Emily's killer: 'I'm tired of living'

Psychotic mind-set revealed in letter on eve of rampage

Chris Barge And Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 28, 2007 at midnight

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BAILEY - By the time he walked into Platte Canyon High School and took seven girls hostage Sept. 27, Duane Morrison had decided to die.

A series of documents released Tuesday by Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener included a lengthy letter Morrison wrote the day before the rampage, which left him and one of his hostages dead.

"I'm tired of living, and for the last 15 years or so I'm tired of living in pain. Constant pain," the 53- year-old unemployed Morrison wrote.

Wegener said the five volumes of documents, which included the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's report, gave him "closure" and confirmed his belief that his department "did a good job."

Asked whether there was anything he would have done differently, Wegener said, "I would have asked God to remove Sept. 27 from the calendar."

An FBI agent who analyzed Morrison's letter concluded he was "a significantly depressed individual whose mental state may have been deteriorating rapidly."

As officers broke down the locked classroom door four hours into the standoff, Morrison shot 16-year-old Emily Keyes in the head. He then turned the gun on himself as the officers shot him three times.

Later, investigators found evidence that Morrison possibly had planned more carnage. Hidden in the underbrush on three separate corners of the school campus, they found an assault rifle, another rifle and a revolver.

Wegener said during a Tuesday news conference that he is looking for 11 more guns owned by Morrison that are unaccounted for.

In the letter to his brother and three sisters, Morrison writes of being physically and mentally abused by their father throughout his childhood, leading him to seriously consider suicide on his 21st birthday. He writes of "thoughts and urges" in his 20s, and of losing his grip on reality.

But while he asks his siblings for forgiveness, and to cremate him, Morrison never mentions plans to harm anyone else.

The only person other than his father whom he expresses anger toward in the letter is a manager at a Harley-Davidson store, who Morrison thought gave him a raw deal on a motorcycle nearly four years before. Police arrested Morrison in November 2004, after an employee complained that he repeatedly called the dealership, threatening to kill her.

After the shooting inside the high school, detectives found that Morrison had planted a business card from the dealership in Keyes' wallet. In block letters on the back of the card, he had scrawled the employee's name who had filed the report against him.

The letter and the other documents released Tuesday don't answer the question of why he targeted the high school, took the girls hostage, molested them and killed Keyes, a girl he didn't know.

But they paint a picture of a man at war with himself and society.

Shooter was outdoorsman

Morrison was an introvert without a girlfriend who spent most of his time with two of his nephews or by himself, the CBI's investigation found.

He spent his free time camping, fishing and hunting in the national forests around Park County.

A man who liked his guns, Morrison two years ago filed a fake report with Denver police, claiming that 15 guns had been stolen from his Denver apartment. He later collected more than $10,000 for the guns in a fraudulent insurance claim.

Sometimes, he had friends and relatives, including a niece and nephew, buy guns for him, although investigators aren't sure why because he could have bought them legally. His niece and nephew have refused to talk to investigators since the shootings.

Unemployed, Morrison had last worked for his brother-in-law's haunted-house business, Primative Fear, which he left in February 2006. He was evicted from his apartment of nine years in April for failing to pay rent.

No family members had heard from him for seven months until the day before the shooting, when he called his sister, Judy Ervin.

He cried during that conversation "and told her that he didn't know what he was going to do after hunting season," according to the CBI report. Ervin told others that she thought he might kill himself.

"She did not, however, think that he would hurt anyone else," according to the report.

Videos show gunman

The same day of that phone call, school surveillance videos reveal that Morrison drove to the high school in his gold Jeep Rubicon, probably to get a lay of the campus. Morrison also spent time in the parking lot the morning of the shooting, only to leave and come back an hour later, at 9:44 a.m.

By 11:41 a.m., he had taken control of a classroom, kicked all the boys out and fired, into the air, one of two guns he brought with him to scare a teacher into leaving the room.

Soon, he began molesting his seven female hostages. Earlier reports that there were only six hostages were incorrect, Wegener said Tuesday. Officials had failed to count an additional girl, whom Morrison molested and let go about 12:10 p.m.

During the next hour and 40 minutes, Morrison sexually assaulted at least four more of his hostages before letting them go, one by one.

Morrison, who communicated with police through his hostages, said he had 3 pounds of C4 explosives. "Think what that would do to the school," officers overheard him saying.

Officers later found that instead of explosives, Morrison's backpack contained duct tape, handcuffs, a stun gun, ropes, scissors, massage oil, several sexual devices and numerous rounds of ammunition.

He got word to officers that the situation would be over by 4 p.m.

At 3:35, a SWAT team stormed the room. Morrison shot Keyes in the head and turned the gun on himself as officers shot him. The other hostages were rescued.

Morrison's letter to his siblings arrived at his brother's house the day after the shooting.

New information

The following was made public Tuesday as part of the law enforcement report:

• Suicidal thoughts and abuse: Lone gunman Duane Morrison left his sister with the impression that he was going to commit suicide and penned a 14-page farewell letter the day before he stormed Platte Canyon High School. He alleged abuse at the hands of his father and acknowledged having "urges" but gave no indication that he planned to harm students.

• The decision to kill: FBI agents analyzed Morrison's writings, coming to the conclusion that he had "decided his course of action" before walking into the high school.

• Morrison's weapons: During the standoff, Morrison used guns that he had previously reported stolen. Additional weapons were found near campsites linked to him, but 11 guns remain unaccounted for. Morrison, who had relatives purchase the weapons for him, collected $10,000 from insurance after filing a bogus theft report.

• Harley-Davidson dealership connection: Investigators found a business card for Rocky Mountain Harley-Davidson inside victim Emily Keyes' wallet. The store was significant to Morrison because he'd been embroiled in a dispute over bike repairs and was arrested after leaving threatening phone messages for a clerk. Officials determined that Emily had no connection to the shop and that Morrison must have slipped the card into her belongings.

• More hostages than reported: Officials revealed that initial reports about the number of hostages were incorrect. Additional investigation revealed that there were seven - not six - hostages, all of whom reported being sexually assaulted. One of the girls was released earlier than the others.

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059

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