by Robert Scott
“Why did you need the hair dye and food? Were you going to run away?”
“Yeah. We just bought orange juice. We also went up to the Dollar Tree and bought some Top Ramen, Cup Noodles and sunglasses.”
Lensing wondered what they were going to do when they got to San Francisco.
Tylar explained, “Rent a room in a hotel and wait until Monday. We rented a room at the Holiday Inn. We just wanted to make the most of our last few days. Wait until Monday.” (Author’s note: Tylar was implying that they would kill themselves then.) “We purchased some rat poison. We consumed it, but it didn’t kill us.”
“Did it make you feel sick at your stomach?”
“Not really.”
“Did you reach out to anybody to tell them what you were going to do?”
“I called my best friend, and Boston called his best friend.”
Lensing wanted to know who Tylar’s best friend was. She said, “Matthew Widman.” For Boston, it was Matthew Bogert.
Lensing asked if she had contacted any friends on Thursday, June 11.
Tylar replied, “Um, on Friday. We met up with a lot of our friends then. Matthew, my friend Richard—we all went down to the Town Center and hung out for a couple of hours. Then we went back to Boston’s house. We just hung out there, and I didn’t tell Matt this was the last time we were going to see him, but we kind of forced him to stay with us as a trio. Me, Matt and Boston. We’re family. And we kind of told him, ‘You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying here with us.’ He lives kind of out in the boonies. And we stopped near a crossroads and hung out there for an hour and a half. Then we gave him a hug and said good-bye. We started driving to San Francisco.”
“Did Boston give anyone his last will and testament?”
“We sent letters out. Just to our friends. And one to my cousin. It was mostly just because Matt (Widman) was my best friend, and I wanted him to be okay, and that I loved him like a brother. And my cousin has always been there for me. And I wanted him to know.”
At that point, Detective Lensing was through beating around the bush on minor details. He said, “Okay, let’s get down to the point here. Why are you here?”
Tylar responded, “Because I tried to run away.”
Surprised by her answer, Lensing said, “Because you tried to run away?”
Tylar replied, “That’s what I’m gonna guess.”
Lensing countered, “Well, we know that’s not the reason that you’re here.”
“What other reason is there?”
Lensing laid it on the line. “You’re being arrested for murder.”
Tylar exclaimed, “What! Who did I murder?”
“Okay, well, let’s go back to Thursday.”
Tylar insisted, “Who did I murder?”
“Your mother.”
With a great deal of emotion, and what passed for surprise, Tylar said, “What? My mom’s dead?”
Disgusted with her answers, Lensing said, “We don’t really need to play this. We already know that your mom’s dead. My partner and I have been doing this for a long time. We’ve done our homework. We’ve talked to literally everybody you know. We know lots of things. This here is questioning to give you a chance to tell your side of what’s going on. As soon as we’re done here, we’re going to talk to Boston and get his version. Now you can help yourself. I get the feeling you’re just realizing that this may be in your best interest to tell us the entire truth, and not just part of the truth.”
By now, Tylar was shaking and crying.
Lensing said, “Tylar, can you pull yourself together for just a minute and talk to me about your mother?”
To this, Tylar declared, “Go away! It’s not true!”
“What’s not true?”
“She’s not dead. She can’t be dead!”
“She is dead.”
Like a petulant child, Tylar exclaimed, “No, she’s not!”
“Tylar, talk to me about your mother. Tell me about Thursday.”
To this, Tylar replied, “I want an attorney. I want you gone! How dare you!”
Lensing replied, “You want an attorney and you want me gone? Okay. That we can do. Unfortunately, we can’t talk to you again. Good luck.”
By now, Tylar was sobbing and cried out, “Mommy! She just can’t be dead. It’s not true! She’s not dead. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! You’re not dead. No, no. You’re not dead! You can’t be dead!”
The two detectives looked at Tylar and her hysterics and didn’t believe a word of it. They were certain that Tylar knew that her mother was dead and exactly how she had died. They believed Tylar had been right there when her mother was murdered in her own bed with more than twenty knife wounds in her body. And the detectives were determined to find every shred of evidence linking Tylar and her boyfriend, Steven Colver, to this murder. They wanted to start at the beginning of the story; and in many ways, the story began on the day of Tylar’s birth.
Gabriel (Gabe) Morris went on the run with his wife Jessica and his daughter Kalea. Gabe was a murder suspect; Jessica was wanted as a material witness to murder. (Coos County Sheriff’s Office)
Gabe Morris and his half-brother, Jesse, grew up in Southern California near San Diego. (Author’s photos)
When Gabe Morris was fifteen years old, he left his father’s custody and moved in with his mom in Coquille, Oregon. (Author’s photos)
In 2005, Gabe became a deputy in the Bingham County, Idaho Sheriff’s Office. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Gabe’s patrols took him into farmland, ranches at the edge of the Indian reservation, and these lava badlands. (Author’s photo)
After leaving the sheriff’s office and enduring various business failures, Gabe moved his family to Bandon, Oregon. (Author’s photo)
They went to live with his mom and Bob Kennelly. (Coquille Valley Sentinel)
A Coos County Sheriff’s Office deputy went out to Bob Kennelly’s property to tell him that his pickup was illegally parked in downtown Coquille. (Author’s photo)
Bob Kennelly’s property included a main house, barn and sheds in an area known as Flower Hill. (Coos County DA’s Office)
The deputy walked up towards the main house and back porch area of Kennelly’s house. (Coos County DA’s Office)
The deputy discovered the body of a female lying on the back porch. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Investigators found Robin Anstey’s purse and other items on a living room couch. It appeared she had been ambushed and had run toward the door, trying to escape. (Coos County DA’s Office)
The shooter began firing on an interior balcony and then came down these stairs to dispatch his wounded victims. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Bullet fragments were discovered in several locations in Bob Kennelly’s home. (Coos County DA’s Office)
It appeared that Robin’s body had been moved after she was killed. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Investigators searched in every room of Bob Kennelly’s home for evidence. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Marijuana paraphernalia was discovered in several rooms of the residence. All of the items were connected to Gabriel Morris. (Coos County DA’s Office)
It was apparent that Gabriel, Jessica, and Kalea had left in a hurry, judging by the items they left behind. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Autopsy sketches were made, showing the wounds suffered by Bob Kennelly and Robin Anstey. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Gabe was in such a rush after the murders of his mom and Bob Kennelly, he nearly rolled his pickup truck, with Jessica and Kalea inside, into the Coquille River. (Author’s photo)
Coquille Police Chief Mark Dannels was told a very strange story by one of Gabe’s friends in Coquille. It It concerned terrorists and a double murder. (Coquille Valley Sentinel)
A pickup truck that had been borrowed by Gabe Morris was found on Bob Kennelly’s property. (Coos County DA’s Office)
Gabe and Jessica, along with Kalea, fled across the United States in thi
s car. (Coos County Sheriff’s Office)
Gabe was arrested by a SWAT team in Virginia while he was in this vehicle. (Coos County DA’s Office)
The murders of Bob Kennelly and Robin Anstey became top priority for longtime Detective Sergeant and later Sheriff of Coos County, Craig Zanni, and his investigators. (Coquille Valley Sentinel)
Gabe was extradited to Oregon to stand trial for the murders of his mom and Bob Kennelly. (Author’s photo)
The court proceedings took place in Judge Martin Stone’s courtroom. (Coquille Valley Sentinel)
Coos County DA R. Paul Frasier signed the warrants for Gabe and Jessica and went on to lead the prosecution in the case. (Official Coos County DA’s Office Photo)
Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals connected to this story.
PINNACLE BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2013 by Robert Scott
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ISBN: 978-0-7860-3152-8
First Kensington Mass Market Edition: November 2013
eISBN-13: 978-0-7860-3153-5
eISBN-10: 0-7860-3153-0
First Kensington Electronic Edition: November 2013