 |
| Toni and Steve Ingram with their daughter Morgan Ingram. |
Morgan Ingram was found dead on December 2, 2011. Although the case is closed, there are many who have questions about her case. And the big question still remains, why is the case closed?
When I first interviewed Mrs. Ingram back in December 2012, she exposed various discrepancies in her daughter's investigation that were so baffling, I've had to endure quite a few attacks from the suspect's family and friends just for allowing this woman to exercise her 1st amendment rights. Need-less to say, the reception was tremendous.
Today I speak with Toni Ingram again. Only this time, about the progress of Morgan's case, other inconsistencies she's discovered since we last spoke, and life after Morgan. And here is what she had to say:
(Q) Hello Toni. How are you? How has life been since we last spoke?
Hello Sarah. Time has brought many revelations to us about Morgan’s stalking and death, it has also brought some very disquieting clarity. The facts dribble in and they never cease to have some level of shock attached to every single one. Steve and I have learned, and pieced together so many things that I did not know during our last interview, so in answer to your question… yes, I am doing as well as can be expected, some days are gut-wrenching, and ghastly, mostly when new details in Morgan’s case are brought to my attention, or properly interpreted, but then at the end of each day I know Morgan is still around with her gentle touch encouraging me on.
Every single day that I am graced with living on this earth, and being allowed to give a voice to Morgan, as well as other victims that are unable to speak for themselves, is a blessing. It is still extremely painful to wake up every morning knowing that I will no longer hear Morgan’s voice, or listen to her play her keyboard and sing, or ask me to watch her working on her latest ballet movement. Whenever Steve and I take road trips now, I inevitably look behind me towards the back seat expecting to see Morgan napping, or listening to music on her headphones - we all had so much fun travel-ing together, bringing her friends along, with so much laughter, and great memories being created.
I always feel her presence, and miss her so very much, and know I will up until the day I die. She was not only my youngest daughter, she was my best friend, and teacher. Morgan was very spiritually enlightened, and we talked every day - I miss her, I miss it all, so very much.
(Q) I have to ask...in Morgan's toxicology reports, it says that she had 7,909 ng of Amitriptyline in her blood. According to several pathologists and toxicologists, 900-1,000 ng of Amitriptyline is lethal. If 900 ng is able to kill a 115 pound girl, how can one explain 7,909 ng of Amitriptyline in her blood?
This has been such a big question in her death, especially in the first year, before more facts came out, but to recount, on December 19th, exactly 21 days after finding Morgan dead in her bed, I received, in the most odd manner I must add, the 1st Postmortem Report with her toxicology results attached. I remember reading so many mistakes, and things that were just not true, the first being the situation surrounding how we (her parents) found her that morning, it was completely wrong!
How can that possibly be I thought, and I shot off an email to the lead detective about this, which of course he said was going to be corrected, and which of course, never was. Then there was the contracted pathologist reporting on Morgan’s rumored one time drug use, but right there in her tox screen, there was no alcohol, no illegal drugs, in fact only prescription drugs she was not taking, it was an amazing document of misrepresenting everything except the fact that she was a young, healthy woman, and she was in fact dead. So many have written to me to express how they feel Morgan was completely victimized in that report.
I have to say the same contracted pathologist was involved in another recent high profile case of criminally negligent homicide, and the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that his report was to be excluded from the trial as it would only serve to confuse the jurors. What kind of a pathologist is that I ask? His report on the death can’t be introduced as it will only serve to confuse the jury? In Morgan’s 1st report he stated she died from natural causes, this was attributed to an illness that she was NEVER diagnosed with at any time in her life.
Morgan’s long time, very brilliant, doctor at UCLA was all over this obvious error. It is absolutely maddening to me that this pathologist continues on, allowed to perform autopsies. And then of course was this number alongside the Amitriptyline found in her blood on the tox report, I certainly did not know what it meant except that something that should not have been there was. For many months or so I was told it was of no consequence, to be ignored in other words. Yet other forensic experts were telling me the exact opposite, that it was a massive dose, could not possibly be ignored, in fact it was off the charts. You name the adjective, I have heard it.
I knew she was not taking that drug, just as I knew she had once taken a very low dose, like one tenth of the prescription people are given for depression, in Morgan’s case it was for pain, in the past she was dealing with complications from long term chronic exposure to Carbon Monoxide. I also knew very well, and could document how Morgan made a choice to stop taking any prescription medications well over a year before her mysterious death. I have also been told that the ratios of certain chemicals clearly point to this massive amount of amitriptyline as being a one time event. Morgan was a fighter, she wanted to have a long, strong, and healthy life through diet, exercise and holistic, natural methods, she wanted children someday, and she had begun most admirably along this path yet was not allowed to fully succeeded in her goal, that was stripped from her when her life was cut short.
She had not even had a prescription for the drug Amitriptyline in well over a year. Did not take it, pharmacy records, calls to every pharmacy, and doctors for Morgan all bear out the same conclusion, and I would be the first to speak up if they did not, I want the truth, always have and always will. Morgan would even turn down an offer of an aspirin at times when she had a bad headache. I questioned the lead detective in charge of Morgan’s felony stalking case, as well as the forensic pathologist that did her autopsy as the facts piled up that something was seriously amiss here. I was told by the contracted pathologist that the parents are the last to know.
Then came the threats, drop all these questions, or else. I was angry because I knew she wasn’t taking it, and wanted to know how it could have been in her blood, what kind of investigation is this? What people not closely involved easily miss is how vociferously this contracted pathologist defended his initial opinions, until he changed them eight months later. Morgan’s blood level of Amitriptyline was not only significant - it was the absolute most likely cause of her death, plain and simple, medical fact.
(Q) Wow, and there were only a few Amitriptyline pills missing from the expired prescription bottle? I have to ask, this Amitriptyline prescription from 2009, was this found in Morgan's bathroom?
An old expired pill bottle from 2009 was found in her bathroom, positioned on the top of a pile of random things, in a place where Morgan would never pile anything. It has been described by a retired Federal Special Agent like looking as if someone was creating a "shrine" or staging it. I know without a doubt that Morgan would NEVER have left any bottles of old medication out where her puppy could get into them. Her bathroom door was always kept open to her room, her puppy was always in that bathroom, she fed her puppy in there.
Morgan kept all old bottles of medications and other things inside a plastic bin under sink in her bathroom cabinet. We never knew, or believed for one instant at the time that her stalker could have been in our house while we were all away, we very mistakenly thought we were safe, that Morgan was somehow safe, but now we have been educated on the subject and completely believe the stalker had been in the house, many times,and knew just where Morgan’s things were.
Now I always caution victims of stalking that your stalker seeks to invade your life and will invade as deeply as he or she can, that nothing is off limits. I believe Morgan’s stalker was a predatory stalker and it is absolutely chilling to read the traits for this type of stalker, because it mirrors what happened to Morgan, right down to her death!
(Q) The amount of Amitriptyline in her gastric fluids was quite high, however there are other drugs that were also in her system that make everything questionable. Drugs that you didn't have in the house, let alone drugs that Morgan would never have access to. And the pathologist still said this was suicide?
Actually one part of that is a misconception, the numbers in the millions seem high, but in all likelihood, they are not high at all. There was one number I needed to make absolute sense of her gastric contents, but of course that number could not be shared with me, what on earth are they so afraid of, this is an investigation, isn’t it? After multiple phone calls, and the threats that the contracted pathologist could revisit the Amitriptyline level if I did not give up trying to have her manner of death corrected, remember this would be the same Amitriptyline level that he was saying was inconsequential at that time, and then the implication was clearly that he could find entirely something else.
I had reported the threats to not only the Coroner, but to the Sheriff as well. They said nothing! I had been told repeatedly by the contracted pathologist that since he didn’t see any pills or pill fragments in her stomach contents the first time that he could not find the things he later threatened to do. It is all so amazingly wrong. Around this same time, the local FBI tried to set up a meeting for us to be able to voice our concerns. They were quite confident they would be able to arrange a meeting right away, but of course they were shut down completely by the county as well. I truly wish for other grieving families to never have to go through what we have been through, there is just no logical reason, and the pain is unending. So late summer that first summer I got a call, the deputy coroner has a request from the local newspaper under the freedom of information act to release a new manner of death for Morgan, and he wants to fax us the document first.
Shock and more lies, the freedom of information act is federal, it only applies to federal documents, not state, and far more importantly, just how did the local newspaper know there even was a new manner of death to request? We as her parents did not even know - we had not yet been contacted! Morgan’s doctors wanted to see more tests run that could point to answers, but we then found out that tests had been conducted in secrecy! Why? And of course it is all another blow to Morgan, the contracted forensic pathologist finally made good on his threats and changed Morgan’s manner of death from natural causes to suicide after 8 months. This same forensic pathologist stated his reason for the change to be the result of one test run on her gastric fluid. He reported this, as well as the estimated number of pills she had taken. This number was exactly the number missing from an old bottle that was not even in her room, it was a pill bottle Steve had with other expired medications that were to be disposed of that he had given to the sheriffs, never mind that I have been assured that nobody can know the number of pills.
There has never been another doctor who believes this number of pills he is referring to represents a lethal dose! And it gets even worse, the actual reasoning is not contained anywhere in the actual report, but it is instead in a letter referring to a phone conversation between the contracted pathologist and the coroner. The pathologist would not even put it in writing and sign it! I was so absolutely distraught at what they were doing to Morgan, it was all wrong, and of all the people to be labeled as she now was seemed beyond belief! This was also at a time when tormentors who cause their victims to commit suicide were being held accountable and successfully prosecuted all across the country. Nobody in the county would even respond to that question when I asked it. That was a rough, rough time, Steve and I could have easily chosen to turtle, if it wasn’t for the blog coming into its own, we might have. It would be a long time before enough evidence would surface to help quell the absolute disgust and mistrust I felt at that time.
And as for all the other drugs found on the tox report on the second PER, theories abound for the actual presence of these other drugs in Morgan’s gastric contents. The contracted pathologist names only two drugs, but there are in fact five, with no official mention or explanation for the others. Sarah, we found out much later that there is a big problem with Morgan’s gastric contents, some of the drugs that should have been absorbed were not absorbed at all, in fact none of the other drugs in her stomach were detected in her blood, except for Amitriptyline, leading to the big problem, how can one thing be absorbed, but not another right alongside it, that with extreme medical certainty should have been? Now how does that happen, really? In the real world of fact-based science results can’t be ignored because they are inconvenient, but not in what is a capital crime.
For the contracted pathologist however, it was not a problem at all to base Morgan’s suicide on her gastric contents containing Amitriptyline, yet he will not be able to explain the single impossibility that there were six drugs found in her gastric contents, and only amitriptyline was only found in her blood. And like everything else it just gets worse, as you bring up any of these other drugs that were never, ever used by Morgan, and they were never, ever in our home. In fact one of the drugs is not even available for humans, and has not been for over ten years. Just that fact alone should have raised an eyebrow, don’t you think? All the drugs are all part of the lab’s standard sexual assault panel, and a rape kit was never administered on Morgan, I have a vile revulsion to have to say this, but it should have been done, no excuse, it should have absolutely been done as part of any investigation.
Can I say the stalker most likely broke into our house, not once but numerous times, knew Morgan had an old bottle of Amitriptyline pills in a plastic bin in her bathroom, just didn’t ever read the entire label to know they were really quite old, but then the investigators apparently never got around to reading the label either. The entire gastric content revelation was so horrifying, because as we found out, Morgan was either dead, or very near dead when all these drugs were introduced into her stomach, and just how does this happen? All of the explanations for how this happens, that I have heard so far are not something you would wish on anyone. That my daughter was forced to go through this just compounds our families pain all the more.
(Q) I am sorry, it must be very tough for you, there was mention that theAmitriptyline was used to treat acute Porphyria. Is that true?
It is absolutely not true. On a phone call with the contracted pathologist I was trying to explain that Morgan did not take Amitriptyline, that she worked very hard to stop taking all prescription medications in the past. That she had succeeded and that there was a doctor who helped her with this. Do you think the contracted pathologist, or any other investigator ever talked with this doctor? Of course not. When I told him and the detective she was not taking Amitriptyline the contracted pathologist’s answer was that parents are always the last to know, it was in her blood, so she took it. Then very surprising, and to show his complete ignorance on the subject, he added that she took it for her porphyria, which is so ridiculous, it is hard to believe that conversation took place, but it did.
Looking back now he was trying to state two conflicting arguments at the same time, (1) the parents are the last to know, and (2) she took it medically for her porphyria because she had it in her blood, this would be the porphyria her doctors were telling him she never had. I was assured unequivocally that if Morgan was never diagnosed with porphyria in her lifetime it could not be a cause of death, absent some conclusive test to indicate she did. Such a test did not exist, but what does exist is pages of emails from one of Morgan’s doctors explaining the many reasons that Morgan did not have porphyria, to which the contracted pathologist replied that he did not understand why the parents were flip flopping about porphyria. It pains me more than I can ever express to run through the completely illogical twist on facts that we were, and still are mired in.
(Q) Tell me a little about the autopsy photos that you discovered since we last spoke...
That was easily the second worse day of my life - the first unthinkable horror was the day we found Morgan dead, and then came the second - looking at pictures of Morgan the morning we found her body, now over a year and a half later, and the condition she was in, and the condition of her room. Her nails that showed damage at the viewing, days after her death, and the lead detective assured Steve and I that he had looked at the pictures taken the morning of her death, and her nails were in perfect condition before her body was taken away.
The first enhancement of one of those photos tells an entirely different story. Just that one glimpse is burnt into my memory, it is horrifying - that indicates defensive wounds! These are photos that were actually taken by the Deputy Coroner, they are not autopsy photos. The autopsy photos and notes have been requested many times, not even to touch our hands, but to be sent on to other professionals for a complete second opinion, but they have never sent them, and never even answered our requests. I have come to fear they are all destroyed now, as we have recently discovered other crucial evidence that has been destroyed.
But the day those photos came, and for weeks after, Steve and I did not know what to think, we were just in shock, you could say we were walking wounded really. When you find your daughter unresponsive in her bed, and then try to revive her with CPR until the EMT’s come, and then you are asked to leave the room so the first responders can do their best, and then you hear them talking, and you know she is dead, in that time frame you really don’t stand back and stare, taking it all in, beginning to notice all the many clues…no, the one thing I did see and did express that morning was that she was not sleeping in a normal position at all when I found her.
She was on the wrong side of the bed, never slept there, facing the opposite direction that she always faced, she would not have been able to reach her emergency call button, which we later found was removed from its mounting and was on the floor, Morgan looked posed, which is exactly what I told many different people that morning, investigators, arriving family, and friends. Unfortunately, I completely believed and trusted what the lead detective in her felony stalking case was telling me that morning. I guess, who wouldn’t, I really wanted to believe that what he was saying was all true. He said there was no evidence of breaking and entering, no sign of a sexual attack, no sign of a struggle, no sign of suicide, and her death had nothing to do with her felony stalking case, no connection.
He said right now her death was a mystery until the autopsy was completed, and the toxicology results were back. Six months later we started asking for all the autopsy information, along with any pictures, notes, etc. that could be sent off for a second opinion. All our requests have never been answered and we never received a response until the pictures came one year and nine months after her death. After we got over the initial shock of the pictures we consulted immediately with a very respected forensic pathologist, and a conference call with Steve and I followed. During that conference call we were introduced to the biggest, absolute it can’t be, waving a red flag moment of Morgan’s death so far. We had tried to convey what we saw that morning to many different experts who have helped us to get at the truth and justice for Morgan along our path, but having actual images for them to now see quickly changed everything.
We heard what was explained to us on that conference call, but I must admit it took days to really sink in, it was surreal actually. In an instant, all the previous findings of the first manner of death being called natural causes, in which the forensic pathologist that did her autopsy was absolutely positive of, and then the change of the manner of death to suicide, that same pathologist was equally positive of, all that became inconsequential with the fact that Morgan had not died in the position Steve and I found her in that morning. From the pictures it was quite positive, and then some. This meant that her body had been moved postmortem, a very basic death scene essential. Morgan did not die in the position that Steve and I found her in. I’ll repeat that so there is no doubt - Morgan’s body was moved after she had died. She was staged in the position that we found her in that morning. A dead body can not move on its own - I actually asked this question to be 100% positive - someone else has to move the body, and pose it. Her body had been posed, she did not die in the position that Steve and I found her in - exactly my first impression that I had told the officers was correct an infinitesimally small consolation.
And it gets even worse from there, as if that is remotely possible, but it does. The clothes she was re-dressed in were not completely buttoned, or zipped, and left no impressions, all certain red flags too, we have been told. To get really clinical about my daughters death is so difficult. All the little details seen in the photographs. I can’t share them all, but suffice to say her pants were not buttoned, or zipped. First, Morgan never wore pants to bed, and then bodies begin to swell sometime after death, tight pants eventually can’t be buttoned and I’ll leave it at that. There were many other clues in those pictures that were revealed to us, some that Steve and I could pick out by ourselves, and others that some very amazing investigators have picked out. But really? No sign of struggle? No sign of an intruder? No sign of a sexual assault? Really? A bubbling, overflowing anger overcame me for weeks, maybe even months after seeing those pictures, and describing what I felt as just being anger would not even begin to explain the feelings I had. How dare they? To block all our efforts, to allow our family to struggle through the pain, while we kept pushing for the truth, and that truth we had to learn painful piece, by searing piece. These facts revealed themselves to us and as they came out we had to take them and run to an expert for their interpretation. Does that remotely sound like an investigation into the mystery of her death? Does that sound like we, as victims as well, were treated with dignity and respect?
(Q) Wow, and there were unidentified marks on Morgan's face?
Yes, there were. Small but very obvious, blood in places, not just her face, but other places as well, and I would rather not discuss all of those at this time. All I can say is that Morgan did not deserve to suffer as she did, and I will never rest until the truth comes out and justice is served, not only to the person that took her life, but to all those who have worked so hard to consciously conceal the truth.
(Q) Looking back, I am still baffled that none of Morgan's friends were interviewed. I must ask again, why weren't they interviewed?
The why, as with so many other whys in Morgan’s death get lost, in part because there are so many questions and a level of importance attached to each. I feel as I have said many times, that the truth never changes. It is important to realize that it is not a matter or reopening an investigation that was closed - there never was an investigation into Morgan’s death - none. An investigation that would begin now, two and a half years later, would be the first one. Some very burning questions could be answered, and there could be a clear direction, I’m very confident of that because my opinions are the opinions of doctors and other professionals that do this every day, they are excellent and completely capable in what they are doing, and working with very little they have been able to expose many facts that say Morgan was the victim of foul play. Of that there can be no doubt.
I am not an expert, and I rely on others who are to tell me what the the lab results and the pictures really say. That is my focus, our focus, Steve and I. And then someday will come interviews of her teachers, fellow college students, close friends, lifelong friends, family members and employer - all who were never interviewed. Most of these people had little idea of the true magnitude of her stalking. Most people don’t understand how invasive and constant stalking is. Morgan told people about her stalker, including his name and specific incidents, but since these people were never interviewed, none of what they would have said is in any of the reports. Quite a gaping hole I would say, not one shred of the fairness, respect, or dignity guaranteed by the Colorado Revised Statutes and the Colorado State Constitution. In fact it has been just the opposite for Morgan.
And her friends as well, the person she spent the afternoon before her death with was actually challenged by the sheriffs to "prove" his claims that Morgan had been driving him around to apply for a job - here he was the one being actively investigated, while never an investigation of the stalker. Does anyone really think that when the sheriffs department pulled up to our house that fateful morning, after four months of stalking that just kept getting worse and worse, after Morgan had identified her stalker many times to Steve and I, to the detectives, to the deputies, to her classmates, to her friends and their parents, and just days before her death the lead detective tells me he believes the stalking is going to escalate and he is going to increase the nightly patrols, then the sheriffs department increase their patrols, and now Morgan is dead and we are told her death has nothing to do with her felony stalking! How can I possibly not believe that they knew something they were not telling us.
Then Morgan is found dead, half dressed and staged in her bed, and within minutes of his arrival this same lead detective can say with certainty that the stalker was not involved, "no connection to her stalking." What is that? When right then the parents are saying they found her in position A and the sheriffs can see that she died in position B. They even write in reports about how they can tell what position she died in, and there is no investigation about that glaring, crime scene 101 discrepancy? Her tox results come back with a massive amount of Amitriptyline and then that is said to be inconsequential, completely ignored as a cause of her death! Morgan took it for her porphyria, the pathologist tells us! The porphyria that her doctors are telling this same contracted pathologist she never had. There are no pills or pill fragments seen in her stomach, this fact is well documented, then eight months later there are pill fragments in the same gastric contents?
Morgan’s friends get that sick, I can’t even think about this look, when any of this is brought up. They are also so very upset the stalker was never even arrested for stalking, given a free pass. Morgan was a very principled and caring young woman. Anyone that knew Morgan came to respect what she stood for, except a very few that will seek to discredit her now because they have to. After her death we came across a bag full of little notes, all from the young children that she babysat for - they were children of military families at various retreats in Colorado, all of the little children wrote these little notes to Morgan saying how much they loved and adored her, it was so heart filling for Steve and I.
I have to add that another weekend of babysitting at another retreat for military families was where Morgan was headed to the day her body was found, that is who Morgan was, it can’t be taken away by the few who work so hard at portraying something about Morgan that is not there, and is not true, it is very sad.
(Q) I am hearing quite a few rumors through the grapevine that the lead detective in this case is running for Coroner. Why do you think he would do this?
He is running for Coroner. Many of Morgan’s supporters have written to me about this, even pointing out that this detective believes death scenes need medico legal investigation that is not happening now. I applaud him for bringing up the fact that investigations now are based on nothing. You see quite a hole that exists in Colorado, it is up to the Coroner to draft or adopt rules for investigating a death scene. In Morgan’s case the Coroner had no such rules, there were no rules. In a capital crime there can be no rules governing the investigation? But on this same point, officials at the state have pointed out that investigations fall on local sheriffs departments, which the lead detective was part of in Morgan’s death, so I am very cautious of the true intention of this claim. To right the wrong for Morgan is a goal, and a bigger goal is to prevent this same never-ending nightmare loop for others, so naturally I hope for the best outcome in this. It is important to note that autopsies are governed by state laws.
And as far as any compassion for the family, while it has been lacking all the way around since Morgan’s death, the Coroner’s office has been far more forthcoming with copies in their possession, while the sheriff has absolutely not been forthcoming or cooperative at all. As a glaring example, all Morgan’s jewelry of value was missing after her death. At first this was a key point for the lead investigator and discussed with me many times, questions such as, "Was it from a boyfriend, or family member, when was the last time I am was sure I had seen it, could I search again to be sure it was really gone." I did everything requested, who wouldn’t?
And the more I searched the more jewelry was determined to be missing, gone. One piece in particular, a bracelet Morgan had borrowed from me, and I had seen in the evening in her room, on her shelf next to her jewelry box before she came home, and then it was gone. Then it gets worse, the prime suspect is involved in a heist of jewelry being peddled at a cash for gold store very shorty after her death, but to show us pictures of the heist to see if we can identify any as Morgan’s missing jewelry is balked at by the lead detective. He really said that to do that would be the worst example of poor police work. I guess that would be in contrast to the textbook investigation by the sheriffs of Morgan’s death scene, but I digress. I point out that if we recognize a piece perhaps we can then produce a picture with Morgan wearing the jewelry - I had already given him a verbal detailed description of most of the pieces. Sort of like the famous moment with the picture of OJ wearing the shoes he said he would never own.
That was balked at as well, and Steve and I had to then produce a picture of Morgan with every piece of jewelry she ever owned or there was nothing the detective could do. So in the end, all of Morgan’s jewelry of value was stolen on the night she met with foul play - a crime in and of itself I would think! First degree burglary, somebody did it, and it was not Morgan. So why was there never a report about the missing jewelry, a complete reluctance, no not just reluctance, complete refusal to ever investigate this? Getting back to the Coroner’s election, in the state of Colorado the Coroner has far more power than people realize. For Morgan’s sake I obviously want to avoid standing between the Coroner and the Sheriff as they try to point fingers at each other, serves no purpose for Morgan, or other situations like hers.
(Q) Have you been trying to get this case reopened?
We have been trying in every way possible. Clarifying again, it is not reopened because there never was an investigation into her death, Morgan needs to have an investigation that begins at step one and proceeds, although now it would seem to be a very unwieldily, all encompassing type of investigation. As Steve tells people it’s as if for some reason it could never be a case from the very beginning. I see it as the wagons being circled around the suspect. Either way it has prevented any investigation of anything relating to her death except to review basic labs, and come to very flawed conclusions. We now know that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is not legally allowed to open, or take over a case unless invited in by local law enforcement, or the District Attorney - so their hands are tied.
When the Sheriff’s office states they will never open her case, and refuses to allow the CBI to come in and poke around there seems to be not much that can happen at the state level. But that will not stop us - we now know there were not only many State laws broken, but Federal laws as well, and we will definitely pursue them all. It is a very painful step-by-step process that even if successful will not bring Morgan back. Having Morgan back is the one thing I would give anything to have happen, and it is the one thing I can never have happen. Meanwhile we have learned not to place too much on any one event, and to keep moving forward.
(Q) So, if law enforcement refuses to open the case and the District Attorney also refuses to open it, how would you get the case opened otherwise?
The proverbial million dollar question. We do know that when we finally get justice for Morgan we will have a road map for others. Colorado finds itself in an embarrassing, and very self destructive situations far too often. I believe it is about basic issues that were ignored and allowed to fester until the inevitable, almost predictable ending comes. Morgan’s death carries so much of the same, as did her stalking. Ignoring the stalking paved the way for her death, and Steve and I are left with only pieces. We reassess on a regular basis, and try to be dynamic in what we do. There is a single goal and we never lose sight of that. For now the District Attorney is relying on the information from the Sheriffs and the Coroner, the Coroner really shouldn’t be, but is also relying on information from the Sheriffs, so right now it always comes back to the Sheriffs unexplainable, and incomprehensible stance to, "Never open an investigation into Morgan death" in what is a capital crime. That is a very festering problem in my opinion that hopefully will be corrected before it can happen again.
Along with the Sheriff stating that, "My officers were out to the Ingram’s house over fifty times, and never saw a stalker." Just a sound bite, in reality the officers would drive up and sit idling in the street every time, long enough for any stalker to have retreated to cover long before they ever looked for him, making the possibility of an officer ever seeing him astronomical. We have a picture of the stalker watching the deputies drive away, so not to sound flippant at all, but maybe they should have looked over their shoulders once in a while. Justice for Morgan and other cases like hers that seem to slip through the cracks all too often will always be my primary concern. Right now Steve and I are still on our journey, but I am confident there will come a day that we will have that road map for others that are faced with this same situation.
(Q) When people look at this case, they attempt to paint you as an overbearing mother who can't accept that her daughter committed suicide. What would you like these people to know?
I am not overbearing. I am however a very involved mother who encouraged and facilitated my children to be all that they could be. To accurately express the traits of Morgan you would have to really know Morgan and you would really have to know our family. In any investigation there are things that only the killer would know. These are kept close to the vest, and Steve and I are no doubt less than perfect at handling the role we have been thrust into. The role of deciding what pieces of evidence to keep to ourselves, and what to share. I will add that there are bits of information that even the killer does not know exist, they were right in front of him, and they were right out in plain sight that morning. Steve and I looked, but did not see them for what they were, and did not realize until it was properly interpreted for us by those who are absolutely amazing at what they do. Time will be the ultimate judge as to the voracity of the bits and pieces that have been exposed, and until that day they wait.
And back to the overbearing mother question, I have to add that while I know I was not overbearing, I would term what Steve and I were doing was our best to be protective because yes, my youngest daughter was being stalked, and I was very frightened that something bad might happen to her, and horrifically it did. So I am left to wish I had been even more protective. My intuition told me to be even more concerned than I was, but I didn’t listen to my inner voice, I wanted to believe her stalking would just end and I trusted the Sheriffs and what I was being told, in the process I lost my daughter. Morgan loved being with her dad and I - if any of her close friends were asked that question they would have been more than happy to talk about Morgan’s relationship with us. I went with her to concerts, birthday parties, weddings, volunteer work, and yoga, she wanted to take a self defense class with me a month before her murder, but we never did - we should have, it might have helped her. Being with Morgan was a complete joy.
She was kind, loving, and fun to be with. She spent most of her time with school, friends and her animals, but still asked at times if she could go on errands with me in order to have some daughter/mom talks. For the first year after her death I would drive to do those same errands, and cry when I would look at the passenger seat next to me, thundering with its emptiness. Morgan was also a very strong and confident young woman. During her struggle with hyperalgisia, she was afraid to travel by herself, and rightly so, but after she took charge of her own health and became strong and healthy she started to travel on her own, first to California, then Hawaii, among other places. She really enjoyed the independence that her health allowed her to enjoy.
We would all joke with Morgan every time she traveled by herself that it was, "Morgie’s big adventure." Morgie was the nickname that her dad and I called her. So if people want to believe I was an overbearing mother that can’t accept that my daughter committed suicide all I can say is that they are entitled to their opinion, but I do have great confidence that the facts say otherwise. This phenomenon of victim blaming, and victim bashing happens a lot. Morgan was a victim of felony stalking, and died under suspicious circumstances. The suspicious circumstances have only gotten more suspicious with every new discovery we have made. I believe any mother that loved their child would continue to fight for the truth to come out. Yes, it is painful, and yes it is not fair, but it is what it is, and it is now my journey. I refuse to allow anything that distracts me from getting justice for Morgan.
(Q) I really believe the case should be reopened. In fact, I am still confused myself as to why it is closed. So many unanswered questions and yet, you have been unable to garner closure and properly grieve. My prayers are with you and I really hope that you find answers soon.
You are so correct - how can families of murdered or missing children ever have closure if their cases are not investigated? It can’t happen, and instead of being able to properly grieve, parents and many other loved ones are thrown into a daily process of having to ask themselves very painful questions, and somehow push for answers. The instruction book on how to do this has not been written yet and it is, unfortunately for our society, sorely needed. These victims deserve justice and their families deserve answers. There is no way on earth that being told that you have to look through every photo of your dead daughter, 10’s of thousands in our case, and cull out every one with jewelry or else nothing can ever be done about the burglary that happened in her room on the night she died is a fair request by law enforcement.
But back to the question about what we do know now about what actually happened to Morgan - we know so much more than what we knew the morning we found her, even more than six months ago, or one year ago, or even two years ago. It has now been two years, and four months since we lost Morgan, and we are still getting more information, and following up on possibilities. I believe since our local law enforcement does not want Morgan’s case to be opened we have been in a huge uphill battle, just think of how many ways they can shut you down...does that mean that her case will never get opened? No, I do not believe that, I believe we are getting very, very close to getting her case open. We have been contacted by supporters, as well as experts that have told us they have called to speak with the Sheriff’s office, as well as the forensic pathologist’s office with information to assist in opening Morgan’s case, but they have been told the case is closed, and then they are hung up on. What if someone were to call with a tip as to just what really happened, in the current climate they would be hung up on.
The block walls we have encountered, and the lack of response have all contributed to a really bad situation only becoming worse. We are thankful to have the knowledge we completely lacked up till now, but it has quite a ways to go to begin to lift Morgan, and all those who cared so much about her from the mire that has been created. The brutal truth is that stalking goes hand in hand with terrorizing, bullying, control, sexual dominance, breaking and entering, property damage, theft and homicide. Hand in hand, victims of stalking have to always know this. You should be warned to expect one or all from your stalker, we were never fully prepared, and we were always a step behind, Morgan was the one who paid the ultimate price for this. My husband and I as Morgan’s parents have no doubt that our daughter - Morgan Jennifer Ingram would be alive today except for the actions of her stalker, and his co-conspirators.
We believe only truth will allow for closure, and only the truth. So Steve and I started Morgan’s website (www.morgansstalking.com) on June 6, 2011, along with the blog. The website was put together in order to tell Morgan’s story, and raise awareness of the dangers of stalking in order to help others, and to get justice for Morgan. The blog has been even more effective as a tool against stalking, with well over 5 million views and still counting. Morgan’s stalker/murderer is still out there, and if you were to ask me if he will do it again - I can give you a very affirmative answer, YES.
Although many laws have been broken, there are many hearts that have been too. Morgan Ingram is now the voice, the force, and the face of stalking. If anyone has any information about the Morgan Ingram case, please do contact the Ingram's directly by visiting www.morgansstalking.com today.
Comments