“Never doubt, that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
Morgan made these little figures – she would bring them onto the counter top and photograph them at different times. Love!
Morgan seems to be asking why?
I sat and read a law, not my favorite pastime, but sometimes you have to in order to feel like you really know it. When I came across the “It’s really a felony stalking case” note in my timeline, I showed it to Steve. He did the math, and said eighty- five days… unbelievable!
So, from the Colorado Revised Statutes I have this to present and the bolding is added by me, to just the parts I thought were important. But by all means read the whole thing if you are in Colorado:
CRS
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.
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.
I read it three times now and I don’t see one word about waiting 1 day, let alone 85 days, if you do please let me know. In fact on the contrary I see words like “seriousness” and “effective intervention” and then the real zinger, “escalate into behavior that has even more serious consequences”. Morgan’s death was certainly an even more serious consequence. How much more serious could it have been? If the general assembly of the State of Colorado can see the connection between stalking and serious consequence, how come the Garfield Sheriff’s department can’t. It was a “mystery” the day she was killed and it never changed. A mystery? After 121 days of stalking? Read it as I might I just don’t see those words in there. I just don’t think what was allowed to happen to Morgan was what the General Assembly had in mind when they drafted this law. So if they did not, then who did?
I miss you rocks on a camping trip
In case the good news slipped under the radar, on the 56th day of the stalking, Morgan’s case was confirmed to be a felony stalking case. It was 56 days, and it was finally a felony stalking case. Fifty-six days! I have read the Colorado Revised Statutes twice, and I don’t see any time restriction, law enforcement does not even have to wait one day. The US Department of Justice says, “Stalking is a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.
Morgan felt fear from day two. Steve and I felt fear as well – fear for our daughter’s safety, fear of the unknown. All of our lives were turned upside down…this had been 56 days of REPEATED harassment, unwanted surveillance, tresspass, and attacks. The stress we were all under was unbelievable. I have posted – just when does stalking become stalking? Today to answer this question, again, it is a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. I would also further like to point out – this is why I believe anti-stalking laws have to become stricter. It’s one thing to have anti-stalking laws on the books, but it’s another to have those laws enforced, because if locally they are not taken seriously, stalking can become lethal.
At 11:59 pm a rock hit Morgan’s window, and startled her from bed. Earlier today Steve went outside with a new BB gun, and using plastic bullets to try to approximate the noise Morgan had been hearing on her windows up till tonight. This was much louder and more upsetting for Morgan.
I sent the detective an email about the incident, which had been caught on the video cameras in the driveway. He said he is interested to see it next time he is at our house. I didn’t tell him about the rock incident, as it had to wait until he got back anyway.
Today is October 15, 2012 – And yesterday’s blog was such a perfect example of what I mean about protocol, and laws changing in stalking that I could not pass it up. Yesterday on the blog, I posted a film clip of a stalker in the driveway. A strange man doing something nefarious, and I say this because who else would be out in our driveway at 11:30 pm at night crouched behind my car in the driving rain? And how often would evidence like this be available in a stalking case?
Our sheriff, Lou Vallario has gone on TV and said they were out at our house over 50 times and never saw any sign of a stalker. His detectives saw this video clip on my computer (and it was very clearly a picture of a male popping up from behind the LR3 into a standing position and running across the driveway to the bushes for cover as our new neighbor Matt drives up the street), and if that is not a sign of a stalker then just what is? The stalkers don’t come to the front door, and politely request a sign in sheet saying they were there, not our stalker anyway. Our stalker actually did whatever it took to not be caught in the act – is this a shock to anyone? In this particular clip we caught him because a neighbor happened to drive up the street while he was hiding behind my car. If he comes toward the house between the truck and the car then the alarm goes off, the stalker knows this. He had one way to go – no other way, and he took it.
Lucky for the stalker, Matt did not see him. Or would that have mattered? Say Matt saw him and told the detectives he had seen a man leaving our driveway, and hiding in our bushes, would they have arrested someone? NO! Would they have gone and questioned someone? NO! Based on past reactions to far greater evidence, there would have been no response at all. Just like there was on October 19th when Morgan was followed home in her car. Morgan was frightened and frustrated. She was beginning to lose all faith in the sheriff department’s ability to protect her, or catch her stalker at this time. And looking back wasn’t she 100% right? They never caught her stalker, and they were not able to protect her. They managed a very pathetic murder scene investigation, which they instantly saw as absolutely unrelated to her ongoing stalking. 100 pages of gross incompetence reports later and what crime, there was no crime here, no stalking, no murder…who really believes that?
Interestingly enough the volunteered votes to convict so far on the blog, if those chiming in were on a jury, and had to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the prime suspect Keenan, is, so far, 100% guilty – based only on the blog to date. And trust me you have not seen the really damning stuff yet. 100% guilt and the sheriffs department has closed the stalking investigation, and the pathologist carried through on his threat, and changed Morgan’s death from natural causes to a suicide, after nine months with no new evidence. Steve and I were dismayed when the sheriffs indicated that they were 100% certain Keenan was the stalker, because we were far more convinced that Keenan was acting as part of a gang and there were others involved. We believed there were at least one other, and maybe two other participants at the time. Now we believe there were at least four participants in total and perhaps as many as five. And the sheriffs department has dropped the case, felony stalking one day – next day, no stalking, and what changed? NOTHING! We believed in the system and what happened – so far there has been no justice for Morgan – people responsible are still out on the streets to go do this again to someone else’s daughter and until changes are made this will just repeat itself over and over again.
Oh, Morgan died, was killed, or committed suicide, that has changed. But does any of that mean she was not stalked? I think not, not at all. Steve and I spent over four hours this weekend listening to interpretations of the crime that could lead to a correct manner of death as suicide. Steve and I said nothing, just listened, and not one person thought this was even a POTENTIAL suicide. Not one. And what if it were a suicide? What if the fear of her stalker drove her to that, how come nobody even wants to mention that as a possibility. Steve and I are 100% certain it was not a suicide for many reasons that will be shared with you over the next few weeks. Then you too can decide for yourself. Just remember, anyone who still votes for suicide will have to answer the question if it could have been caused by her stalker. And we have not even raised the reason for her death that medical minds thought was most likely, before we found the massive dose of amitriptyline, and before we later found the components of a date rape cocktail. So answer me this, because I’m her mom, and I don’t get a vote:
What if your daughter was murdered and no one cared? What would you do? Could this possibly get any more pathetic? Of course it can, it is Garfield County isn’t it?
Click here to read about the 87th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=1828
On October 20 at 10:17 pm Elliott, our neighbor across the street, sends me a text, “walking dogs now.” He told me earlier that he wanted to be sure we did not catch him on camera, and think he was the stalker, and then call it in. Now Steve is surprised by something about the cameras. If he changes where they point, and aims them closer to the house, there is not much difference. But when he aims them far away from the house they seem very capable of capturing decent images far beyond their stated 20 meters of “vision.”
Steve wants me never to mention to anyone what exactly what is seen, or not seen on the video system. He thinks whoever the stalker is, is innocently asking everyone, and good gossip is in high demand right now. I agree, and am very careful to be intentionally vague about what exactly is being seen, and recorded by the cameras.
I do wish the detectives would take this stalking case more seriously. Whenever I call now that we have detectives assigned to the case it seems like if we have a video of the incident that just happened then any kind of follow up can wait. That was not the idea, we thought the cameras might reinforce some intelligence that had been gathered by the Garfield Sheriffs department, not become a replacement for officers on the ground. We had lots of video of strange things happening at night around this “quiet” neighborhood. And there was plenty more to come.
Wylah ready to go with Mr. squeakers
On the 21st Morgan was packing in the morning, we were babysitting her puppy, and after school she picked up her friends, and left to work at a military retreat. Armed forces returning from oversees were availing themselves to rebuilding opportunities while Morgan was a part of the group that helped the process by making sure their children were happily entertained. Morgan was very proud to be doing this. She was gaining a new respect for the pressure put on families of service men, and women and she was quick to shares stories with me, after a weekend like this.
I was also hoping she would leave behind her own problems with her stalker back home, and this weekend could be a good weekend for her.
On the 23rd Detectives Glassmire and Alstatt came over for a meeting. They checked their wildlife cameras, and found nothing – I told them that as usual, when Morgan was away, there was not much activity. We gave Detective Glassmire a thumb drive with the latest videos on it, and Steve set up a drop box on the Internet so he could constantly update video as it happened.
Glassmire was hoping for some way that we could capture a video with a face clear enough for a positive ID (which to me sounded a little crazy as Morgan already believed Keenan as her stalker), while Steve was hopeful, but uncertain that we could manage this feat. The stalker had to go along for this to happen. Give up his caution for a day of two and walk right up to one of the cameras, and we didn’t think that would happen.
We all spent a lot of time going over the video of person in the driveway. When Steve held up a photo of Keenan and his car everyone agreed the car was as close of a match as you get, but this is where we differed…Detective Glassmire was certain it was Keenan in the driveway, as was Morgan and I. But Steve thought maybe it was not, maybe he was someone close, but not Keenan. I think Steve was thinking it was a friend of Keenan’s, driving Keenan’s car, trying to divert the attention away from Keenan. Steve did believe, as did the rest of us, that the car was Keenan’s car. We did the research, and that was the only car with that exact grill and emblem. Detective Glassmire was going to have a specialist in the department look at the video, and see what he could do with it. We were happy with that, and after going over the latest gossip of the neighborhood the detectives left.
Later in the night, on Sunday, Morgan came home from her weekend, tired and happy…
Today is October 13, 2012 – That night, last year, was such a perfect example of why this year is so frustrating for Steve and I. After her weekend with the children, they all wrote a little something to Morgan. Of how happy she had made them, of how they loved coloring with her, or how she was such a good big sister, and of how they hoped to meet her again someday. They were all beautifully misspelled in crayon, on pieces of torn paper, and Morgan could vividly explain to us every little girl who had written the notes. How the writer thought or felt, of some very special quality she had found so amazing. All the little notes are in a zip lock bag now, and they remind Steve, and I of just who Morgan was, how she really was. There are so many reminders she has left. They will never be the same as having Morgan, but they help us never waver from those who would like us to forget this travesty of justice. We want #Justice4Morgan!
Click here to read about the 85th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=1758
Morgan in the rear view mirror, looking for a picture
In the early afternoon I leave a message for Detective Glassmire that I would like him to see the videos. Morgan is so very upset. It’s worse now because she had just enough time to feel like her life was going back to “normal” and just as soon as she was feeling pretty good about it the stalker managed to rip it out from under her. She is more shaken up today then she was last night.
I am confident she will recover, that she was just caught off guard last night, and now will not make that mistake again.
Elliott calls to see what has happened about the car, and who the detectives think it could be. I tell him instead of waiting for the detective I have called every possible delivery place and none of them had a delivery anywhere in the neighborhood last night. I tell him I am going to ask the detective to canvass the street, because that should really be his job. It’s just not the same if I do it. Elliott tells me not to worry, there are only seven people on the street and he has already asked them all. Not only no deliveries, no one was even expecting someone for anything last night. I tell Elliott we should have waited for the detective, he might have wanted to ask something else, even though I am happy that he has done this. Steve would have probably done it when he got home anyway.
Detective Glassmire calls back and tells me he won’t have time to follow up on the car in the driveway until one of his shifts next week. I am upset, and remind him it was not just a car, which was in the driveway twice, up and down the street, and in our neighbor’s driveway at least once. It was really the person that I wanted him to follow up on right away.
Detective Glassmire explains that there isn’t much he can do right away, and as long as we have it all on video we should not worry. Then I told him that Elliott had asked every person on the street about a delivery person, and there was none, and I have called every delivery place myself, and there were none last night. Detective Glassmire is happy we have followed up on everything for him. I ask him if I should email him the information, and he says no that he will just pick it up from me next time he is down.
At 6:34 pm I forwarded a text to Morgan that I just received from Leesa of Odin eating a chocolate pretzel, “Odin likes chocolate,” I tell her.
Morgan’s little nephew eating chocolate
Morgan answers, “I just screeched like a small child!!” So Cute”. She answers. “That’s what I thought.” I tell her. Morgan wants me to get out the guest bedding for her, which means she thinks Wylah may have had a little accident on her blanket. I already smelled it and washed everything. I tell her that, and that I will get out some guest bedding for her anyway. “You Rock.” Morgan tells me.
She comes home at around 9:30 pm and we all go to sleep early. Last night Steve and I were up very late going over the video, and I’m sure Morgan did not sleep too well either. At least I don’t see how she could have.
During the night Steve work up, and could not go back to sleep, so he reviewed video and now saw this person at 11:19 pm out in the street. This is the camera that catches Morgan’s bathroom windows on down to the corner of the house. This male walks by our house and then can be seen running back by a few minutes later. He could easily be the stalker. Steve goes out and walks the neighborhood after seeing this to check about a half hour after it happened, and reports that the front window light in Brooke’s dad’s house is on. He is pretty certain that is Brooke’s bedroom because he has been in a similar house in the neighborhood.
Here is the person – tell us what you think…https://vimeo.com/51308867
Male walking by house then running back at 11:30 pm from Morgan’s Stalking on Vimeo.
Click here to read about the 80th – the 84th days of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=1743