How do you save your life when your worst nightmare comes true and your being attacked? What do you do to protect yourself? For one woman, Jennifer Morey, she did everything in her power to save her life and survived.
Bayou Park Apartment
In Houston, Texas, in 1995, a young lawyer, Jennifer Morey, lived alone in an apartment complex. It looked like a safe place to live, but all that would change the night of April 15 at the local Ale House, after one of Morey’s friends drove her home to her Bayou Park Apartment on Memorial Drive.
Around the Clock Security
The biggest feature that attracted Morey to rent an apartment at Bayou Park Apartment Complex, was the 24-hour protection, which included an on-site security guard. It made her feel safe. But she would be proven wrong!
Was It A Bad Dream?
After returning home on Friday night, Jennifer deadbolted her door and did her usual hygiene before going to bed. around 4 A.M., she woke to the feeling of someone on top of her holding her body and pressing something against her neck.
Awoken By Horror
At first believing it was dream, Jennifer woke to the horror that she was going to be raped. Desperately trying to push the intruder off, she realized the intruder was holding a knife to her neck.
Fighting For Her Life
Fighting for her life during the struggle, Morey screamed at her assailant not to hurt her. they were so loud she woke up 15 of her neighbors in other apartments—not one calling 911.
He Knew Who She Was
As the intruder slashed the right side of her face during the assault, he used her name saying, “Jennifer, shut the hell up!” giving Morey the impression he knew her but she didn’t recognize the intruder.
Horrific Crime
The attacker slashed Morey’s throat from her right ear moving several inches down her neck, leaving a wound deep enough to look like a second mouth. Blood was pouring all over Morey’s bed and the intruder.
Throwing Her In the Bathroom
With no more strength to fight back, the assailant pulled Morey by her blond hair off the bed and into the bathroom, shutting the door. He told her if she came out, he would kill her!
Saving Her Own Life
Afraid he’d come back, Morey sat against the bathroom door, sliding down to the floor with the remainder of her strength, her feet pressed against the bathtub to keep the door shut. Covered in her own blood, she remained silent.
The Room Was Filled With Silence
During the attack, the apartment was filled with noise and sounds from her struggle, no one came to help after Morey’s cries. Now all Morey heard was the deafening sound of a zipper as the intruder zipped up his pants, hoping he was leaving.
Gathering Her Strength
After what seemed like hours, Morey gathered managed to gain enough courage to leave the bathroom, afraid she would bleed to death if she didn’t. With blood still on her hands, she attempted to grip the doorknob, but because she was wedged against the door, it was jammed.
Laughter Amongst A Nightmare
Realizing she fought off a would-be killer, Morey realized she was going to bleed to death because she couldn’t open a door that didn’t have a lock. Finally able to open the door, Morey fumbled for the lights in the hallway, flipping the switch.
Calling For Help
Searching for the phone, Morey found the line dead. Morey managed to call 811 after finding her cell phone and dispatcher Richard Beckett answered the call. His first shift as an emergency dispatcher, Everett tried to keep calm after Morey told him her story.
Keeping Her On The Line
As Beckett told her she was going fine, he asked her if she cut anywhere else? Morey told him that all she knew was her neck. Beckett instructed her to check her body while placing a clean towel over her neck. Seeming like forever, Everett kept Morey on the line. After 10 minutes, Morey told Everett that someone was knocking on her door.
There Was Someone At Her Door
After asking who was at the door, the man told Morey he was Bryan Gibson, security. Beckett’s gut instincts kicked in advising Morey not to open the door, knowing that neither police nor paramedics had contacted the building’s security guard. The man could be her attacker. Morey listened to Beckett.
Bryan Gibson
Police arrived at Morey’s apartment that morning to find Bryan Gibson, 26m the Pinkerton security guard, who was just at Morey’s door, bleeding from a cut on his right hand. Gibson told police that he was attacked when the intruder jumped from Morey’s second-floor balcony apartment. Gibson told them he wrestled with the intruder before he fled to a nearby field.
Pinkerton Security Guard
When one of the officers shined a flashlight across the field, the grass showed no footprints. When police searched Morey’s apartment, they found a knife, a man’s underwear covered in blood, and a Pinkerton security cap. As police searched Gibson, he was missing his cap and wearing no underwear. Instead of coming to help Morey, Gibson was more likely returning to get his possessions and possibly kill Morey.
Criminal Record
Gibson was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Morey felt Pinkerton Security should never have allowed Gibson employment. Gibson received numerous complaints during his three years of employment despite his criminal record.
He Should Have Been Behind Bars
Morey filed a lawsuit against Pinkerton Security while researching learned Gibson wasn’t the first Pinkerton guard with felonies. Texas records showed between 1991 and 1995, 130 Pinkerton guards had felonies. Morey says of her attacker, Gibson: “I think he was a sexual criminal who put into a situation like a kid in a candy shop…And that he used that opportunity to pick his favorite flavor of candy.”
A New Life
Unable to live in her Bayou Park Apartment, Morey moved two weeks later to the Woodlands with her mother, who rarely left her side. Morey was paranoid and afraid of everything. Recovered from her traumatic ordeal, Morey is a successful lawyer with her own practice. Eventually meeting and marrying her husband a few years later, Beckett, the 911 dispatcher was at her wedding, remaining close friends.
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