Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Neighbors from Hell: Kimberlee Morton's nightmare

Episode Date: March 16, 2018

Your worst experience with a bad neighbor might be frustration over a barking dog or a junked car parked on their lawn, but Kimberlee Morton's "neighbor from hell" raped her. Nancy Grace looks at Kimberlee's and other neighbor horrors in this Crime Stories episode. She is joined by Kimberlee Morton, who is now victims' advocate, Bob Borzotta, who chronicles such stories in his book "Neighbors From Hell," New York psychologist Dr. Chloe Carmichael, Cold Case Research Institute director Sheryl McCollum, and reporter Robyn Walensky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Sirius XM Triumph, Channel 132. Do you have a neighbor from hell? Now, I don't let the twins say the word H-E-double-L, but joining me right now is the author of Neighbors from Hell. So I have to say the title of the book. Also with me, a beautiful young woman that I've had the pleasure of meeting in New York Kimberly Morton who not only was attacked brutally by a neighbor from hell brutally sexually assaulted within an an inch of her life who has now fought back and managed to change rape laws in her state. We're going to hear the whole story.

I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. I want to go right now to Kimberly Morton. Kimberly Morton endured everyone's worst nightmare. Kimberly, you were left clinging to your life, stabbed and then raped and then burned with bleach. Yes.

Burned with bleach. Yes. Burned with bleach. Kimberly Morton, when I saw you, you're absolutely stunningly beautiful. It was only when she showed me her arms that I realized the extent of her gruesome injuries. Kimberly, thank you for telling your story today and giving so many people, including me, a sense of power that we can make a difference. Kimberly, I want to start with how you thought your neighbor was perfectly harmless,

Carl Thomas. Yes. Carlos and his girlfriend, Teresa, moved in my neighborhood like three years prior to the attack. They were nice neighbors. He called me his little sister. I called him my big brother. He called my mom, mom. They would always come to my house and borrow things. And he was just a great guy. He was masquerading as a great guy. Wait a minute.

I want to get back to someone you think is a, quote, nice neighbor. I know what you mean. Everybody that I know calls my mom grandmommy or mommy, who now lives with us. And everyone in our life loves the twins and the dog and the cat and the guinea pigs and really are treated like family. Now you're saying that this guy, Carl, Carlos Thomas, and his girlfriend had moved in three years before this brutal attack, a bleach attack on you. And they were in and out of your home all the time. Is that true, Kimberly? For what reason were they in and out of your home? And with whom did you live? I lived with my mom and my little brother.

He was like five at the time. And I was 20 at the time. And they lived like right above us, like upstairs. And they were just so nice. I mean, we had great conversations. They were like so supportive of me because I was an aspiring model. So I was doing modeling auditions. I did my portfolio. And they was like, if you need, actually the modeling agencies in Atlanta had called me

three weeks before the attack. And my attacker was like, if you need money, we'll help you, you know, get the money so you can go to Atlanta. And I don't know. We never got into an argument. He never showed any liking towards me. He always referred to me as his little sister, and his girlfriend referred to me as her little sister. And when they had a baby, they named me the godmother to their baby. And she was actually pregnant, like eight months pregnant at the time of the attack. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute.

That's a fact I did not know. To Dr. Tiffany Sanders, psychologist joining me out of Chicago, you know what I've learned over the years? At first I thought it was just anecdotal that I had observed it, prosecuting so many felonies. But then I started studying the statistics. And when a mate becomes pregnant, violence escalates, Dr. Tiffany Sanders. Yeah, Nancy, it's very unfortunate to hear Kimberly's story. I'm just sick to the stomach just visualizing what she went through. And pregnant women are an easy target because of the fact that, you know, it's really like a disability. They're unable to defend

themselves. They're not quick on their feet. It could have been that their sex life wasn't active at the moment, maybe due to contractions or cramps or discomfort. So, you know, she's the the the girlfriend was prone to violence. And it seems like if he couldn't take it out on the girlfriend, he was looking for another outlet. Oh, and she's certainly not making any excuse for this guy. Kimberly Morton, Kimberly Morton, back to your story. So you think you've got these great neighbors that are actually offering to help you in your modeling endeavors. And guys, if you could see Kimberly, you'd understand why people would love for her to be their model.

But back to your story, what happened? So the night before, I was supposed to go to a modeling audition, but my friend, her car, it was like breaking down. So I asked Carlos Carlos I was like can you like ride with us to the Cook Inventure Center um because you know just in case something bad happens you know we need a male with us and he was like oh well I don't have any driver's license so I was like oh man I missed this opportunity and everybody's like oh well you you'll get the next one so I walked up I mean no he walked upstairs went in his house and like maybe like an hour later I went up his house his girlfriend was cooking and we were just all sitting at the table just laughing and talking and I was like I'm about

to go home I don't feel too well I gotta go to work in the morning so I went home that night and I went to bed and when I got up that morning, I didn't feel well. It's like I was coming down with the flu. So I was like, I'm not going to work today. And around maybe like seven, he tapped on my window. Like a lot of people will tap on my bedroom window if I have the music up loud. But he tapped on my window and when I opened the blinds, I thought it was Carlos. I didn't think anything of it. I'm thinking he's going to tell me his girlfriend wants me or they want to use the phone because they always borrow everything.

So when I opened the door, he walked right past me. He was like, let me use your telephone. I said, oh, our phone is off because I forgot to pay the bill. And he stood in front of me and said, what's wrong with you? I said, I don't feel well. That's why I didn't go to work today. And he just grabbed me by my neck, dragged me to my bedroom, threw me on the bed. He savagely raped me. And after he finished raping me, he grabbed my bed pillows and tried to smother me. And he grabbed me up by my neck and started strangling me. And the more I tried to fight him, the harder he would strangle me. And then I passed out. When I came to, I was lying in blood and I was lying on my side

and I just saw a lot of blood everywhere and I was trying to get up and he was like, lay down. He was like literally like behind me and I'm like, oh my God, he's still here. How am I going to get out of this? And we actually had a conversation. He was like, Kim, I'm sorry to do this to you. You're like a little sister to me. I'm like, well, why are you doing this to me? He's like,

shut up. You know why? If you tell anybody, I'm going to come back and kill your mother. I said, all I want to do is just get up, take a hot bath and go to bed. He's like, no, you got to go to the hospital. At that time, I didn't know what he had did to me. So I said, if you let me live, I promise I will not tell on you. He was like, well, how do I know I can trust you? I was like, if you let me live, no one will believe you did it. So he crossed over me. He started unhooking my TV and VCR.

And when I looked down, I saw the butcher knife in my side. And I tried to pull it out. He was like, leave it in there. I'm going to get help. When he crossed over me, I got up. Wait, wait, wait. You're going so fast. I can't even take it in. Wait a minute. Wait in there. I'm going to get help. When he crossed over me, I got up. Wait, wait, wait. You're going so fast, I can't even take it in. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. I'm sorry. So he taps on your door. He taps on your door. You think he wants to borrow the phone or something. You go to the door. You're sick. You never miss work, but that day you think you're getting the flu.

You stay home. He goes, what's wrong with you? And you tell him you think you're getting the flu. And then the very next thing is what? He grabbed me by my neck and dragged me to my bedroom. And I'm thinking like, is this really happening? Because I was asleep at first. I'm like, am I dreaming? Is this really happening? And that's when he raped me. And he started, like, putting my bed pillows over my face, trying to smother me. And it's like, the more I tried to fight him, it angered him.

And he was strangling me. And I was just thinking, he's going to kill me. He's about to kill me, and no one's going to know who did it. That's what I was thinking. Strangling you with what, manually? Or did he have a ligature to strangle you? Oh, with his hand. How did you, how did, I didn't understand the part about the butcher knife. Yes, it was in my side because when I, when he strangled me, I remember just taking my last breath, just fighting him and just trying to breathe. And everything just went black.

So when I came to, he had already stabbed me, poured the bleach over me, strangled me with telephone cords. Oh, my stars. Wait, wait, wait. He strangled you with a, for those of you just joining us, we're talking about neighbors from hell. And right now with me, Kimberly Morton, who barely survived a brutal rape and attack on her life, strangled you. All of this is documented in court

records, strangled you with a phone wire, stabbed you with a butcher knife, I think from your own home, and poured bleach on you. When you came to, what shape were you in? I was thinking, oh my God, he's still here. I didn't know what happened. All I know, I just saw blood everywhere. And he was just, I was trying to get up, and he was just, like, lay down. And he said he's going to either, like, have to kill me or shoot me. And I'm like, why are you doing this to me?

He was like, shut up, you know why. So I'm laying down. I don't know what happened, what he did to me. Morton says Carlos Thomas, a formerly nice neighbor, had strangled her until she passed out. She says when she woke up, he had already stabbed her repeatedly, poured bleach all over her body, had left a knife plunged into her side, and had wrapped telephone cords around her neck. I remember you telling me when we met in person at Dr. Oz that you were so near death, you defecated. Yes, I had my last bowel movement. Yes.

And he also had like a sheet wrapped around my neck. And I can't believe this. Yes. Joining me right now, Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Institute. Cheryl, you and I have seen a lot of crimes, but he had basically murdered her let's see strangling strangling ligature stabbing uh asphyxiation with a pillow and bleach that's killing her five times over her story is so powerful and kimberly i just got to tell you personally you're a freaking rock star oh thank you what you're able to do for people is going to be remarkable and you're going to be able to help more people than you will ever know by your story thank you i appreciate that thank you so much i think one thing that is so important nancy is that the perpetrator of course was awesome.

Of course befriended her. He was setting the stage. He was gaining, you know, trust from her. He was gaining Intel from her. He knew when she would be alone, possibly he knew, Hey, she's supposed to be at work. So if she's not, you know, this might be my opportunity. So real important for people to understand, and it's sad, but just because somebody's nice to your child or nice to you or nice to your spouse, it could be the start of you becoming a victim. And the other thing, I'm going to cut back to Robin Walensky,

Crime Stories investigative reporter. But, Robin, you and I have covered so many cases. We know that when you are near death or upon death, you have a bowel movement. You totally clean out your insides at death. That's how close to death Kimberly Morton was. You know, Nancy, her story is so riveting. And not only was she a crime victim, but she's been able to do something about it. But I will by telling her story and sharing. But I think, you know, when you talk about these neighbors from hell and this and this rapist, I think that there can can be a whole other dialogue that can be going on in your neighbor's mind that you know nothing about. And that maybe Kimberly reminded him of someone that he had a past beef with. And maybe that's why he was

confusing the two. People can do this in crimes where they attack someone that reminds them of someone else. And that could be part of the psychology of this. To Kimberly Morton joining me, rape and attempted murder victim, how did you manage to convince him to let you live, Kimberly? I told him if he let me live, I wouldn't tell on him and he was like,

well, how do I know I can trust you? I was like, if you let me live, no one believes you did it and he believed me. Thank God he believed me and he said, well, how do I know I can trust you? I was like, you let me live. No one believed you did it. And he believed me. Thank God he believed me. And he said, well, let me, you know, take your TV and VCR and just make it appear as if, you know, somebody broke into your house. And when he crossed over me and he started like taking my stuff, like, like he was about to take my stuff out of my house. And I looked down and I saw the butcher knife in my side and I was like, wait, what? And I tried to pull it out. He said, leave it in there. I'm going to get help. He crossed over me and went out the door. I got up. I had a long mirror on my bedroom door. And

I looked in the mirror. I couldn't believe it. I was bloody from head to toe. I had telephone cords around my neck and I had a sheet wrapped around my neck. I don't know how I untangled all of that. I opened my closet door, put on clothes, and I struggled down the hallway, leaving my bloody fingerprints all through the hallway. And I locked the door he went out of. And by the time I was going out the back door, I heard him twisting on my knob trying to get back in. And I was so terrified.

I'm like, oh my God, he's back. I didn't know if he was coming back to kill me. So I just got as much energy as I possibly could. And I went out the other door. And as soon as I went out the other door, boom, he kicked the door back in. And then what happened? I stumbled. I was just stumbling.

It was in the middle. It was November. I had no shoes, no socks on. And a neighbor was walking by. And she said, oh, my God, Kim, is that you? Because I was unrecognizable. Because when he strangled me, he burst my blood vessels in my eyes. And I had no white at all. And she's like, oh, my God. And she took me two doors down. And they called the paramedics. And I was kind of calm. Everybody, you know how bad news spread. So everybody in the neighborhood was hearing that something happened to me. So everybody was coming in. Like, oh, my God, what happened? Who did this to you?

And I just didn't say anything. Because he came in, too. And I'm like, oh, my God. I just didn't say anything because he came in too and I'm like oh my god I just escaped wait a minute so he comes over there while you're lying there and the neighbors are calling 9-1-1 what did he say he was trying to get to me and they were trying to move him back he's like no she's like a little sister to me and when I saw him I panicked I started shaking and blood just started because he stabbed me in my neck. And the blood just started pouring out of my neck. And my cousin pulled the knife out my side and threw it on the floor.

And blood was just everywhere. It was a mess. I just wanted to get safe. I didn't say he did it, because they were like, who did this? We'll kill him. Who did it? I didn't say anything, because I was so, I was frightened. Because it was like, I just escaped this nightmare and here he is again so he was trying to act like he was helping when the neighbors were calling 9-1-1 he did not think you'd tell on him

no he I guess he believed me when I said I wasn't going to tell but um when the paramedics came as they was rolling me out on the stretcher i looked up and i saw his girlfriend she was standing in her door and we both just looked at each other we locked eyes i wanted so badly to say carlos did this and she was looking terrified like as if she already knew and when they put me in the truck a a police lady opened the door and said, did Carlos Thomas do this to you? And I just shook my head, yes. And that's when they took him down. Because he had blood and bleach all over him. And he was saying that he found me like that.

Oh, blood and bleach all over him. With me, Kimberly Morton, who survived a brutal rape, a knife strangulation, and bleach attack. I have seen the bleach scars myself, and she survived. With me, Kimberly Morton, Bob Borzada, Dr. Tiffany Sanders, Cheryl McCollum, and Robin Walensky. Kim Morton, when you said yes, my neighbor did this to me. What happened then? Only thing I can remember is going, I arrived at the hospital and all the doctors were cutting my clothes up and it was just a lot of doctors around me. And I just remember being in ICU. I don't know what happened.

You know, people told me what happened. Like, they arrested him, and I wasn't aware of that. So, yeah, I was, like, in the ICU for a while. Tell me about your bleach, the bleach attack. I had second degree burns over like 50% of my body. And what's so sickening about it, it's like, when he poured like the bleach on me, it's like he drew it on me, like the bleach on my stomach stomach you can see he drew a design on my stomach it's perfectly like so I guess while I was passed out he was drawn on my body like it's it's sickening but I had to be um put in a burn unit and I couldn't walk I couldn't do anything because the burns made

it difficult for me to stretch and move. And I was so ugly. Like I had the mirror like covered up. I had my family to put a sheet over the mirror because I couldn't look at myself because I was so ugly. And I just cried. I'm like, oh, my God, my body is scarred up. I can't be a model. That's all I kept thinking about.

I can't be a model. That's all I kept thinking about. I can't be a model. All of my dreams are gone. And it was terrible. It's hard for me to reconcile hearing you say you're ugly because what I saw was beautiful. To Robin Walensky, Crime Stories investigative reporter, this so-called nice neighbor, Carl, Carlos Thomas, what happened? I think, Nancy, that this was a premeditated act. He had the bleach. I think it was planned and plotted in his mind probably for a very long time. Kimberly knew him for about three years. And he went over there knowing when she would be alone.

He knew her routine. And it does not surprise me at all by Kimberly's story saying that after the paramedics were called, that this guy has the audacity, this rapist, to return to the scene to act like, oh, I found her in this condition. You know this, Nancy, the audience knows this. Killers return to the scene of their crimes. And this is why police officers, you know, when there's unsolved murders, often tag these people and watch them to see if they go back to the scene of the original crime. And guess what? He did, but he didn't get away with it, luckily. You know, why is that? Cheryl McCollum, Cold Case Research Institute director, it's true. People always go back to the scene. I always think of Scott Peterson going and standing out over the side of the San Francisco Bay, looking out at the water where he dumped his wife and unborn baby.

You know, they actually followed him. They actually know that he would go there and look out. Why is that, Cheryl? I've seen it a million times. A couple of reasons, Nancy. One, sometimes it's porn to them. They love to be in the middle of the chaos that they created. Two, sometimes they like to know what the police know when they know it. Are they on to anything? Do they suspect anything? Where are they searching? Where are they looking? You know, is it going to come back to me? So there's a multitude of reasons, all sickening, by the way. But another thing we need to concentrate on this case is it is very difficult for me to believe this man went from never assaulting anyone to the magnitude of what he put Kimberly through. So there are very possibly other victims in his wake. And since rape is so underreported, even starting in high school, I'm certain that he has assaulted other people. Oh, he did. Go ahead. Oh, yeah. I just wanted to say he did. Actually, it came out

in court that he had a rape case as a juvenile, and we didn't know that. Well, just Cheryl McCollum? Yeah. Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Institute, you called it. Joining me right now, author of a brand-new book you can get on Amazon.com, Neighbors From Hell. I have met Bob Borzada, and he has got an incredible book on the market. Bob Borzada, author of Neighbors from Hell. I mean, you literally wrote the book.

Bob, weigh in on Kimberly's scenario and our, I mean, we were just throwing it out there. This couldn't be his first time. You don't go from kindergarten to rape and attempted murder. You know, there's got to be a couple of steps in between. You don't just suddenly do that. Typically, Bob Borzada, I want to hear what you think, author of Neighbors from Hell. Well, I agree with what you guys are thinking there, because first, just let me say, you know, this is the second time I've heard Kimberly's story. I'm shaking. I am shaking

listening to this. And I'm a pretty hardened reporter, you know, and I've dealt with a lot of neighbor violence stories. But yeah, I have to agree. This person had done it before, very likely. Of course, I don't know the facts, but you don't go from kindergarten to rape. And, you know, if I could just say this, we're not talking about someone who just hurt someone. This is someone who got off, if I may say that. He was getting off on it and doing all of these ritualistic things. You know, I deal with sociopathic neighbors quite a bit. And, you know, it runs the gamut, you know, from, you know, being noisy and then gossiping and, you know, retaliating. But this is not a sociopath. This is this is like a psychopath. This is beyond psychopathology. And it is it just it frightens me to know that there could be someone out there. Maybe it's your neighbor. Maybe it's someone you don't know.

But just that there are people out there who want to hurt you. And yes, I mean, Kimberly is a beautiful woman. She was a beautiful woman, I'm sure. And she has fought this good fight. And I'm so pleased for her to be where she is now. But amazingly enough, she did survive this. And yeah, I really want this guy back behind bars. I want people like this not able to do what they have done again. Operative word, Bob Borzada, author of Neighbors from Hell said, back behind bars. Robin Walensky crime stories investigative reporter what the hey did he mean by

back behind bars well he he was a rapist and he was convicted and in memphis tennessee he allegedly had a good behavior behind bars so he only served 12 out of the 15 years, 85%, Nancy, and then he was out. Okay, it's actually making my stomach hurt right now. Dr. Tiffany Sanders, psychologist joining me from Chicago. Did you hear what Bob Borzada said, neighbors from hell author that he got off on inflicting pain the strangulation the manual strangulation of having her neck in his hands ligature strangulation with a foam cord stabbing her and telling her to leave the knife in her side then pouring bleach on her body. I mean, and he enjoyed it. What is that, Dr. Tiffany Sanders? There's got to be a name for it other than the devil.

I'd say crazy, lunatic, psychopath. I mean, this is a man without any conscience. This is a man that had no empathy. He could not understand that this young lady was an aspiring model trying to live her life. And he decided to take control over her, her life, her where she's trying to go. And he decided to rape her and try to murder her. It's beyond belief to think that there are humans that exist that live upstairs below us, beside us, will do certain things like that. But again,

no conscious, he did not have any regard. Is that what a psychopath is? What's the definition of psychopath? A psychopath is someone without any sort of empathy, they don't think about other people, they don't have that little voice inside of them that says this is wrong. They enjoy hurting or harming other people. They have antisocial personality characteristics. These individuals do not have any regard for other people. And what's so scary, Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Institute, they look just like everybody else. Cheryl, have you ever pulled up, say at night or anytime at a red light, and you kind of look around at the cars around you at the red light, and you think, I wonder which one of them has a gun. I wonder which one of them is a psychopath.

Who, I mean, because Bob Borzada said it, author of Neighbor from Hell, above you, below you, beside you. The devil's among us, Nancy, And they just let another one out. So this monster's free. He's out there. And he will reoffend. Period. So you look at rapists.

He did. Oh, he will. But I'm saying every single time he's free, he will do it. So they will tell you, oh, well, only, you know, 20% of all rapists get reconvicted. Listen to me. 46% get reconvicted on other crimes, such as burglary and peeping Tom and stalking and et cetera, aggravated assault.

Do not be fooled by these people. So 66% will reoffend within five years. It's easy math. And, Nancy, I think we need to get this guy's mugshot and put it up on Crime Online. All of us need to repost it and retweet it and everything else. People need to know what this man looks like. To Kimberly Morton, I know you're hearing what we're all saying theoretically, but you lived through it. I remember I had been on the air all morning at Court TV and went back to my office and turned on my computer. The first email I read was from a

viewer that said, Nancy, do you know your fiance's murderer has just been released? I, nobody told me a word. That is how I found out. I remember looking out on 3rd Avenue thinking, I, what, do I need to go kill him? Is that what I need to do now? Kimberly, how did this guy, your neighbor from hell, who was absolutely proven he raped and attacked you, by the way, did he plead guilty or go to trial? He pled guilty the day before the trial.

He kept saying, I didn't do that to her. She's lying. So when it came right down to facing off with you in court, he pled guilty. So there's no doubt that he did it because he admitted under oath that he did it to plead guilty. Kimberly, how did you find out he was already out? Actually, it was one of my friends from back home told me, you know, your attacker is about to get out soon.

I'm like, what? No, he still has three more years to do. And she was like, no, the word on the street is he's getting out. So I began to do my research and come to find out he was getting out. So my initial plan was it wasn't anything about a law it was just I just want to keep him in jail um I just want him to serve the 15 years that they gave him because at first they gave him 30 years he had 15 for attempted murder and 15 for aggravated rape which I feel is fair but they was like oh well since it happened the

same day we can't charge him separately. I'm like, what? That's not true. Even if it's on the same day, a rape is a separate offense than an attempted murder. And an assault with a knife is a separate offense than an assault with a bottle of bleach is a separate offense. So I'm just overwhelmed at this. Kimberly Morton, when you learned he was getting out, what did you do?

I started writing letters to the governor, the parole board. I started doing news interviews. And we were going to try to stop his early release. But it didn't work. There was an interview. The parole board was like, oh, he's a model citizen. He's behaving well. He's doing this and he's doing that.

So they let him out. And that is what pissed me off so bad. I'm like, come on, just let him do the 15 years is not enough for what he did anyway. So just let him do his time. And I would not have said one word if he served the whole 15 years, but they want to let him out early. Okay. So I created a, um, that's when I started to do Kimberly's law. But since he's been out, he has assaulted three other people, violated the sex incentive registry. They have expunged it off his record

and he's still free to walk the streets and i'm pissed off about that and well i guess you i guess you what go ahead oh and 85 percent of all the sex offenders violent sex offenders in memphis all of them are listed that there are homeless including my attacker he's been listed that he's homeless on his sex offender registry for four years none of them are homeless i I feel like you're in violation. You're supposed to go back to jail for that. He didn't even get in trouble. He's not even in trouble. They put homeless so they don't have to give an address. It's a con. He's a con man. The same reason he was nice to you and good to you and sweet to you and you thought he was your friend. He's a con man. When they behave in prison, it's a con.

How ignorant do we have to believe that, oh, he's a model prisoner? Emphasis on prisoner. A 20-year-old aspiring model left beaten, strangled, burned with bleach, and raped, viciously raped. Bleach poured over her body at her Tulane apartment in Memphis. But Kim Morton survived and turned her case into a mission for other victims like herself to get justice so other victims would not feel the heartache and the pain that she felt. Your story really strikes a chord in me, Kimberly. After the murder of my fiance, I did not know what I was going to do until I decided to become a prosecutor and try to help

other crime victims. Kimberly did not give up. Even though her attacker, Carlos Thomas, pled guilty for aggravated rape and attempted murder, a loophole in Tennessee law allowed him to serve just a portion of that sentence. He was out in just a few years. She's left devastated and goes public with her story. she caught the attention of a Tennessee state representative Antonio Parkinson who because of Kimberly sponsored a bill that the governor signed changing the Tennessee law so violent rapist must serve 100% of their sentence. No credit for good behavior. It's called Kimberly's Law.

Kimberly, what gave you the strength to battle and change the law? I didn't want no other victim to feel the heartache and pain that I felt. Look, I felt like the justice system failed me. They mistreated me. They lied on me and said that I agreed for him to have 15 years. And they told me he had to serve all his time at 100%. And they just lied. So I was like, if they're doing this to me, I know they're doing this to other people.

So it's too late for me to get justice. So let me fight for other people. That's going to be in the same situation I was in. I just didn't want anybody to meet my same fate. So I started riding a Greyhound bus 27 hours from New York, Nashville, Memphis, Memphis, Nashville, New York, fighting for the rights of others.

And I'm still fighting. You know what? I'm just thinking about what you said. I've been on many a Greyhound bus before, but from New York to Memphis to Nashville, when you look back on what you have achieved, Kimberly Morton, you've got to be proud some way. You you got to be proud some some way you got to be proud, right? A little. Because I haven't, I feel like I just got one state. And I've been

fighting for five years. And you don't know this, Nancy. But when we was at the Dr. Oz show, I was going to come out there and give up. And the producers chased me around the building and said, you're not going to go out there and you're not going to give up on yourself. I was like, I'm tired of fighting this fight by myself. I don't have no help. Nobody cares about what I'm doing. Five years, I'm tired and I don't want to fight anymore. So I want to ask them, how do I give up? Because I don't know how to give up and the producers were like you're not going to give up you go out there and you let them know that it's hard but you're going to keep fighting and I don't know every time I try to give up God keeps sending people my way to tell me oh it's going to make me cry I'm just so tired

I'm not getting anywhere so So, I don't know. If you, right now, Kimberly is leading her battle in New York where she now lives. She moved away from where she was attacked there at Tulane Apartments. If you want to make a difference in New York where she is leading her battle now, you can contact the Attorney General. The number 1-800-771-7755. 1-800-771-7755. Not only that, I want to give you the email address. To reach them online, go to nyag.pressofficeatag.ny.gov. G-O-V for government. nyag.pressofficeatag.ny.gov. Bob Borzada, author of Neighbors from Hell. Your book exposes

neighbors that go crazy and commit all sorts of crimes. Tell me about what you've learned from writing your book, Bob. Oh, man. Well, before I had written it, or let me say this, as I was writing it, I was coming across some really ridiculous items, and I just saw a pattern growing where people were starting to take things out on each other in very unusual ways. If the dog next door is barking, people would throw nails over, over the fence, or throw chicken bones, hoping to choke the dog. All of this rather than trying to work things out with the neighbor. And in many cases, people did just reach a point of frustration trying to work things out with the neighbor so that, you know, there wouldn't be that barking dog or the other issue.

And they became frustrated that nothing got better. And then they became the neighbors from hell themselves by doing these awful things. And I saw that this was not getting better. And I predicted in the book that we would see neighbor versus neighbor turning violent more and more. And sure enough, that's what I'm seeing. And I tweet about it every day. There's a story where snow shoveling or leaf throwing became, you know, a death or a hospital sin.

To Kimberly Morton, everyone, that was Bob Borzada, author of Neighbors from Hell. Kimberly Morton, you told me that at the time you were on Dr. Oz, which was incredible, you were ready to give up. What is your state of mind now? I think I'm going to keep pushing. Everybody keeps telling me don't give up, just keep going, just keep trying to pursue because I feel like I want to speak in Congress. I want my bill to be passed in all 50

states. So I don't know if I can't get Senator Gillibrand, who's an advocate for sexual assault, like, I don't understand how I can't get her on board. I don't get it. If you want to make a change, if you want to make a difference. You can contact the senator in New York, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, G-I-L-L-I-B-R-A-N-D. They won't listen to me. Kimberly Morton, you have tried to reach the senators in New York, starting with Kirsten Gillibrand. I have no idea. What happened when you contacted her? You know, it's not, it's not them. It's their people. Cause you have to go through their people to get to them. And they keep saying, Oh, we're going to call you back. Oh, we're going to, we're going to eat for five

years. I'm actually, I took trips because I live upstate New York. So I would travel four hours to the city, go to her office, give them my information. They send it to Washington and they keep saying, Oh, we'll have somebody to call you. And I actually spoke with her attorney while she emailed me. And I've been conversing with her for like two years. She keeps giving me the runaround. And last year in January, her attorney said, I'm working on Kimberly's law on a federal level. Okay. That was last year. I emailed her so many times throughout the year she will not return my email that's how they do it's just ridiculous i'm tired like i don't know what to do what about chuck schumer what about schumer he's the other senator i've tried him too i've tried everybody

all the congressmen everybody for five years i literally what i did was i started documenting everything like every person that i talked to in Washington, everything that they said to me, anything that's pertaining to this bill. And I actually have 188 pages of all the work that I've done trying to get this bill in Congress. And I feel, Kate. You know, it's amazing to me that nobody, they are not listening to you. You pay their salary and so do I. Alan Duke, what are the emails and the phone numbers for these two? I tried to get Kirsten Gillibrand's info and it just wants me

to give a donation. That's the first thing that pops up. That does not instill confidence in me. All right. I mean, you'd think with a female senator, they'd be about women's issues, right? No. What are their contact? What's their contact information, Alan Duke? Nancy, listeners who want to help Kimberly get federal legislation going to help her cause can contact U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She is one of the two senators from the state of New York where Kimberly now lives. And the number to call and to tell them to listen to Kimberly Morton is area code 202-224-4451. Area code 202-224-4451.

That's the office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Kimberly Morton, here is a chance for you to speak directly to rape victims, to assault victims. What do you have to say? I would tell them that there is hope and that you can make it. You're not going to always be down. You're not going to always be depressed. I mean, you will become a survivor in your own time. You know, you don't have to rush it.

And I mean, you can just, you can make it. I mean, it's not the worst thing in the world. You can pick yourself back up and you can be great and you can do great things in this world. Even after all of that. Kimberly Morton, sex assault victim, near murder victim who survived. Bob Borzada, author of Neighbors from Hell,

Dr. Tiffany Sanders, Cheryl McCollum, Robin Walensky, Jackie, and Alan. Thank you for being with us, Kimberly. I know you're tired. I know you want to give up. But don't stop. You're an example and a model to too many people.

You want to have a final thought, Kimberly? I just don't know what to do. I don't know which way to go. I don't know. I'm going to try to keep pushing, but it's a little hard. I feel stupid because I feel stupid because I'm doing all this work for nothing and I'm not getting anywhere. And it's like nobody will listen. Well, you've already gotten the law changed in one state and God willing, other states will follow. please go to CrimeOnline.com, where we have the numbers and the emails for you and Kimberly's story.

Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.