Trevor

         It was late September of 1992, and I had just moved from Michigan to the Phoenix area. I made the trip on Greyhound, and I had three of my children with me. At the time, they were only going on two, three, and five. My mother helped us with a place to stay until we could find our own. I had left Michigan to get away from an abusive relationship, and she wanted to make sure that I didn't have any reason to have to return.

         The first place we stayed was in a motel. My mother paid the weekly rates for us until I could get on assistance and find a more regular place to live. Fortunately, I was able to find a mobile home park that rented out furnished trailers for a reasonable rate, and my mother helped with the move in costs.

         Within the first week of our living in this mobile home park, my children and I met Chris and Mike Morton. Mike worked installing and repaving tennis courts, and Chris was a stay at home mom. My being a stay at home mother as well allowed us to become friends within a reasonably quick time, and we would visit each other on a daily basis.

         Chris had a two year old little girl, Brittany, and she was pregnant with her second child. Our children loved to play together, and it gave us more reason to spend time together. In the process, we became relatively close. However, when Chris and Mike were able to afford a better place, I was not in the financial position to follow their lead. When I had the funds to take the bus, we would go over to their apartment to visit. Yet, we didn't get to see each other as much as we would have liked.

         About a month after Chris and Mike had moved out of the mobile home park, Chris found out that she was having a baby boy. She was ecstatic. She had her daughter, she was going to have a son, and she would have a perfect little family. Therefore, once she gave birth to the baby, she planned to have her tubes tied. This was done right on schedule, and everything was going according to plan. The one thing that happened that was not according to plan, however, was Mike beginning the use of crystal meth.

         Right before Trevor was born, Mike lost his job due to his drug use. He swore to Chris that he was going to stop and that he would have another job as soon as possible. Yet, as time got closer and closer for the baby to be born, Mike's use did not end. This forced Chris to have to find a job once she had recovered from the delivery and surgery, Chris had to find a job in order to support her children. Mike was of no use, and she was worried about losing their home.

         Unfortunately for Chris, she had no form of higher education. She was forced to find a job at minimum wage, and she was unable to pay for daycare costs. She was lucky to be able to maintain the bills and keep food on the table. Therefore, she had to work the job at night so that Mike was only at home with the children during their sleeping hours. The baby might wake up once for a feeding and change, but that would be the limit of the expectations put on her husband.

         One night, after getting out of work at two-thirty in the morning, Chris came home to find her thirty-two day old son beaten, bruised, broken, and barely breathing. He was lying on the couch, and it was apparent that he had been thrown there. Her daughter was sleeping in her crib, and Mike was passed out drunk. Chris grabbed up the baby, woke up her toddler, and screamed at Mike as she ran out the door. However, Trevor died before he could even be fully examined. Much was discovered during the investigations that took place over the course of the next few days.

         Trevor had several broken bones, his internal injuries were severe, and he never had a chance. He was just going on five weeks old, and his little glimpse of life was limited by this cruelty. He would never get to know his sister, Brittany, and how wonderful she was. She would never get to pick on her little brother and beat up other kids that picked on him too. Chris would never get the chance to have another son, because the surgery she had could not be reversed.

         Ronald Michael Morton was arrested for the murder of his son. He denied ever having touched the baby, and he tried to say that two year old Brittany had beat the baby with a "See-and-Say" in a jealous fit. When it was explained to him that no two year old could do that much damage no matter what the baby was hit with, he tried to stick to his story. Then, when he was confronted with questions about why he didn't stop this attack, Mike finally broke down. He was unable to keep up the farce he had begun, and he confessed to beating the baby.

         That night, while Chris was work, Mike was coming down off of his last use of meth. He wanted to get some more, but was unable to either locate or afford any more. Therefore, he decided that he would get drunk instead. When the baby woke up, crying, Mike was not able to handle the situation. He was unable to satisfy whatever it was that little Trevor wanted due to his altered state. He became enraged and began beating his son. The officers that were questioning Mike wanted him to demonstrate what he had done. Mike agreed to do this, and they went to get him a doll for the demonstration. While they were out of the room, Mike tried to slit his wrists with the tab off the top of his can of soda.

         Following Mike's confession, Chris started to make arrangements for her baby's funeral. She was surprised when Mike's family volunteered to help. They were Mormons from Utah, and that was where they wanted the baby to be buried. They made arrangements for Chris and Brittany to be flown out for the services and were given permission to remove Trevor's body from the hospital. However, once the Morton family had ahold of the baby, they cancelled the airline tickets and accused Chris for their grandson's death. They told her that, if she had been at home where she belonged, this never would have happened. It didn't matter to them that Mike wasn't working. They didn't even care why he wasn't working. They only cared that Chris should have been at home (according to them) and that Mike should never have been left in charge of the children. Chris was devestated by all of this, of course, and started looking for legal help. She wanted to bury her son, and she didn't want any more to do with her in-laws.

         In her search for some form of help, Chris went on the evening news to tell her story. A local injury lawyer watched the news that night, and he offered to help Chris for free. Fortunately for Chris, and all of us that were trying to help her through this time, they were able to get Trevor back to Arizona. We buried him within a couple of days.

         Trevor's casket was quilted with baby blue fabric, and it was all of two feet long. The top was closed, and the service was short. The grief, however, still lives on. Chris has moved on, gotten divorced, and she has married one of her best friends since that time. She has not, however, ever forgotten or forgiven. I know she never will. I don't blame her.

I have since moved away from Arizona, and I have lost touch with Chris and Brittany. The last time I talked to them, I heard that Scott was treating them well. I think of them often, and I pray for their continued health and happiness. She proved to be much stronger than I would have thought. If it were me, I would have killed Mike instead of letting the law deal with it. However, from what I knew of last, he was getting plenty of extra punishments in prison. Although it won't bring that precious baby back, it's good to know he didn't get the chance to take the easy way out.