University of Colorado researcher murdered

[IntrepidDad]

I found this interesting story on Fox News. The research director at the University noted that he "doesn't know how you can prevent something like this. [People] just don't think about this kind of evil".

Funny, I'm betting most of us on this board actually do think about this kind of evil. Let's see - two women working in a remote, secluded area of Colorado known to have bears and lions. I'm betting a good handgun in the hands of trained women could have done a lot to prevent this situation.

Ex-Con Arrested in Death of Female Colorado Intern
Friday , June 29, 2007

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_frien...287255,00.html

A 24-year-old female intern with the Colorado Geological Survey radioed for help before she went missing and a man found camping in the area was arrested after her body was found, officials said Wednesday.

Alyssa Heberton Morimoto of Denver, was mapping geological sites Tuesday in the San Isabel National Forest in a remote part of Park County, said Vince Matthews, director of the survey.

Morimoto was working with the service's Karen Houck, who is also a professor at the University of Colorado-Denver, where Morimoto was a graduate student. Houck contacted officials after responding to the distress call and finding only an empty SUV.

Robert R. Amos, 44, of Kansas, is being held at the Park County Jail on an $800,000 bond. Charges are expected to be filed in the case Monday, according to MyFoxColorado.com.

Morimoto's body was found southwest of Antero Reservoir about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 10 hours after she was reported missing.

Matthews said the suspect had given Houck a ride as she tried hiking out to find cell phone reception.

"I think we're extremely fortunate this isn't a double tragedy," Matthews said. "The person who gave her the ride was later identified as the suspect in Alyssa's death."

Houck and Morimoto were separated when Houck decided to hike to a ridge for lunch instead of riding there with Morimoto. When Houck realized she would be late, she radioed Morimoto. A few minutes later, Houck received a frantic return radio signal.

"She (Morimoto) was screaming, 'help me, help me.' Then the radio went dead," Matthews said.

Houck bushwhacked through thick brush and arrived at the SUV about 20 minutes later, Matthews said.

Unable to get a cell phone signal and with the SUV keys missing, Houck headed down a road toward a campground when she was approached by a man in a vehicle who gave her a ride.

Houck and the man flagged down a forest ranger who passed them on the road and the ranger contacted the Park County sheriff.

A cause of death was not released and it was unclear how far from the SUV Morimoto's body was found.

Morimoto was a Denver native and graduate of Denver Waldorf High School. She graduated from the University of Colorado-Denver and was one year from graduating with a master's degree in environmental sciences from the school. She lived in Denver with her husband and parents, Matthews said.

“It’s just a senseless waste of talent, of a great mind,” said UC-D professor Fred Chambers, who was advising her in her master’s program. “And to try to make sense of this is crazy-making.”

Houck was Morimoto's first geology professor at UCD and Houck recommended Morimoto to be her field assistant during the internship, Matthews said.

"I don't know how you can prevent something like this," Matthews said, later adding: "I worry about lions and bears all the time with our mappers, but you just don't think about this kind of evil."

Court records show Amos was convicted in 1981 of second degree murder in Kansas and under the interstate compact, came to serve his sentence in Colorado in August of 1982, said a report pn MyFoxColorado.com.

In 1992, the Department of Corrections accused Amos of attempted murder, but prosecutors declined to file charges. Amos was accused of attempted murder a second time in 1994 and pleaded down to an assault charge.

He was released from the San Carlos Correctional facility in Pueblo and paroled to Kansas in November of 2001.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Cupcake]

Yeah, I just read this one. Freakin' shame.

[Smith&Wessonfan]

[ShadeAngel]

To bad CU can't take a tip from CSU and allow their students to carry...

[havegunjoe]

"I don't know how you can prevent something like this," Matthews said, later adding: "I worry about lions and bears all the time with our mappers, but you just don't think about this kind of evil."

You worry about bears and lions but you don't arm your people???? How dumb can you get? I know, I know, if she was armed he, or the bears, would probably take the gun away from her and use it against her. But wait, she is dead anyway, forget that I guess. The very real statement is that they just can't conceive of this kind of evil. That is why we call them sheep.

[Protect]

It wasn't on campus, she could have been armed if she so chose.

Very sad though.

[Rock and Glock]

How tragic. Nancy and I hang out in Park County a lot, and we're always CCW. There are just too many remote areas out there. A shame.

The CGS and CU need to start thinking about the environment they send folks into, and consider all of the risks.

[falcon1]

The CGS and CU need to start thinking about the environment they send folks into, and consider all of the risks.

Yes, they do, but I will give you ten-to-one odds they never do (figuratively speaking, of course)....

[Tom G]

Both these women should have been armed. I wounder how the university will react? Amos should have been in jail for the other murder attemps. Why was he released ? This just goes to show that our justice system needs a major over haul. The trouble with a place like this park is that people tend to not be alert to the bad things that can happen .

[Smith&Wessonfan]

The trouble with a place like this park is that people tend to not be alert to the bad things that can happen .

This wasn't a park (as in state or national park). This was out in the boonies of Park County, Colorado. Most likely in National Forest or Bureau of Land Management land where carrying is legal.

[Sig 210]

"Court records show Amos was convicted in 1981 of second degree murder in Kansas and under the interstate compact, came to serve his sentence in Colorado in August of 1982, said a report pn MyFoxColorado.com."

"In 1992, the Department of Corrections accused Amos of attempted murder, but prosecutors declined to file charges. Amos was accused of attempted murder a second time in 1994 and pleaded down to an assault charge."

"He was released from the San Carlos Correctional facility in Pueblo and paroled to Kansas in November of 2001."

This is mind boggling. The idiotic prosecutor allowed an inmate serving a sentence for murder to cop a plea. i gotta puke.

[TN_Mike]

Sheep often try to rationalize the outcome of a tragic event by simple saying in effect, "Oh well.....it wasn't me." Which is exactly what these fools said when they stated you can't prevent this kind of evil.

They bury their heads in the sand and feel better that the event didn't hurt them directly. We see the same thing in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. Many people were outraged right after the attacks but 6 months later they had nearly completely forgotten about it and gone right back to life as normal, just like it was before the attacks.

I am amazed by this level of stupidity and resistance to see the world as it actually is.

[QKShooter]

These people are not dummies. They DO know that firearms exist.
Well, the problem is that these folks never really finish a sentence.

This sentence should actually read:

"I don't know how you can prevent something like this, short of carrying a defensive firearm and getting good training on how to effectively use it." Matthews said

Well, it IS a shame and a person does deserve to die just because they are not armed.
Many folks have had a lifetime of wrong and incorrect mental conditioning. They have been brainwashed by the pitiful element of society.
That is sad but, it's true and it's a shame whenever they pay the ultimate price for it all.

[jackofspades]

Well, it IS a shame and a person does deserve to die just because they

Psst..QK! I think you forgot a word there... at least, I'm assuming based on the rest of the paragraph, that it should read "... does not deserve ..."

[obxned]

Catch and release 'justice' work so well.

But why were these highly educated women so horribly ignorant of the most basic concepts of personal protection?