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00:00911 What was the emergency?
00:18I don't know what happened.
00:20I'm picking up my daughter and my grandson and I got out of the car.
00:24My ex-wife's boyfriend started beating the shit out of me.
00:31Him and his son, they were beating me.
00:34It wasn't going to stop.
00:36All the kicks and punches to the head.
00:38That is severe head trauma.
00:42I see my gun on the ground and I grabbed it and pulled the trigger as fast as I could.
00:51My dad's never shot anyone before.
00:56But they shot a guy in the back.
00:58What are we going to do about that?
01:04This is a tough one.
01:06I'm extremely afraid for John.
01:08Now the rest of my life is on the line, but I'm not a murderer.
01:12My name is Brandon Henderson.
01:27I am a criminal defense attorney here in Cleveland, Ohio.
01:30I am representing a gentleman by the name of John Morgan.
01:33He is charged with murder of a man by the name of Daniel Peek.
01:37It doesn't get much more serious.
01:40He's facing life in prison, so the stakes are very high.
01:56She ended up moving in with Daniel Peek over at Daniel's house where this incident occurred.
02:04Mary and John actually were still married but separated.
02:08And between John and Daniel Peek, there was a little bit of bad blood.
02:17On July 31st, 2022, John was going to pick up Caitlin, his daughter, and his grandson,
02:22who happened to live with Mary, her mother, and with Daniel,
02:26in order to have a family day and a barbecue.
02:34When John was coming over, unfortunately Daniel found out about that.
02:40As John is approaching the house, he sees a very agitated Daniel Peek
02:46coming off the porch towards John in an aggressive fashion.
02:51John has been diagnosed with advanced heart disease,
02:54and he says he doesn't have the physical wherewithal or capacity to engage in a fistfight.
03:01As a result, as John exits the vehicle, he fires a warning shot.
03:07And a melee then ensues.
03:11Daniel Peek's son, Daniel Jr., who happened to live there as well, jumps into the fight.
03:18It's now two on one. It's a beating.
03:22At that point, the ex, Mary, comes outside.
03:27As John, he literally is hands and knees in the dirt, turns around and just shoots.
03:37Daniel Peek, unfortunately, died later at the hospital.
03:44I believe the prosecution intends to show that that day,
03:47John's intent was to purposely end the life of Daniel Peek.
03:51And that's just simply not true. He wasn't going there looking for trouble.
03:54And Kaitlyn, John's daughter, she's going to be an extremely important witness in this case.
03:59She heard the beating. She saw some of the shooting.
04:06She is probably the only person there who's on John's side,
04:09saying that he was put in a situation where he had to react.
04:12He was put in a position where he had to defend himself in a life or death situation.
04:19We fully believe in John's innocence.
04:21We fully believe in John's innocence.
04:23Now it's just time to get out there and convince the jury of that.
04:26John Peek is sentenced to life in prison.
04:47My whole life, I was just mechanically inclined, hands on.
04:51I just fascinated with how things work.
04:54And it helps me to, you know, stay sane.
04:57Me and my project here, you know, no other problems in life.
05:09It's not real. It's, how is this happening?
05:12This isn't me.
05:15I'm not a murderer.
05:20Pretty much my entire adult life was just family.
05:24You know, we were young and happy.
05:26We had little William and a Katelyn.
05:28And then there was four of us.
05:30Normal family.
05:34I noticed she was unhappy, but I didn't think she was that unhappy.
05:40Mary left and went to live with Dan, and I was devastated.
05:44I didn't know what to do.
05:46I didn't know what to do.
05:48I didn't know what to do.
05:50Mary left and went to live with Dan, and I was devastated.
05:54I didn't want to separate.
06:04In my early 20s, I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
06:08At 31, I had a heart attack.
06:11That really, really changed my outlook on life.
06:15It's, you know, you realize time and people, everything is precious.
06:19And that's all we have is our time.
06:22Do I get the rest of my life with my kids and grandkids, or don't I?
06:39John is coming in today. He knows he's in a lot of trouble.
06:42But I really want to make sure that I get a good version of his events and see what he remembers.
06:50What's up, partner?
06:52Hey, how you doing?
06:54Good, good. How are you?
06:56Good, real good. Come on.
06:58So, John, as you are aware, with murder, you're looking at life in prison.
07:03So this is about as serious as it gets, buddy.
07:06I'm deathly afraid of losing, you know, the rest of my life.
07:12Let's start with previous history.
07:14Was there any animosity between you and Daniel?
07:18Yes.
07:20I think it was just over a month or right around a month before the incident.
07:24Okay.
07:25I was calling Mary, my ex, or, well, my wife.
07:29It was for information for the divorce.
07:31You guys were still legally married?
07:32Yes.
07:33Okay.
07:34She didn't answer.
07:37Later, he calls.
07:38He says, yo, who's calling my girl?
07:41You know, I know who it is.
07:42I says, I wasn't calling your girl. I'm calling my wife.
07:45And I told him, I says, listen, I'm not messing with your woman.
07:49But I was like, you're going to lose her right where you found her, in another man's bedroom.
07:56He went ballistic.
07:57He's threatened my life.
07:59He wanted a fist fight right then and there.
08:01Okay, so there is a little bit of previous history here.
08:04Yeah, just, I mean, just that. It's not like there was a lot of fighting.
08:07Yeah, yeah.
08:08So, juries always look to why.
08:11And so, they're going to want to try to find a reason or a motive.
08:15Okay, and obviously, somebody steals the ex.
08:18No.
08:19Help me with that.
08:20Absolutely not.
08:21I mean, as far as I'm concerned, she's the one that hurt my feelings, that, you know, devastated me.
08:25Not him.
08:29Let's talk a little bit about the day of the incident.
08:31You know, I had been talking with my daughter that morning, and we planned to come get her.
08:36And my grandson, just like any other Sunday, just before I got there, I got a text.
08:42And it was my daughter said, well, you know, LOL, pick me up at the end of the street.
08:47And I, you know, I just waited at the house. I'm coming.
08:51No idea what I was walking into or driving into.
08:56So, you don't know that he's still boiling over about this phone call?
09:01No.
09:02Oh, no.
09:03As I'm pulling into the drive, he's running and yelling.
09:07And he flat out told me that I was dead.
09:10I mean, he said he was going to kill me.
09:11Wow.
09:15And after that, what happened?
09:17You know, I grabbed my gun from the holster.
09:21He kept coming.
09:22I shoot the gun into the dirt, into the ground.
09:26He paused for a second.
09:28I tried to bear hug him, wrestle him to the ground.
09:30I figured I could hold him here and eventually, I don't know, wear out or something.
09:34I'm a big guy. He wouldn't be able to get me up.
09:36What are you doing with the gun at this point?
09:38I'd already thrown the gun.
09:44And then, you know, out of nowhere, I felt a blow to the back of my head.
09:48And it was another person.
09:51Okay.
09:52I remember getting kicked in the face one time.
09:54And that was it. I've seen stars. I've seen black.
09:58When I opened my eyes, I see my gun on the ground.
10:01And I grabbed it and pulled the trigger as fast as I could.
10:14Please don't take this as any indication that I don't believe in you.
10:17But I have to ask.
10:19Were you going over there at all that day with any type of ill intent?
10:25Absolutely not. No.
10:29So, John, I think it's probably fair to say that you fear for your life.
10:35Yep.
10:40John never meant to take somebody's life.
10:42I don't think he committed a crime here.
10:44But a jury tends to want to hold somebody accountable.
10:49So the countdown to trial is here.
10:51There's a lot of work to be done.
10:53And John knows he's in a lot of trouble.
10:56He's in a lot of trouble.
11:13Hey.
11:14How you doing?
11:15What's up, partner?
11:16Nice to see you.
11:17Good to see you.
11:18What's up?
11:19We have an interview here with Mr. Morgan.
11:27Let's just hope there's nothing that sinks this case.
11:35All right.
11:36Your first name?
11:38John.
11:39All right.
11:40What's the latest thing happening today?
11:42Um, I just, I went over to pick up my daughter and grandson and...
11:48I don't know, he came running down off the porch.
11:50I got out of the car.
11:52He's coming with his hand in the air.
11:53As he's coming, I grab my gun.
11:58And then you two start fighting?
12:01It was more me getting my ass kicked.
12:04Did the blow daze you?
12:05Yeah.
12:06You know, she's stars kind of.
12:07I mean, I wasn't knocked out or nothing, but he was hitting hard.
12:12Now, in a situation like this, where you're in a physical fight,
12:17you start seeing the stars.
12:18That's a very vulnerable position to be in.
12:20So that adds to the panic.
12:22Yep.
12:25At some point, you were able to grab the gun.
12:30I just grabbed the gun and squeezed and it went off.
12:32I was, I didn't know what to do.
12:35Did you point the gun at Dan?
12:38I mean, I pointed the gun.
12:39I mean, I don't remember seeing her or anything.
12:43I just remember shooting her.
12:45I don't remember seeing her or anything.
12:47I just remember shooting the gun.
12:48I pointed the gun and shot it,
12:50but it's not like I had him sighted up or anything.
12:56So why'd you want to shoot him at that point?
12:58So he stops beating me.
12:59Okay.
13:02We've got brutally honest answer.
13:05You know, you thought you were shooting at him, though.
13:08Well, yeah, yeah, I was trying to.
13:10Well, why?
13:11So he stops beating me.
13:14Now that we've watched it, it is a huge sigh of relief.
13:18Right.
13:19What this guy experienced was life-threatening,
13:22and it caused him to be in a state
13:25where he was justified in firing that weapon.
13:29So he says exactly what we need him to say.
13:32In the most honest way possible,
13:34he is establishing self-defense.
13:44I struggle with this.
13:46I have dark days, good days, and bad days.
13:51One of the things I think about if I don't beat this
13:55is the people that won't have me,
13:57and at first, my grandkids.
13:59But Megan is real high on that list.
14:13I sit here all day just, you know, waiting for Megan.
14:18I guess I am like a little puppy.
14:21And she does take care of me, too.
14:23Love me.
14:24How was your day?
14:25It was good.
14:26Yours?
14:27The same.
14:28Okay.
14:29Normal.
14:30Normal.
14:31Yeah, it goes.
14:43When I'm very, very upset or, you know,
14:45I'm having a dark day or a bad day,
14:47anytime I need it, she's right there with it,
14:49and she really puts a lot of energy into me.
14:52Sometimes I don't even know why.
14:54I love you.
14:57Good.
14:59Good?
15:00Yeah, nice.
15:01What?
15:02I love you.
15:03Oh, I love you.
15:04I thought you said, how's that feel?
15:05No, I said I love you.
15:07I love you.
15:08I'm sorry.
15:09I didn't hear you.
15:10You're on the bad side.
15:11I am on the bad side.
15:12My first impressions of John were dorky, but smart, handsome.
15:19Four years later, here we are, so.
15:24Oh, it's been tough.
15:26There's been months at a time that he wouldn't get out of bed.
15:30He'd isolate, which is never good to be in your head that long.
15:34I can't imagine what he is going through.
15:37He doesn't have a malicious bone in his body.
15:41He's not capable of this at all.
15:47The thought of losing him makes me sick, utterly sick.
16:02Morning, Brandon.
16:03Hey, buddy.
16:04How you doing?
16:05Good.
16:06How are you?
16:07Living the journey.
16:17We'd like to take a look at what is going to be
16:19the most crucial piece of evidence in this case,
16:21analyze it for things that not only help us,
16:24but concerns that we have as well.
16:38Okay, let's get into it.
16:47There's Daniel.
16:50He's already got his shirt off.
16:51He's jerking his jeans.
16:53Clearly starting to get in a fighting position.
16:55Yeah, he's itching for a fight.
16:58Okay, all right, that happened quick.
17:00All right, so John had pulled his weapon
17:03once he realized that the aggression was occurring.
17:06This guy flexes a first.
17:07Sort of like, you know, come on, you know, let's do this.
17:10Exactly.
17:11John told me that Dan threatened to kill him
17:13as he was coming off the porch.
17:15But he didn't have a gun, and John does.
17:19Well, let's see where this takes us.
17:25Oh, my God.
17:27Now that, that is a bit concerning.
17:30That's not good.
17:31It looks like he tries to hit him, but throws the gun away.
17:34He's throwing the first punch, though.
17:36And now he's, like, jumping on him
17:38and bear hugs him with his weight.
17:41And then we got character number 3 right here.
17:43Oh, my God, hit him right in the back of the head with his foot.
17:45That's Danny's son.
17:46This is just 2 on 1.
17:48Man, they're double teaming him.
17:50He's in trouble.
17:53And there's John's ex, Mary.
17:57John's got nothing right now.
17:58Well, this is where I think John
18:01happened to be pulled right on top of the gun.
18:09Yeah, he just...
18:11One shot.
18:12That was quick.
18:16I'm trying to be optimistic,
18:18but we also can't hide our head in the sand.
18:21John told the police that he was only shooting
18:24to get them to stop beating him,
18:26but you do see that Dan is running away.
18:28We got a tough one here.
18:31Brandon, if they just watch the video
18:34and we don't provide them any other information,
18:36he's sunk.
18:39But he did not go over there with any ill intent.
18:42But the fact of the matter is,
18:44he shot a guy in the back from 12 to 15 feet.
18:47What are we gonna do about that?
18:58This is an unusual case because the entire incident
19:01is caught on camera, on a dash cam,
19:04and it clearly has its limitations
19:07because it only faces forward.
19:09It doesn't show all angles and all perceptions,
19:12so we're gonna really put ourselves in John's line of sight
19:16to try to experience what John was experiencing on that day.
19:24Gentlemen.
19:27Nice to see you. Thanks for coming.
19:29John. How you doing, buddy?
19:31Good.
19:32So you know why we're here today?
19:34We want to reconstruct this scene.
19:36So why don't I go on the porch,
19:38you put me where you first saw Dan,
19:40and then sort of move through the entire event
19:43starting at that point, okay?
19:46You know, as I'm pulling up, keeping an eye on him,
19:49and I get to the driveway...
19:52And then at this point,
19:54is he now at the edge of the porch?
19:58Yeah.
19:59Where Justin is now?
20:00Yeah.
20:03At what point do you pull weapon?
20:06He's already down one step.
20:08He's already down one step.
20:11At what point do you pull weapon?
20:14He's already down one step, and as he turns,
20:17he looks at me and says, you know,
20:19you're f----- dead.
20:22At that point, I grabbed the gun and pulled it out.
20:28I was scared.
20:29You know, this guy's gonna, he's attacking me.
20:31He wasn't stopping, and I didn't want to shoot him.
20:34I just pow, and shot into the dirt.
20:38I took one step forwards.
20:40Yeah, and as I was stepping, I was swinging.
20:43Was your intent to hit him with the weapon?
20:45No, I just let go of the gun.
20:47Yeah, I mean, you see in the video, you kind of toss it.
20:50So you take one step, right?
20:52The gun comes across, I go this way.
20:54Yeah, yeah.
20:55The gun's loose.
20:56I let it go, yeah.
20:57I'm facing this way,
20:59and that's when you sort of jump on him.
21:01Well, let me be Daniel.
21:03I don't want to ruin your suit.
21:04So go ahead and bear hug me.
21:06So you're like this.
21:07He's kind of shied this way,
21:09but he ends up kind of getting out underneath you,
21:12and you now are down.
21:14Yeah.
21:15And at this point, he's here,
21:18and Dan Jr. is coming off the porch.
21:20Yeah, as soon as I go to try to get up,
21:22I just felt a force from the back, and it was overwhelming.
21:28You really can't notice it until you're up here looking down.
21:32The back of his heel hits you square in the back of the head.
21:35If I did it at my weight with these shoes, you'd be out.
21:38You'd be done.
21:39Yeah.
21:41You're at this point.
21:42You're down like this, right?
21:43Mm-hmm.
21:44Dan Sr. starts dragging, and he was a strong guy.
21:47So he was pulling John by his shirt just like this.
21:54Drags you backwards,
21:55and you just coincidentally fall right on top of that gun.
21:58Yep.
21:59And as that happens, and he's kind of inching away,
22:02as soon as he sees your hand,
22:04he grabs it.
22:05Touch that gun.
22:06He's off, you know?
22:08So did you see him at all?
22:10Do you remember seeing any of this?
22:11No, I don't remember seeing him.
22:12I just remember, you know, like I said, I was disoriented.
22:15I just shot.
22:16I didn't, I wasn't like, I'd never even seen him.
22:20All I could think was shoot the gun, and they'll stop.
22:25They were beating me like nonstop.
22:27They wasn't going to stop.
22:28They weren't.
22:29Were you?
22:30Until I was dead.
22:31Fair to say.
22:32You were absolutely in fear of your life.
22:33Yeah, I just wanted to stop.
22:34I had no idea that shot anybody.
22:36I was never shooting at him.
22:45The footage of the incident only tells you so much,
22:47but walking through this with John just shows
22:50the absolute terror that went through his mind that day.
22:53He was definitely in fear of his life,
22:56and he was not seeing clearly or thinking clearly.
22:59He needed to react in self-defense.
23:04♪♪♪
23:12♪♪♪
23:20♪♪♪
23:28We need to understand your mindset before the incident,
23:31incident, during the incident, and the conclusion of the incident.
23:34So, I'd like to roll the tape.
23:36So, as you can see, you know, pulling into the driveway here, right away, the decedent
23:50coming down.
23:51Yeah.
23:52The aggressor comes right for him physically.
23:55Yeah.
23:56Immediately, it was violence.
23:57He didn't want to talk to nobody.
24:00You said, once he comes off the porch, essentially, he says, you're effing dead.
24:06Yeah.
24:08This escalated very quickly from a low level to an extremely high level where you actually
24:16believed and feared for your life.
24:19Yes.
24:20The very first words out of his mouth were, you know, threatening my life.
24:26Tim, at this point of the video, we could see that John shoots a warning shot into the
24:31ground.
24:32One of the things that does concern me is that he follows it up with a punch.
24:37If you look closely at it, he actually throws the gun off to the side, away from both of
24:43them from using the gun.
24:44The next frames show John really kind of sitting on him, and I believe John still feels threatened.
24:55And all of a sudden, another person jumps in.
25:00I remember the first kick.
25:02I seen a boot coming.
25:04I seen stars.
25:05And it was dark.
25:06It was black.
25:07The next thing I remember is landing on my gun, and I just remember grabbing it and shooting
25:14it.
25:15Tim, just so you're aware, John, at the age of 31, had a heart attack.
25:22Advanced heart disease has been a diagnosis.
25:25So, clarify to me, you don't have the physical capability of sustaining any kind of physical
25:32attack or altercation?
25:34No, no, no, no, I can't.
25:37I don't have the energy or stamina to withstand a fistfight with one person, let alone two.
25:43The only time you've ever pulled your carry concealed weapon out was in this recent incident,
25:56and was because, obviously, you felt fear and being attacked, and you felt your life
26:03was in danger.
26:05Yes.
26:08John, when I watch this video, I see you get up on your knees, turn, visibly see that
26:13this man is now running away from you, pick up your arm, aim, and fire.
26:23The video shows him shooting a person moving away from him, but the video also shows a
26:29person sustaining severe head trauma.
26:33All the kicks and punches to the head, I think that he was dazed, I think he was confused,
26:39and I think he still felt that he was in severe danger.
26:43Picking up the gun and firing it is just a reflex of survival, and that is justifiable
26:50for any kind of self-defense.
27:04The dash cam is not going to be favorable to John.
27:08However, you can't see everything from that dash cam video.
27:11You can't hear everything.
27:13And that's why I think more context needs to be added to this through some of the eyewitnesses
27:18in this case.
27:19Now, I don't expect Mary Morgan to take John's side at all.
27:22I certainly don't expect Dan Pink Jr. to try to take John's side at all.
27:26But, Caitlin Morgan was there at the scene.
27:31She is probably the only person there who's actually, you know, on John's side.
27:41She went in about an hour and a half after the actual shot itself.
27:47So this is extremely fresh in her memory.
27:50Absolutely.
27:53First name is Caitlin, C-A-I-T-L-I-N.
27:57Last name?
27:58Morgan.
28:00What do you know of the relationship with your dad and Danny?
28:04There were issues in the beginning.
28:06My dad called.
28:07I don't remember the date specifically he called.
28:09And my mom didn't answer.
28:12So Danny called back, trying to figure out who it was.
28:15Turns out it was my dad.
28:17Danny starts getting angry on the phone and yelling.
28:21And Danny was threatening to fight my dad on the phone.
28:28This phone call incident apparently was about six weeks before.
28:32Daniel feels like it's okay to pick up her phone and call back whoever is calling her.
28:38And threatening to fight her dad, showing that he's truly being aggressive.
28:42And most importantly, he's the one that lodges threats against John.
28:58We made plans.
29:01But Danny was about to go take a shower.
29:04So I told my dad that I was ready to go.
29:08But I figured Danny would go take a shower and won't know my dad came.
29:13But then Danny started waiting on the porch.
29:16And when I came outside with my stuff, he was like talking about me to my mom.
29:21Saying she needs to start walking down the road.
29:24If he comes here, I'm beating his ass.
29:28One thing I really like about that statement is that we already know that John was threatened by Dan over the phone.
29:35Which obviously is the phone call that occurred six weeks before.
29:40But now we have Caitlin saying he was threatening John right before John's arrival.
29:46And then of course John finally does pull into the driveway.
29:49And he repeats that threat by saying you're effing dead.
29:58I tried to text him and tell him that I was walking down the street.
30:02Come pick me up down the street.
30:04But he still went to the house.
30:07So I tried to get back to the house.
30:10You don't know why he went to the house?
30:13Well, he texted me. He said, I'm going to the house.
30:17Wait there. But I didn't get that text.
30:27Did you see the car pull into the driveway?
30:29He got out, but he didn't have any intent to be violent.
30:33From where I was, I was far enough that I couldn't see Danny's whole body.
30:38But I could see him and I could hear him hitting my dad.
30:41From how I could see it, he was defending himself.
30:44But he got Danny off of him.
30:46And then I saw, but I only saw from like shoulder back.
30:50But I could see the motion.
30:53And then I heard the second gunshot.
30:57She heard the beating and she partially saw some of the shooting and whatnot.
31:03And that creates a basis for self-defense.
31:06That makes it in front of a jury.
31:08That makes our jobs a whole heck of a lot easier.
31:10I agree with that.
31:14Crucially, we need to speak with Caitlin.
31:16She could be our star witness.
31:18Her dad, in her mind, acted in self-defense.
31:21And the testimony she's going to be giving at trial could be extremely crucial
31:25to whether or not John walks out of that courtroom with us.
31:29Or whether, you know, he's found guilty at the end of the day
31:34and spends the rest of his life in prison.
31:42Ha, ha, ha, ha, I got you.
31:47Get me down.
31:48Okay.
31:50Come to Papa.
31:52For as long as I can remember, my dad's like the happiest person I knew.
31:56Lately, he's not really that happy, though.
31:59We're picking up the sticks in the grass.
32:01Not those sticks.
32:02In the grass.
32:03Come here. Come with me. Come on.
32:21I grew up here 20 years.
32:24I'm 22.
32:26But then I moved in with my mom.
32:29She understands he's my dad, and I will always love my dad.
32:34She ain't going to stop me from seeing my dad, but she ain't going to help me.
32:38Okay, come up here.
32:39Give me the stick. Let me see it.
32:41I want to have it.
32:42I want to have it, too.
32:44I do want to try and come over more,
32:46because it makes him happy that we come over.
32:51I am very scared.
32:55I try not to think about everything going on.
32:57If he wasn't around, I'd...
33:02I don't know.
33:04It would be really hard for me.
33:12And the trial coming up, I don't know, I kind of just don't want it to happen.
33:16I just want time to stop.
33:18I love you.
33:19I love you, too.
33:21I love seeing you.
33:22You should just move in with me.
33:23I know.
33:26All right, I'll see you next time.
33:29It's very important to spend as much time as I can with my family.
33:33You know, how many more of these days do I get?
33:48We really got some good stuff here.
33:50These text messages are new information.
33:52Yeah.
33:53These are things that the prosecution does not have.
33:55They were not turned over by the state.
33:57When we take a close look at these,
33:59we're going to find some stuff.
34:05Amanda, this one here is great.
34:07From Kaitlyn to Megan.
34:10These people are the ones that are going to be in jail.
34:13From Kaitlyn to Megan.
34:16These people, friends and family of Danny,
34:19are saying how great he was, etc.
34:22And I'm just biting my tongue sitting here.
34:24He's threatened my mom.
34:25He's threatened my dad.
34:27He's talked s*** about my brother and me.
34:30He's talked s*** about everyone,
34:31acting like he was some badass that could beat the s*** out of anyone.
34:36I witnessed how this man talked and acted.
34:39God knows he didn't deserve to die, but he was not a great man at all.
34:42He was hateful, racist and mean.
34:46And that's the same day of the incident,
34:48roughly five hours after.
34:51That's powerful.
34:52It certainly is.
34:55This is a good one right here, I think.
34:57On the day of the incident, she's essentially saying,
35:00look, Danny attacked him, so my dad shot at him.
35:04Kaitlyn is saying exactly what she said to the police
35:07and what occurred.
35:08Danny attacked John.
35:09John was defending himself.
35:13And that's pretty much it.
35:15Yeah, I mean, I think already this is showing
35:17that Kaitlyn is definitely somebody we need to get in here
35:20and try to talk to as quickly as possible.
35:22No, I agree completely.
35:23Her testimony is going to be very important.
35:27Alright, let's get to it.
35:31Kaitlyn can be a huge key to this case.
35:34She could be the key.
35:36And she could be a great witness.
35:39John's own daughter could save his life here
35:41with the information that she has.
36:09PHONE RINGS
36:16Hey, Brandon.
36:17Hey, John, how are you?
36:18How's it going, buddy? Everything okay?
36:20Yeah, yeah, I'm good. How are you?
36:22Good.
36:23Um, reason for the call,
36:25I did want to let you know that the prosecution
36:28has reached out to us.
36:30They have offered a plea agreement.
36:34What they would be doing is they would amend
36:36the count one murder down to a manslaughter.
36:42It's a felony of the first degree.
36:44So, John, realistically, you're looking right now
36:47at a position of six to 14 years.
36:53Okay, yeah.
36:54What's your thoughts?
36:55How are you feeling?
36:56Are you feeling discouraged or...
37:0247, I'd be 61 years old.
37:04I'm 14 years.
37:05I mean, it might as well be a life sentence.
37:08With my health.
37:09Yeah.
37:12I'm better off taking my chances.
37:14I mean, I'm guessing we just go ahead
37:17and move forward, go to trial and see what happens.
37:21All right, my friend. We'll talk soon.
37:29There's no real benefit to taking 14 years.
37:33But in reality, there's always that fear
37:35that if you're turning down a deal,
37:38that the worst could happen,
37:39which would be going to trial, losing,
37:42and having to face life in prison.
37:57Katelyn is key.
37:58Her testimony could be very crucial in this case.
38:02She was there at the scene of the incident.
38:04She also has intimate knowledge
38:06of the relationship between her father and Daniel Peek.
38:09She knew the way that he would talk about her father.
38:16We've been trying to get her to talk to us for a while,
38:19so we're glad that she actually wanted to do that.
38:28We're really going to impress upon her
38:30how important her testimony is.
38:31We are really going to impress upon her
38:33the fact that her father is looking at
38:35the rest of his natural life behind prison bars.
38:57Were you collecting rocks?
38:58Mm-hmm.
38:59Okay.
39:00You dropped them?
39:01No, you dropped them.
39:10I understand they want to talk to her without me.
39:12Get her, you know, like a uncoerced,
39:16you know, description of what happened.
39:19Where'd you go?
39:20Where'd you go?
39:21No, not yet. Mommy's talking.
39:25Yeah, it's a little, it's like taking forever.
39:50She couldn't give us an answer.
39:52We've told her, you know,
39:53take some time to think about it,
39:55and we're going to let it marinate with her for a little bit.
39:58You would expect a daughter
40:00who clearly cares very much about her father.
40:03You would certainly presume
40:04that she would want to testify on his behalf.
40:06I understand this is an extremely difficult decision for her.
40:10She's in a position where she's living with her mother,
40:13and she is caught in this triangle of family dynamics.
40:18She's stuck between a rock and a hard place,
40:20but at the end of the day, we do need her to testify.
40:33What's going on, Brandon? How you doing?
40:35What up? How are you?
40:37Another day.
40:39Yeah, we got to talk about Kaitlyn.
40:47I'm concerned about her.
40:49It was a disaster.
40:51We have text messages where she talks about
40:54how Dan treated her like garbage
40:57and talked, you know, S-H-I-T to her the whole time.
41:01And then you asked her point blank,
41:03so what was it like living with Dan?
41:06She says, actually, he was kind of dumb.
41:09It is a 180, what we heard from her lips today,
41:13from what we gleaned from those text messages
41:16and from what we saw in that interview with the detective.
41:20And how's it going to look when his own daughter's
41:23not going to bat for him?
41:25Yeah, she could be the witness that causes her father
41:28to spend the rest of his life in prison.
41:34This could be a disaster.
41:37Kaitlyn up front was very pro-John,
41:41but she's living underneath the roof of her mother,
41:45so the more and more time that's going on,
41:48it seems like it's changed her whole frame of mind.
41:52How unfortunate that a daughter who adored her father
41:56may be the one to seal his fate.
42:00We were hoping that Kaitlyn would be
42:02a favorable witness for us,
42:04but now poor John Morgan has to see his own daughter
42:07essentially testify against him.
42:10Kaitlyn, you've already said you lied.
42:13Who else have you lied to?
42:15You lying to the folks in the jury?
42:17That's my child up there,
42:19and this is the rest of my life.
42:22I don't know what to do.
42:24That's my child up there,
42:26and this is the rest of my life.
42:28That was devastating.
42:31This is self-defense.
42:33This is what self-defense looks like.
42:35You can't let this guy go to prison.
42:37He's not a killer.
42:39This situation was not his fault.
42:43Will the jury find the defendant John Eugene Morgan?