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Samantha Hayes ReportingEyewitnesses have come forward today with their accounts of a murder in Orem. The accused killer, who is now in police custody, gunned down his girlfriend in front of her two children.
This horrible incident comes as the YWCA is trying to raise awareness of Domestic Violence. At the City-County building is a Wall of Remembrance, where victims of horrible crimes like this are remembered. More than 35-hundred represent people who stayed in a shelter because of domestic violence, lives that may have been saved.
It all happened too quickly for Loretta Zapata to do anything, but she'll always wonder if what she saw, what she heard, through her bedroom window could have somehow been prevented.
Loretta Zapata: "He shot her twice. It was like pow pow. It was brutal what he did to her. It was murder."
She says Keith Morton is the man she saw. He was living with Tonya Nash and her two young boys. They are eight and 11 years old, and now they are witnesses to their mother's murder.
Loretta Zapata: "Her little boy was screaming, 'My mom, my mom. I need to be with my mom. I need to help my mom."
Studies show the children will need help for a long time, maybe even a lifetime, but often kids don't get that help. Nearly a year ago the Utah Department of Health released the first report of its kind detailing Domestic Violence in Utah.
In nearly a quarter of domestic violence murders, children were witnesses. Unfortunately, like in this recent case, eight percent of the time children are also the ones who call authorities.
Rita Mangum, Chief Program officer YWCA: "Children who witness violence often experience the same symptoms and lasting effects as children who are the direct victims of violence."
The YWCA says gun violence prevention is a way to change those statistics and protect children the children who also become victims of their own grief.
Rita: "It can result in severe emotional and developmental consequences including depression, suicidal attempts, drug abuse and post traumatic stress syndrome."
Morton surrendered to police. His brother has released this statement from the family:
"We want to extend our deepest sympathy to the Nash family and especially to the children. Keith has been struggling with mental health issues for a long time, but that in no way justifies his actions. There are many victims in this tragedy and our prayers go out to all."
