MY MUM’S DEAD
Terrified 11-yr-old Aime flees scene of mother’s murder, screaming hysterically.. Victim phoned police shortly before being found stabbed to death at home
A GIRL came home from school to find her mum stabbed to death.
Aime, 11, discovered Jennifer Morgan in a pool of blood in the garden.
The traumatised child ran away, screaming: “My mum is dead.”
Jennifer, 33, called police shortly before she was found dead.
A MUM found stabbed to death in the garden of her new home had moved to the area because her sister told her it was safe.
Jennifer Morgan, 33, was discovered in a pool of blood by her daughter Aime when she came home from school.
The mum and the 11-year-old had moved into a ground-floor flat in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, to start a new life three weeks ago.
Jennifer’s sister Laura Evans said: “It was me who convinced her to come to Kirkintilloch.
“I told her it was a lovely place with nice areas.
“Jennifer just wanted to get back on her feet. She just wanted a new life with my niece.
“I told her Kirky’s safe – you should move here.”
Aime ran away screaming when she found her mum with horrific injuries in the back garden.
The hysterical child was found sitting on a kerb a street away, screaming: “My mum’s dead.”
Locals who ran to the flat found the grisly scene and raised the alarm.
One neighbour’s door was smeared with blood, suggesting Jennifer had desperately tried to get help before collapsing in the garden.
Laura revealed that Jennifer had phoned police shortly before she was found dead in the Waterside area of Kirkintilloch about 3.40pm on Wednesday.
She added: ”I got a phone call from my mum saying that the police had been in touch.
“They said they were following up a lead that Jennifer had tried to phone them at three o’clock.
“I went right to the Waterside area but I couldn’t find the house because she’s not long in and I’ve only been there once.
“I couldn’t get Jennifer or my niece. They weren’t answering their phones.
“At this point, I didn’t think anything bad.
“Then, I got a call from my niece’s dad’s girlfriend. She was crying down the phone.
“She said that Jennifer had been killed and at that point, I just lost it.”
Laura added: “The address was all cordoned off. I couldn’t even go there.
“We had to confirm it was Jennifer. We did that by video link.” Jennifer had moved to the ground-floor flat in Alexander Place with Aime after living in temporary accommodation in Kirkintilloch. Before that, the mum had moved from Coatbridge to live with Laura at her home in the town for five months. Laura said: “It was her daughter who found her. If Jennifer had made the call at three o’clock, Aime would have been coming home from school. “It still has not sunk in yet. Jennifer and I were just one of the same. She was bubbly and always up for a laugh. “She just loved life.
She was a normal girl who just wanted a quiet life and never caused any trouble.
“She waited three years to get a lovely wee house for her and my niece – somewhere they could have a lovely quiet life. And she’s not going to get that now. It is too tragic.”
Laura said Jennifer had been in a hotel and hostel before moving to a temporary flat at Burns Court and then to Alexander Place.
Police investigating Jennifer’s death arrested two men yesterday.
Neighbours in the quiet street are still trying to come to terms with what happened.
And they said it was heartbreaking to see Aime in such distress.
Michael Dunn, 58, told how his daughter Michelle Cowan, 35, ran to the girl after she was found on the kerb.
He added: “The wee girl was screaming that her mum was dead. She was trying to use her phone.
“Michelle ran to her and then she ran round to the back garden. It was a bloodbath. It was terrible.
“The victim seemed to have tried to get to a neighbour.
“There was blood all over that door. It looks like she had tried to chap the upstairs door. It then looks like she has staggered round the back and collapsed.
“Michelle turned the body over but there was no hope.”
Michael added: “We brought the wee lassie up to our house.
“She was in a terrible state, having a panic attack. We were able to calm her down to the extent that we were then able to call her father on the phone after the police were called.
“She got a hold of her dad and he came over from Coatbridge to pick her up.”
Michael said: “My heart goes out to the wee girl. She was all shaking.
“It is absolutely dreadful that something like this should happen here in such a quiet residential area and dreadful that the wee girl should have to see that.
“In 30-odd years, I’ve never experienced anything like this here. It is absolutely shocking.
“I hope the girl is OK. The dad was very concerned for her when he came to pick her up.”
Another neighbour said: “Nothing like this ever happens here. The whole place is stunned.
“And our hearts go out to the wee lassie.
“Nobody should have to see that, especially a child. This will stay with her for the rest of her days.”
One friend yesterday described Jennifer as a “happy, bubbly and funny lassie who could light up a room with her big smile”.
After the body was found, police sealed off the street and some neighbours weren’t allowed to return to their homes while an investigation was launched.
Yesterday, the street was still cordoned off by police tape as forensic officers searched the flat and surrounding areas.
It is thought they are also