Tag Archives: Protecting Victims

Recent Podcast Interview – I’d Love for You to Listen

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I was recently a guest on the following podcast. Please watch it when you have a moment.

https://youtu.be/Cbcg_yv4Pa4

Host: Carol Witt – Founder @ Y.E.A. Global | Teaching Mindset & The 7 Pillars to Thrive | Coach • Trainer • Author • Podcast Host • Song Writer | In collaboration with Amir A. Abdalla—Transforming 1M Leaders by 2030

Carol wrote:

We Are Not Talking About This Enough. And It Is Costing Lives.
Last Friday on Women Empowered Across The World, we heard a story that no parent should ever have to tell.
Toni Ingram lost her daughter to stalking in 2011.
Let that sit.
Her daughter, Morgan, was not “overreacting.”
She was not “being dramatic.”
She was not “imagining it.”
She was being stalked.
And the system did not protect her in time.
Out of unimaginable grief, Toni chose purpose.
She became a victims’ advocate.
She founded MorganIngram.com, a platform dedicated to educating the public about stalking behaviors, warning signs, and victim support.
She now serves as West Coast Director for Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons, working tirelessly to improve awareness, justice system protocols, and survivor resources.
This is not a rare problem.
Stalking is often minimized.
Dismissed.
Romanticized in media.
Ignored until it escalates.
And it escalates.
Toni shared realities most people do not understand:
• Stalking is patterned, obsessive behavior — not “harmless attention.”
• Victims often struggle to be believed.
• Law enforcement systems are not always connected across jurisdictions.
• Safe homes often do not accommodate pets — forcing victims to choose between safety and leaving their animals behind.
• Education is severely lacking for youth and adults alike.
We talk about empowerment.
We talk about leadership.
We talk about boldness.
But empowerment without safety is incomplete.
If your daughter says she is scared — believe her.
If your friend says someone won’t stop contacting them — take it seriously.
If you are in leadership — advocate for stronger policies and awareness programs.
We need:
✔ National databases that connect stalking incidents
✔ Education in schools about stalking behaviors
✔ Better cross-agency communication
✔ Expanded safe housing resources
✔ Community awareness campaigns
This is not just a legal issue.
It is a cultural issue.
And culture changes when leaders speak.
Toni’s courage to relive her loss publicly is not for attention — it is for prevention.
She does not want another mother to stand where she stands.
This post is not meant to be comfortable.
It is meant to wake you up.
Stalking is real.
It is escalating.
It is deadly.
And ignoring it does not make it disappear.
If this message moves you:
Share it.
Talk about it.
Educate your children.
Support advocacy organizations.
Demand better systems.
Awareness saves lives. Please watch this episode and share it with everyone
https://lnkd.in/ens8itPF

Check our playlist of over 130 inspiring stories
https://lnkd.in/emvYdvsM

Hosts: Carol Witt, Jaclyn Zoccoli, Meg Grett-Pratt, Pat Tracy

Chilling Memories…

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darkstopsign

Have you ever walked into a hardware store – something like a Home Depot or Lowes, and as you walk down one of their aisles a motion detector alarm sounds?  I know they use them to get people’s attention so they might become interested in purchasing them. But if you have ever survived a stalking, or if you are ever in the midst of an ongoing stalking, and you had or have motion detector alarms you understand the sudden momentary fear your body feels when you hear that sound.  It still happens…you can’t forget it.

Small things like this bring back chilling memories.  When we first installed the motion detectors and motion lights we would get a surge of adrenaline when we heard them go off.  Our protection protocol would kick in, and Steve would run out the door of the house armed with whatever we he had decided to use at the time, and I would run to the cameras to see if I could “see” the stalker(s) on the camera.  Then if these sounds came in conjunction with tapping or banging on our windows, or actually seeing someone through the window, or even images on the camera, we would call it in to the sheriffs.  Then ~ 30 to 45 minutes later patrol officers would show up to search and interview us…the lack of sleep was taking it’s toll.

After Morgan’s murder whenever I would hear the sound of those alarms I would instinctively react to them. I am flooded with all the same horrible feelings of anger, worry, fear, and foreboding…the same feelings that I felt during Morgan’s stalking – all those feelings come flooding back.  I hope someday I no longer instinctively react to this sound, but for now I try to avoid places where I may hear it.

I know this is just one small little thing…hearing a motion alarm, but all the small little things that have no meaning to others that have never been a victim of stalking are really big things to a victim of stalking.

Stalking is serious.  Stalking takes an emotional toll on it’s victims.  Still, stalking is the most under-reported crime currently, just one-third to one-half of stalking cases are reported to authorities because victims are often afraid of angering their stalkers and making the situation worse – I know this was a fear that both Morgan and I both expressed at varying times during her stalking. Victims also tend to believe that the police are unable to help, because an estimated 40 percent of all restraining orders are violated and this is something that so many victims have written in to tell me.

Stalking: A Handbook for Vicitms by Emily Spence-Diehl offers a lot of good information for victims.

 

 

The Holly Moore Case…

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holly moore

Below is a link to the Crime Watch Daily video report on the Holly Moore case, out of Castle Rock, CO.  19 year old Holly’s manner of death, yet another young woman like Morgan, was not properly investigated, nor was the evidence properly tested so her official manner of death has been deemed a suicide instead of a homicide.  I have posted about this case before.  This case reminds me so much of Morgan’s case.  Why do some coroner’s in Colorado, like in Morgan’s case, stand by the wrong manner of death in a case that has strong evidence that it was a capital crime? It makes no sense to me.  The coroner in Holly’s case, just as in Morgan’s case, is not a doctor, he had someone else do the autopsy.  Things that should have been tested were not.  Other strong experts brought in by the family proved there was evidence this was most likely a murder and yet the coroner would not change their ruling…this is so very wrong!!!

At least in Holly’s case the pressure brought by her family has finally resulted in the police chief turning the case over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.  Please watch this updated information about the Holly Moore case.

Was it Suicide? Or Murder? The Mysterious Death of a Colorado Teen – Crime Watch Daily

http://crimewatchdaily.com/videos/0-brm3bnyr/

 

 

Stalkers Never Stop…

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I recently read this article that was emailed to me.  It caught my eye for obvious reasons…it was about a speech given by Rhonda Saunders, from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office Stalking & Threat Assessment Team & Los Angeles Stalking Task Force.

She warned the CLU audience, “One thing I know about stalkers is they never stop.”

As part of the educational process, as well as raising awareness about the seriousness and dangers of stalking, I wanted to share this article with you.  I agree with Saunders 100% – she said:

“What these stalkers do is destroy any sense of security,” she said.

“It’s a crime of mental terrorism.”

Unless you have been a victim of stalking you would have a hard time understanding the damage that occurs.  I hope you never are a victim of stalking, but I know many of you that are reading this have been, or currently are victims of stalking, and if so you know exactly what she means. You are always looking over your shoulder, you don’t know where to turn, you wonder when the moment will arrive when something terrible will happen and you may not see it coming…it is mental terrorism!

Stalking is the most under reported crime in the US at this time.

60 percent don’t report it.

“Either they feel embarrassed or they feel like, ‘I can handle this,’ ” Saunders said.

Here is the link to the article http://www.vcstar.com/news/one-thing-i-know-about-stalkers-is-they-never-stop-expert-warns-clu-audience-ep-364292849-352257781.html

Missing Morgan Every Minute of Every Day…

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Morgan picture copy