“IT WILL REMAIN CLOSED” – Not in a capital murder case it won’t!

lies-politics

 

In September of 2012 Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario told CBS4 News, on camera, that his department spent a lot of time working on the case (referring to Morgan’s case), and that it will remain closed.  I asked everyone back then, and I will ask it again now – how can a sheriff say that a case will remain closed when it was a suspicious death, involving a felony stalking victim, and where there was plenty of evidence of foul play?” I also asked the question, “Even if there is incompetence in the sheriff’s department, how can a sheriff make that statement when they are supposed to always review new evidence that surfaces in a suspicious death that is a possible homicide?”  Well I guess this sheriff feels he can…

Oh, and remember when it comes to a homicide there is no statute of limitation on murder.  And yet, it is interesting that I keep getting emails from anonymous sources that keep telling me to give it up, because the statute of limitation is over…who do you think is making these kind of comments?

Maybe it’s just me, but back in September of 2012 when I heard those words coming from the sheriff I wondered what was really behind that statement.  I truly believe Colorado cares and most law enforcement officers in Colorado are honest, hardworking, and deserving of our trust, but when a few ruin it for the others, not only does the public lose out, but so do all the really good law enforcement officers, and that is just not right.  If one breaks rank and stands up for the truth, because it’s the right thing to do, he or she may lose their job, and in this economy sometimes that is just not an option, and good officers should never be placed in this situation.  BUT standing up for the truth and suffering from what comes from being a good person yourself, actually gives you more opportunities, more respect, and better futures await…it’s just hard to see it at the time, but good officers should never be placed in this situation in the first place.  And maybe it’s just the way my mind works, but I think this is one of the biggest problems that faces our country today – the public loses trust and respect for law enforcement all because of a few bad officers or an unethical person at the top of command, and then all the good officers pay the price.  This is not only wrong, but it needs to stop.  How can it stop?  When officers, elected officials, and citizens say enough is enough – there needs to be transparency, there needs to be accountability, honest officers, and officers that stand up for the truth need to be praised, not fired.

You can listen to the interview by clicking on this link:

CBS News 4 – Parents Say Daughter Was Murdered

On this interview Sheriff Vallario said, “Not enough facts”

He also said his officers were out at our house over 50 times and saw no sign of a stalker – wow, is all I can say about that.  Is he trying to convince everyone that his officers are completely incompetent?  Or does he believe the general public will believe just about anything he tries to float?   It’s true – Morgan’s stalker did not sit on the front lawn and wait for the sheriffs to get there…is that really something a stalker does?  Does law enforcement generally “see” the stalker while the incident is occurring?  I doubt it.

But as far as evidence of the stalker goes, they had a huge amount of evidence, and the sheriffs know it.  We supplied them with photos, video, personal statements of sitings, and much more.  Morgan identified her stalker.  I saw the stalker.  Other people heard the stalker bang on Morgan’s window in the middle of the night (but I am not about to give away the names of those witnesses here on this blog).  The sheriffs had a timeline of most of the incidents, they assigned a detective to Morgan’s case, and classified it as a felony stalking case.  They knew who the main suspect was, as well as his accomplice, the names were written up in the reports (stating ‘suspect’ many times), there was even a flyer produced by the detective in Morgan’s case that was distributed to all the patrol officers as well as Carbondale police.  They produced posters with the suspects picture, as well as a picture of his car, to hand out to all the officers so they could be on the lookout.  The suspect was referred to over 60 times in the sheriffs reports, and he was interviewed by them.  The suspects work hours were requested, but not picked up until months after Morgan’s murder.

The suspect and his accomplice were never “cleared” of the crime.  He never took a polygraph test.  His shoes were never turned over to the sheriff’s, in fact after an eyewitness stated he saw the suspect wearing shoes that might have matched the footprints that were found under Morgan’s windows, the detective went to the suspect’s place of business to speak with the suspect, and I was then informed that the suspect was wearing black leather shoes, not purple entries, to which I replied, “Don’t you think he might own more than one pair of shoes, and maybe, just maybe the dress code at work doesn’t allow him to wear purple tennis shoes?”  Call me crazy, but I don’t think you have to be a detective to figure that one out.

The sheriffs detected deceit in the accomplice & suspect’s answers, but never followed through on proving the deceit.  We were told by the lead detective that if someone lies to him there is nothing he can do about it…does Sheriff Lou Vallario really believe that criminals just blurt out their guilt when asked?  Call me crazy again, but I think most criminals never really admit they are guilty…most are sociopaths & psychopaths believe law enforcement, as well as everyone else on this planet, are completely clueless – sociopaths & psychopaths think they are the only ones that are smart, and they think they can fool anyone.  So as far as not enough facts – how many “facts” would have been enough?

Then Vallario went on to say there was no suspicion, and no probable cause of a suspect. That is absolutely false.  They knew who Morgan’s stalker was, as well as the identity of his accomplice.  The lead detective in Morgan’s felony stalking case, just 2 days before her murder, stated that he felt he was very close to making an arrest and that if anything he believed her stalker would escalate his behavior…if you were Morgan’s mom how would you have reacted to that statement?  I was petrified.  Morgan was frightened as well, and that same night (Tuesday night, November 29th) was one of only two nights that week that her ex-boyfriend did not sleep over on the couch.  The only other night he didn’t sleep over (Thursday night, December 1st) was the night she was murdered.  She tried to have him sleep over every night that week, but that Tuesday night (November 29th) he couldn’t come home with her to sleep over so she came home by herself, earlier than usual, spent some time with Steve and I and then tried to get some sleep.  We were all so exhausted we didn’t even realize the sheriffs were called to our next door neighbor’s house because they had been robbed.  Yes, robbed – sometime before midnight that same night.

Then around 12:40 am (it was now technically Wednesday am on the 30th) Morgan came into my bedroom.  She was dressed in regular clothes and had her puppy on the leash, keys in hand, and she woke me up.  She said the stalker has been banging on her window for 15 minutes and she couldn’t sleep, every time she went to sleep he would wake her up, she was afraid, and wanted to leave and go to her friend’s grandma’s house to feel safe and get some sleep.  She asked if I could walk her out to the car.  (I shouldn’t have to explain this, but I will – she never left the house after dark without Steve or I walking with her because she was scared for her life – she had a stalker!  Also please note…most stalking incidents do happen at your place of residence.  Sure stalkers follow you, but from all the stalking incidents around the world that I have read about, and all the victims I have interviewed I would have to say 90% of all incidents at least, evolve around their home.

So I jumped out of bed, put on a robe and walked her out to the car.  Watched her lock the doors, drive out of the driveway, and made sure another car wasn’t following her.  I then went in the house and called sheriff’s dispatch.  Morgan sent me a text when she was safely locked in her friend’s grandma’s house.

I was on the phone with a deputy explaining what had just happened.  He said they had just been at our next door neighbors house investigating a robbery and just returned to Rifle so it was going to take them a long time to get back to our house.  We were used to this – most times there was not a quick response to an incident of stalking.  About an hour later an officer walked up to Morgan’s window and shined his flashlight around on the ground.  The officer would travel on foot from the back of the house to the front of the house all on the side of Morgan’s bedroom, this was a typical response.  How this would ever have a positive outcome on “seeing” or “catching” a stalker is beyond me.  Especially since her stalker was sitting up on our roof undetected laughing at the sheriffs.

Deputy responding to stalking incident

Vallario then repeated what his officers said the morning of Morgan’s death that there were, “no signs of foul play, no trauma, no sexual assault,” but what he left out was his officers also said there was no sign of suicide.  We were blessed with many medical, criminal and forensic experts that reviewed Morgan’s case pro bono and disagreed with the sheriff & coroner.  These experts, not us, said Morgan did not die of natural causes, the evidence pointed to foul play and her case needed an investigation.  When these experts told the forensic pathologist the coroner changed her manner of death to suicide.  Trying once again to get us to “back off.”  It wasn’t obvious to us back then because of the shock and grief we were dealing with, but to other experts it was obvious that something was very wrong with how Garfield County was treating Morgan’s death.  From the very morning of her death they were trying to get us to stop asking questions.  That would have been a much easier path for us to take…we didn’t want to imagine that her stalker got into our house and murdered Morgan, but it did happen and pretending it didn’t wasn’t something we could do once the evidence started to be revealed.   What they were trying to convince us wasn’t the truth, they just wanted us to believe what they “needed” us to believe, but the things they were saying didn’t add up and when we wouldn’t stop asking questions, I was threatened, and when that didn’t stop me from asking questions they changed her manner of death to a suicide with absolutely no evidence, but this was just another way to keep her case from being investigated.

Contrary to what Vallario said, not only were there signs of foul play, trauma and a possible sexual assault…all this evidence was there the very morning of Morgan’s death.  The sheriffs and deputy coroner saw all of it – of that I am positive.  So once again, did they follow the evidence and let it lead them to a conclusion, or did they have a big giant broom to sweep it all under the first rug they could find?  And why?  We believe now we know the  why.

Have any of you been reading about the Ashley Fallis case out of Evans, CO?  Ashley was murdered exactly one day short of the one month anniversary of Morgan’s murder.  The coroner in Ashley’s case put down suicide, but it wasn’t – it was murder.  Almost 4 years later Ashley’s family has fought and been able to see Ashley’s murderer arrested and awaiting trial BUT there is more, they allege a cover-up by law enforcement and the truth is finally coming out…read about it here: http://www.westword.com/news/update-deputy-on-leave-after-new-cover-up-charges-in-ashley-fallis-murder-6623746

And to my utter dismay this type of cover-up in Colorado is not exclusive to Morgan or Ashley – I believe it has been going on for a long time and because of Colorado’s antiquated coroner’s system and home rule it is allowed to happen.  Here is a current case that I just read about in the news in Colorado http://kdvr.com/2015/11/12/investigation-castle-rock-family-seeks-justice-for-holly/  So what good are crime statistics when young men and women can be murdered, but then written down as suicide or accidental deaths?  The fact is that in Colorado if someone is listed as a homicide then after 2 years the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is allowed to investigate as it is considered a cold case, but if they are never listed as a homicide (as in Morgan’s case) then they are never allowed to be investigated by the CBI.  In Morgan’s case the CBI has offered to come in, multiple times, to investigate (at no cost to the county), and they have been turned away by Vallario – why?

I believe that Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario does not want ANY crimes against women investigated – not just Morgan, but all women of Garfield County are included in this group.  I have spoken with too many others in Garfield to know that this is a reality in Garfield County, and I am sure many more will continue to contact me through this website.  I don’t understand how women’s rights could have fallen so far that women have no rights when it comes to Garfield County – are women just desposable?  What does the rest of the country have to say about this?

These are the battles we as women need to fight in order to keep equality and our lives. It’s not just compensation in the workplace, it is also equality as a human being.  Everyone, no matter what your gender, color, ethnic background, or religious belief, every human life is important and deserves to be treated equally.  We can not turn a blind eye when it comes to things like this.  The sheriff is an elected official – I would think that women who care about their rights would not want to see this kind of elected official in their own county.

The hardest part of this for me has been the harsh reality that we have been deceived, and our daughter’s murder was, and is being covered up, and it is beyond devestating.  I have been proud of my family members that have had careers in law enforcement, and Steve and I have both helped law enforcement over the years, and still do.

I have always had a great deal of admiration & respect for law enforcement, but I don’t envy them.  I feel sorry on some level because just like in all walks of life there are good ones, and unfortunately some bad ones.  And when the bad ones make it into a supervisory position or actually run the department then it gets really bad for the good cops.  Good cops get involved because they truly care. They are optimistic and they have passion. Once they get in a department that may not really be looking to protect and serve, it seems like they are beat down. They can’t walk down the street without noticing the fear and distrust in people’s eyes.  The only way I can see the trust and faith towards law enforcement come back to people is to demand full transparency.  Support officers that come forward with the truth instead of allowing them to be fired.  Give the good officers support from the state and make accountability a priority.  For me, seeing a few bad officers, or officials ruin the credibility and trust of the majority of law enforcement, is just not right.  It should not be like this.  This country needs law enforcement to regain the trust of the people, and in my opinion the best way to do that is to make sure there is accountability.  Officers that break the law (just like anyone) should be accountable for their crimes.  This will not only help them to regain the trust of the citizens of the U.S. but it will also help honest and caring law enforcement agents. They will no longer need to fear the loss of their own jobs if they come forward about another officer that broke the law.  It would be the taking down of the big blue wall.  It would be a win-win for everyone. Just a thought, but one can hope don’t you think?

 “For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.” ~ Millard Fuller

A little brightness of the world - captured by Morgan Jennifer

A little brightness of the world – captured by Morgan Jennifer

 

 

Please Share…Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers on Facebook

heartwood_2Please share this link. Morgan’s reward poster is the first one as you scroll down their page. Thank you all so much for all your efforts in helping Morgan find justice!

http://www.nococrimestoppers.com/?page_id=18

Colorado does care…why?  Because it’s the right thing to do.  There are people in Colorado that really care and are trying to help.  We are extremely grateful for all of their help.  LOVE to all.

Another story to share…

Kathy is a survivor of domestic violence from SOAR, Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships. In the link below you will see a video that premiered during Financial Literacy Month, Kathy pays it forward so that they can create a Rhode Island where domestic violence does not exist. ‪#‎PreventDV‬

This would also be considered stalking…another violent and controlling form of stalking. Just because she once dated him doesn’t change the fact that he stalked and abused her. It is horrible and happens all too often. Kathy is extremely lucky she had such a wonderful family and support system.  Remember to always listen to the victim – try to help.  The victim is NEVER to blame – it is the criminal that is to blame. And Kathy is right…together we can change the odds. Share your story.

Revenge Stalking…

youshouldknowAnother current victim of stalking recently posted on Morgan’s Stalking Facebook page.  She has been experiencing a horrific revenge stalking.  She said she is working with the authorities and task force, but doesn’t really know whether they completely get it.  It is hard for even the professionals to understand the different kinds of stalking, and even harder to know what to do about it.  I believe there needs to be more training and education for law enforcement because stalking is a very dangerous crime that happens everywhere, and seems to be getting worse every year.
I also believe that awareness of all the different stalking situations, and knowing what others have endured is a really good thing to understand.  The more you know the better you can protect yourself, and your loved ones.  From the bottom of my heart I wish I had known more about stalking, and the different typologies of stalkers, in order to save Morgan.  If I had known then what I know now I still may not have been able to save her, but I think I would have had a much better chance.
On another note I want to address the fact that there are still so many ignorant people on the internet – people that did not know Morgan, or me, or any of the actual facts of her case, but proclaim to know everything.  They write that they think I was overbearing, and that Morgan wasn’t stalked, she was only depressed, and killed herself.  When I hear this, not only do I think this type of ignorance is exactly like those people in the past that used to say victims of rape had it coming, because they wore too short a skirt, or they had on too much make-up, but I also wonder if these type of people are the ones that secretly condone violence against women?  I couldn’t understand back then how people could be so cruel or ignorant, and now years later when I hear or read these words, I now understand that those type of people do still exist…and I feel very sorry for them.  They are so very wrong.  They do a disservice to rape victims, stalking victims, and all victims – victims that did nothing wrong – it is the criminal, the perpetrator that has done the wrong thing, not the victim.
What these people say is not only wrong, but rediculous.  It is completely the opposite of Morgan’s situation.  Morgan was a free spirit – all her friends that really knew her would tell you so.  She always came and went as she wanted.  She always did things because it made her happy – never to make someone else happy.  Morgan understood that in life if you are happy then you can help others be happy – just with a smile. 🙂
Every human being on this earth is different, and when you are blessed with a child like Morgan you can never become overbearing, you do not argue loudly, or fight with them – not only would it break your heart to treat someone like Morgan in that manner, but a free spirit that knows right from wrong, and has a strong sense of herself, would never put up with that type of treatment.  I will agree all day long that after I found out that Morgan was being stalked I thought I was being overprotective, and now I will tell you that I wasn’t protective enough…my daughter was murdered and I couldn’t save her.
Unlike Morgan’s older siblings, cousin and various hockey boys that lived with us over the years, Morgan was not into the normal teenage drama, or materialistic trappings, Morgan was just Morgan.  Kind, sweet, sensitive, and adored by everyone, especially by her father and I.  More than most people she understood how important it was to show people kindness, and love on a daily basis.  I was extremely blessed to have her as my daughter.  She would randomly tell me that she loved me.  It was so sweet to go on errands with Morgan, listen to her explain to me about a letter she was composing to an ex-boyfriend, and then just look at me and say, “I love you mom.”  Even though she was 20 years old she would still just grab my hand and squeeze it, without looking at me, just like when she was a little girl…it was our way to say, “I love you” without saying it out loud in front of other people.  I know it’s hard to understand, but even now, 3 + years after she was stolen from our lives, I will drive around doing errands and when I park my car I look over into the passenger seat, and feel that she is still there – I hold out my hand, and wish I could feel her squeeze it.  The tears start to roll down my checks, and I brush them away, and look out the car window wondering if everyone is looking at the tears rolling down my face.
Morgan was my best friend.  She asked to go on vacations, and road trips with her father and I even though she was over 18, and had no reason to do so.  She said it was because she always had so much fun with us, we would sing and crack jokes in the car on long road trips, always with a new place and a new adventure to look forward to.  Morgan even brought friends along on many trips and her friends had a blast with us as well.  But it was a mutual feeling – Steve and I loved having Morgan with us, along with her friends.  For some reason it always gave us ideas for even more exciting first-time places to go visit with different things to see.  Her friends are still such a wonderful part of our lives – they are great people, they miss Morgan, and always keep in touch, just to let Steve and I know about the important moments they are experiencing in their lives.  I really appreciate this as it helps me feel like Morgan is still involved in moving forward with all her friends.
Morgan was not depressed – Morgan was a victim of stalking.  Morgan did not commit suicide.  And I am not an overly grieving mother that can not accept that my daughter committed suicide.  I am a mother that lived through the horrific events of my youngest daughter’s stalking, and got to see it up close and personal.  Morgan was a victim of felony stalking and she was murdered by her stalker.  This was only days before she was scheduled to be interviewed, on camera to give her statement about her stalker, after 4 months of being terrified.  The doors were closing in on her stalker, and he decided to end her life. The really scary part that others need to realize is if your stalker can kill you in order to shut you up, and the people entrusted with stopping the criminal can just sweep your murder under the rug, and refuse to investigate, then we are all in danger…if criminals can just kill off their victim so they can never testify against them then these murderers remain free to continue their reign of terror!
In Morgan’s case the evidence ALL points to foul play – it all points to who killed her, and the truth will come out.  Crucial and critical evidence has been seen, and Morgan is not the only case that is really a murder that has been written off as a suicide.  Obviously these people on the internet that try to paint Morgan as something she was not have their own agenda and don’t understand (or don’t want to understand) what it is like to be a victim of stalking.  That is one of the big reasons for this blog.  I have been trying to raise awareness about stalking and what a life-changing and devastating ordeal it is to be, or have been, stalked.
So please take the time to really and truly be informed about the truths of stalking.  It may save your life, or someone’s life that you love.
The woman that I started out writing about on this post also wrote the following to me:

Please know I am so, so sorry about Morgan. I’ve read your entire blog. I weep with you in your loss of such a remarkable woman. I feel as if I know you and your family, and her, too. (((HUGS))) God bless you. Thank you for reaching out and sharing her – and your – story. Her story does help all of us stalking survivors be more aware of how terribly destructive stalking is and can be.

It seems that these predators are hellbent on preying on kind, giving women. Mine is an obvious psychopath/sadist, and has a group of people that help him in his “cause”. No one expects that anything so horrific can happen… Unfortunately, this is the 2nd time I’ve been stalked. This time it is far, far worse. The stalking laws are just not harsh enough…

A D.J. is Stalked…in Minneapolis

Ferris Wheel in Santa Monica - Morgan took this picture in July of 2011 just before she went home in August when her stalking started

Ferris Wheel in Santa Monica – Morgan took this picture in July of 2011 just before she went home in August when her stalking started

This comment was sent to me by one of the readers of this blog.

Thank you Jenny for sharing – I hope that people come away from reading this article with a better understanding of how horrific and absolutely life-changing it is to be a victim of stalking.

Comment: This article has been going around on our local news. She is one of my favorite DJ’s. Such a scary thing to go through. Made me think of Morgan. http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2015/04/08/twin-cities-radio-dj-takes-leave-because-of-stalker/25490977/