RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — Saturday marks three years since a 32-year-old woman was shot and killed in her own home. A balloon release was held in her honor to keep her memory alive.
Saturday, Feb. 22, is the exact day, three years ago, when Jordan Morgan, 32, was shot and killed in her Madison County home.
Shannon Gilday, 22, is charged with Morgan's murder. Police say he broke into former state lawmaker C. Wesley Morgan's home and killed his daughter while she was sleeping.
"Beautiful, smart, believed in God. She had her whole life ahead of her and it has really changed her family," says Diana Sizemone, Jordan's cousin.
"I believe if I never had anything to do with politics, I believe that Jordan would be alive today," admits Wesley Morgan. "I heard the bang going through the door and then I heard 'bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam' and I went 'oh my god' and I knew immediately that he had shot Jordan."
Family and friends gathered Saturday afternoon to reminisce on the person she was while honoring her with a balloon release at her gravesite.
"We want to keep her memory alive. Cause like I said she was fierce, wonderful attorney. She had so much life left in her," Sizemone explains.
Morgan's childhood best friends say memories with her will be cherished forever. "We were always having dance parties no matter what it was. Times at the lake in Lake Cumberland," recalls Lindsey Paulson, who had known Morgan since she was four years old. "Just lots of really good memories that- they're happy tears and they're good times and we miss her and that's probably the hardest part of the whole thing."
Morgan's older half-sister, Shonda Burrows, recalls the moment Morgan was born and how much joy it brought her life. "I didn't realize what a light and a- just a sparkle she was my whole existence of her 32 years. Always happy, always up to something fun. Even in her dark times that we all go through, life has definitely dimmed without her."
Lisa Foster, Morgan's mom, says the last text she received from her daughter was telling her goodnight and that she loved her.
Now, those close to Morgan fight to keep her memory alive while pushing for justice to be served.
"To kill someone in cold blooded pre-meditated murder. There's only one penalty in my mind and that's the death penalty," said Morgan's father.
"I think about just how at peace she is and how I hope she knows we are continuing to fight for her and she is not forgotten and that we love her," said Paulson.
Gilday's sentencing is scheduled for Monday, May 5th. Prosecutors have been pushing for the death penalty. While Gilday's defense team says, his mental state is the reason to prevent the death penalty if he is found guilty.
