the biggest factor that promotes victim-blaming is something called the just world hypothesis,” says Sherry Hamby, a professor of psychology at the University of the South and founding editor of the APA’s Psychology of Violencejournal. “It’s this idea that people deserve what happens to them. There’s just a really strong need to believe that we all deserve our outcomes and consequences.” These type of people want to hold the victim and/or co-victims responsible for the consequences of the crime.
There are many reasons people engage in victim-blaming…but the reason really doesn’t matter, the fact is, victim-blaming and bullying is WRONG!
I miss our youngest daughter Morgan. I miss her every moment of every day, but out of the whole year, December is the hardest month for me. Morgan was found dead the morning of December 2, 2011, and from that moment on, my world was never the same. How could it be? It never could…a piece of my heart was forever gone.
The picture above is a happy memory for me. As you can see in the picture, Morgan had her own little fairy tree in her room. She kept in it her room all year long, not just at Christmas time. In this picture she was blowing bubbles from a bubble wand. I am so grateful that I have so many pictures of her, because my memories, and pictures of her, are all I have left, after her life was cut short, at age 20, by an obsessed, jealous stalker.
But today, on Christmas, I just want to focus on LOVE – I believe love is the most important thing in the world. Morgan taught me the meaning of unconditional love, so today I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, full of love for all.
Tomorrow, on December 2, 2017, it will have been 6 years since our daughter Morgan was murdered. I can’t even begin to explain what that feels like. Nothing in your life could ever prepare you for the day you find your child murdered. Morgan was young, healthy, and in love with life – but her life was cut short by an unspeakable acts of human cruelty.
She was stalked for four months – we were all stalking victims, even our pets, her cat, her puppy, and our dog. They all knew something was wrong, terribly wrong. We were all living through a horrific stalking, never knowing when the next fright, or shock would come. Or when you would be thrust out into the night to search vainly for the tormentor. But the rest of us were not murdered in this final act of demented fantasy – only Morgan suffered that fate. She was attacked and murdered – of that there is no question.
To lose our daughter to murder after fighting to keep her safe during those four months of stalking, became like being buried under an added layer of cruelty that was beyond comprehension. It seemed to grow over time, as acute feelings of injustice, distrust and helplessness brought its own intense pain and sorrow, all of which compounded our initial shock. And yes, there were times it took all the strength I could muster just to breathe…it hurt so much.
Tomorrow our family will light candles again for Morgan, and cry. We will hold each other close and wonder WHY…why is she not here with us? Why was her life taken from us? Why wasn’t it us instead of her? I’m sure these are all the same questions other families ask as well. All of us are forever changed because of the senseless act of evil we call murder. And no amount of justice, restitution, prayer or compassion will ever bring our loved ones back.
So tomorrow, while our family morns the loss of Morgan, please keep Morgan, and our family in your thoughts. Please remember her for who she was – not a victim of stalking or murder, but a beautiful, kind, and loving soul who graced this planet for only 20 short years.
Thank you so much for all your love and support – it means more than words could ever express.
