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2 I am a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for this county: I am familiar with the investigative report in 13C-7748 and the following information is contained in that report: On July 17, 2013 at approximately 2:30 a.m., multiple law enforcement officers were dispatched to Forest Road 73 within Lewis County for a report of a deceased individual. Initial reports were that there had been an altercation up on Forest Road 73 along with a car accident and that Brenda Lee Bail (DOB 03/24/1965) had died as a result of injuries sustained during the altercation and/or car accident. Given the initial reports, a homicide investigation was initiated.
AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE Page 1 of 6
LEWIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
345 W. Main Street, 2nd Floor Chehalis, WA 98532 360-740-1240 (Voice) 360-740-1497 (Fax)

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR LEWIS COUNTY STATE OF WASHINGTON, No.13-1-00480-6 Plaintiff, vs. COREY ROSS MORGAN, Defendant. II. AFFIDAVIT STATE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY OF L E W I S The undersigned on oath states: ) : ss. ) AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE

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Prior to law enforcement arriving, Corey Ross Morgan (DOB 08/27/1980), the Defendant, had come down Forest Road 73 on foot to a neighboring residence and advised the residents of his version of events as described above, at which time law enforcement was contacted. Law enforcement arrived on scene and secured Forest Road 73 and the vehicle the Defendant was driving. It was apparent that Ms. Bail was deceased at the scene, but she was transported to Morton General Hospital per protocol and was confirmed to be deceased. The Defendant was contacted by law enforcement officers and provided his version of events which is summarized as follows: The Defendant told law enforcement that Ms. Bail was his fianc that they had been in a dating relationship for multiple years. Defendant and Ms. Bail were drinking at the Market Street Pub until about 10:00 p.m. that evening at which time they went to the Chehalis Wendys to get food for themselves and for Ms. Bails daughter. The Defendant said that they then went to their residence at 166 Pier Road in Chehalis to drop off food to Ms. Bails daughter. It should be noted that Ms. Bails daughter was interviewed and indicated that her mother never came inside the residence. The Defendant went on to say that at about 11:00 pm the couple left the residence and drove to their special spot on Forest Road 73 where they planned to drink more alcohol. The Defendant said he had consumed a few drinks and Ms. Bail had more than five. The Defendant said that as he was traveling up Forest Road 73 after turning off State Route 508 he observed another vehicle behind him that he believed was following them. The Defendant reached a Y in the road and the other vehicle took off down another road. The Defendant and Ms. Bail then reached their special spot and, according to the Defendant, Ms. Bail got out of the vehicle and dropped her shorts to urinate while he stayed in the vehicle. The Defendant would say in a later interview that he was 1,000% sure that the location he showed law enforcement was where they had stopped the vehicle. The Defendant said that when Ms. Bail got out of the vehicle and dropped her shorts that the vehicle he believed had been following him, which was a Dodge Neon,
LEWIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
345 W. Main Street, 2nd Floor Chehalis, WA 98532 360-740-1240 (Voice) 360-740-1497 (Fax)

AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE

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came up behind them at a high rate of speed and made a wild spin out motion before coming to a stop. The Defendant said that at this time he saw three male subjects, including one he positively identified by name as a former roommate of theirs, jump out of their vehicle and attack Ms. Bail. The Defendant said that the men were using a baton as well as a Maglite flashlight and were striking Ms. Bail repeatedly. The Defendant said that at this point he got out of his vehicle and used his martial arts training to fend off all three of the men and even said that he hit the named male subject in the face so hard it knocked him out cold. The Defendant said once he had fended off the men he picked up Ms. Bail and put her into the vehicle. The entire confrontation lasted approximately a minute or so according to the Defendant. The Defendant then said that he was pursued by the other vehicle down Forest Road 73 at a speed of almost 70 miles per hour. The Defendant said that during this time he noticed that Ms. Bail was in very bad shape. The Defendant stated that Ms. Bail slumped over and he thought she might be dying, so he reached over to try and hold her up and at this point the vehicle crashed into a ditch and got stuck. The Defendant said from the ditch he could see the Dodge Neon driving away down Forest Road 73. Based on the Defendants statements, law enforcement began investigating the Defendants story. The scene where the Defendant was jumped was inspected extensively as was the area up, down and around the road. Law enforcement only located one set of tire tracks, there was no sign of a high speed spin out or a pursuit, nor was there any sign of the altercation the Defendant described. The vehicle the Defendant was driving was examined and had very minimal damage, and certainly did not have any damage that would be consistent with a high speed wreck as described by the Defendant. Also, from where the vehicle ended up in the ditch, law enforcement could not see the road where the Defendant said he saw the assailants driving away. The Defendant claimed that he was struck in the head with the flashlight; however, his injury to the back of his bald head was more consistent with being a scratch than from a blunt force injury. On Friday evening, the individual the Defendant
LEWIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
345 W. Main Street, 2nd Floor Chehalis, WA 98532 360-740-1240 (Voice) 360-740-1497 (Fax)

AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE

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named as being responsible for the altercation voluntarily spoke to law enforcement and indicated that he had absolutely no idea what the Defendant was talking about and that he was nowhere near the area of the incident on the night in question. Furthermore, this individual had no injuries to his face or anywhere. The Defendant had been sentenced two days earlier for a domestic violence incident with Ms. Bail in October of last year where he punched her in the face. When interviewed, the Defendants cousin, who was aware of the prior domestic violence case, said that it was only a matter of time before the Defendant did something like this. The Defendant spoke to multiple law enforcement officers during the course of the investigation and also provided a videotaped interview. Although the Defendant maintained the same general substance to his story, there were multiple inconsistencies as each interview occurred. Furthermore, in his videotaped interview, and in other interviews immediately after the incident, the Defendant did not appear visibly upset or shaken by what happened, and even laughed and joked during the interviews. In his videotaped interview, when Detective Kimsey finally confronted the Defendant about the fact that his story didnt make a lot of sense to a reasonable person, the Defendant indicated that he thought it was time for him to get a lawyer and the interview was ended. The Defendant was then booked into the jail for Murder Second Degree. On July 19, 2013, an autopsy was conducted on Ms. Bail. The initial findings/conclusions from the autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxiation from manual strangulation with blunt force trauma to the head as a contributing factor. According to the medical examiner, it would have taken approximately four to six minutes of strangulation to effectuate the death. At no time during any interview did the Defendant indicate that Ms. Bail had ever been strangled by the assailants that he alleged attacked her, nor would any of the facts surrounding his version of events support such a conclusion. It should also be noted that in one interview to law enforcement, the Defendant asked if they had figured out what killed Ms. Bail yet.
LEWIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
345 W. Main Street, 2nd Floor Chehalis, WA 98532 360-740-1240 (Voice) 360-740-1497 (Fax)

AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE

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END OF INFORMATION IN POLICE REPORTS The Defendant is being charged with one count of Murder in the Second Degree Domestic Violence, RCW 9A.32.050(1)(a) and RCW 10.99.020. A check of the Judicial Information System and a criminal background check reveal the following: The Defendant has no known Washington felony convictions, but did have Fugitive from Justice cases in 2008 and 2007. The Defendant was sentenced on July 17, 2013 for Assault in the Fourth Degree Domestic Violence against this same victim for an assault that occurred on October 29, 2012. The Defendant was also convicted of Violating a No Contact Order for an incident on February 26, 2013 where the Defendant violated the no contact order issued in the aforementioned assault case. The Defendant has six other misdemeanor convictions in Washington and has had two of those cases result in the issuance of at least one warrant. The Defendants nationwide background check reveals multiple criminal connections outside of Washington State. The Defendant was convicted of a felony drug violation in Florida for an incident from 2005 and also had felony fraud charges brought in 2005 that were later dropped. The Defendant also spent 255 days in custody on a fraud case in 2009 and has also had multiple probation violations in Florida. It should be noted that in his interview with police in this case, the Defendant indicated that his parents live in Florida and North Carolina. The background check also reveals charges of misdemeanor battery and felony burglary with unknown dispositions from 1999 and 2001 respectively out of Oklahoma, as well as a conviction for felony possession of stolen property from Oklahoma in 2000. The State is asking the Court to set bail at $2,000,000 cash or surety. The facts of the case and the Defendants history with this victim speak for themselves and justify this Court finding that the Defendant is an extreme threat to community safety. The Defendant is also a significant flight risk given the seriousness of the current charge, the fact that he has had two prior fugitive matters, and given that he has family ties to other states as well as numerous out of state criminal matters in his history.
LEWIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
345 W. Main Street, 2nd Floor Chehalis, WA 98532 360-740-1240 (Voice) 360-740-1497 (Fax)

AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE

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Based on the above, the State requests that the suspect, COREY ROSS MORGAN, be detained subject to conditions of release.

SHANE M. OROURKE, WSBA # 39927 Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before me July 22, 2013.

Teresa L. Bryant, NOTARY PUBLIC in And for the State of Washington, Residing at Chehalis. My commission expires 12/21/2014.

LEWIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROBABLE CAUSE

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345 W. Main Street, 2nd Floor Chehalis, WA 98532 360-740-1240 (Voice) 360-740-1497 (Fax)

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