The Murder of Vanessa McMorick

Sep 20

For this case, I watched an episode of Vengeance Killer Neighbors. It’s season 1 episode 9, titled ‘Murderous Moms.’

A 20-year-old woman is stabbed while visiting her sister.

I couldn’t find a photo of Vanessa to add to this post.

Background

Vanessa McMorick and her sister, Christina, were very close. They even became pregnant around the same time, with Vanessa giving birth about 2 months before her sister. Vanessa was also very close with Christina’s other children, but especially with her niece, Diamond.

Vanessa worked at a clothing store in Cleveland, and lived downtown. She was described as the glue of the family, and as beautiful on the inside and outside.

The Feud

On April 27, 2005, the Euclid, Ohio police received a 911 call. The call was about a domestic dispute in progress.

The caller, another neighbor, said that a large fight had broken out between two families. A second 911 call came in just a few minutes later. This time, the caller said that someone had been stabbed.

When the police arrived, there were about 15 people, men and women, fighting. There were punches and hits being thrown, and obscenities were being said.

One woman later identified as Vanessa, was lying in the driveway. Christina was helping Vanessa, and said that she was bleeding. Christina also explained that Vanessa just had a blank stare on her face.

Vanessa was put into the ambulance. The police also discovered that Christina had been stabbed once in the back. Christina said she didn’t even realize, and thought she had just been hit by something. Christina was also rushed to the hospital.

Teen Love

At the time of the stabbing, Christina lived with her husband and their 5 kids on Crystal Avenue in Euclid.

In June 2005, a new family moved in. Ashley, 32, moved in with her boyfriend, Matt, and their 4 children, two of them being Matt’s. Christina said she kept to herself, and didn’t make it a priority to befriend the new neighbors.

Christina spoke to Detective Ken Kucinski at the hospital. Christina told him that the two families had a history of arguments. Christina was able to identify the attacker as Ashley Berger.

Christina explained that the history of arguments began when her daughter, Diamond, rejected Ashley’s son, Deonte. Christina said her daughter was 12 at the time, and wasn’t going to be dating anyone. After Diamond rejected Deonte, he began bullying her and her brother, Jonathan.

Christina said she went to the school to talk to their teachers, and even tried to have them help transfer her kids to another school. Christina said they did absolutely nothing to help.

The Fight Continues

In February 2005, Christina said she went over to speak to Ashley about the bullying. Christina said she went over holding her son, who was 2 at the time. Christina said she ran into Matt, who was walking out of the house, and tried to explain the situation to him. Christina said Ashley thought she was flirting with Matt, and punched her in the face. Christina said she dropped her son when Ashley hit her.

The police were called after this incident, and told the families to stay in their homes. The feud continued to escalate, and the police were contacted several times.

On April 27, Diamond said Vanessa and her mom ran errands while they were at school. Diamond’s birthday was in 3 days, and she and Vanessa had plans to go shopping that night.

Christina said she had her older nephews walk over to the bus stop to get Diamond and Jonathan. As she and Vanessa were returning from their errands, she saw Ashley and a large group of people outside. Christina said the large group began yelling at them as they walked up to their own house.

Ashley and Matt were claiming that Jonathan had attacked Deonte. Matt walked up to Vanessa, and began yelling at her. Christina said she didn’t remember being stabbed, seeing Vanessa get stabbed, or even seeing Ashley with a knife. Ashley was being told to run back inside after she stabbed them.

Ashley’s Admission

After the fight, the police separated all the participants. Ashley was found in her kitchen, and the knife was found in the sink. It was collected, but the testing on the knife didn’t help. The knife had been cleaned by Ashley.

At the police station, the police had the two families fill out a statement report. They were soon notified that Vanessa had bled out, and passed away from her injuries.

Ashley was questioned by the police, and was also notified that Vanessa was dead. After she was told this, she blurted out that she didn’t mean to do it.

Ashley did admit that she had punched Christina in the face back in February, but that she was defending herself. Ashley claimed she tried to get a restraining order against Christina, but that the two families couldn't compromise or agree on anything when the courts got involved.

When the police spoke to Ashley’s family, they wouldn’t admit that Ashley was involved. The other neighbors around the neighborhood wouldn’t get involved either.

More to the Story

At first, the police just thought that Ashley was fed up with the fighting. But, Ashley told them that Christina and Vanessa had been the ones that took it too far. Ashley claimed that Christina and Vanessa had threatened to kill her unborn child. Yes, Ashley was 5 months pregnant at the time.

Ashley said that Christina and Vanessa had said they were going to stomp the unborn baby out of her. Ashley said she was determined to protect her kids and her unborn child.

On April 27, Ashley called the police at 3pm, and told them that Christina’s nephews were harassing her kids. Ashley said she had called her parents, and waiting for them to pick her up. She said the large argument started when her parents arrived. She said Christina and Vanessa began to yell things at them, so Matt became involved, and so on.

Ashley said she grabbed a knife when Christina and Vanessa walked onto her porch. While Ashley claimed that it was self defense, there was very little evidence to support that. Ashley had been inside the house when it started, and came outside with a knife.

The Conviction

On June 2, 2005, Ashley was indicted for murder and 4 counts of felonious assault.

The trial was postponed due to Ashley’s pregnancy. She gave birth in August, and went on trial in November.

The prosecution described Ashley as being driven by hatred. They had records of Ashley’s behavior, and Vanessa’s medical report was used as evidence. Vanessa had been stabbed 7 times. One of the stab wounds was to her arm and the muscle, so she wouldn’t have been able to use it to fight back. The stab wound that most likely killed Vanessa was 3 inches deep, and had pierced her lung and pulmonary artery. The jury was also shown a photo of the large blood stain outside of Ashley’s home.

Ashley’s defense used arguments given by Ashley’s family about Christina and Vanessa starting the fight. They all said that they heard them threaten to stomp Ashley’s baby, and that she was defending her family. They said Ashley hadn’t grabbed the knife to kill anyone, but to scare them.

The jury deliberated for 3 days. On November 21, 2005, Ashley Berger was convicted of manslaughter and assault charges. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Ashley was released in 2010.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While I do think both families were involved in the never ending fights, I believe Christina over Ashley. I don’t think anyone threatened to stomp a baby out of someone. I think that both parties maybe yelled things at each other, and it did turn violent on Ashley’s end several times. She admitted to hitting Christina while she was holding her child. Ashley made the decision to grab a knife that day. Christina and Vanessa were involved in the fight, but they didn’t have a weapon. It’s hard to prove what actually happened because there could be more to it. Five years is a very short sentence for killing someone, but it might be the right sentence considering the real story is probably not being told.

Sources

https://www.news-herald.com/2005/11/22/euclid-woman-guilty-in-stabbing/

https://www.news-herald.com/2005/12/21/prison-for-killer/

https://law.justia.com/cases/ohio/eighth-district-court-of-appeals/2006/2006-ohio-6583.html