Written by: Jenae
Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault and Physical Assault.
In 1995, Jennifer Morey had just moved to Houston, TX. Upon moving, she decided that she wanted to be in the most secure place she could find. So Jennifer picked an apartment complex that had both an 8 foot tall fence and gate and security on site. Jennifer’s apartment was on the second floor, adding to her feelings of security. With these measures, she felt that she’d be safe. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Jennifer’s apartment was near the downtown area and Jennifer had decided to meet up with some friends at a local bar. She also met a man at the bar and the man offered to give her a ride home which she accepted and he dropped her off around 1am. Jennifer then continued her normal nightly routine, got ready for bed, and soon fell asleep.
Jennifer was awoken in the early hours by the feeling of someone on top of her. This person began holding Jennifer down and attempting to remove her clothes. As Jennifer realizes that this person is attempting to sexually assault her so she attempts to fight back; her hands find their way to her neck and it is then that she realizes that whoever this person was had a knife held to her throat. Jennifer tried to move the knife away but this only made her attacker more angry and he sliced across her face with the knife.
Jennifer did her best to remember the details of her attacker. The attacker even called Jennifer by name, which confused her because she couldn’t place the voice. Then, to her to stop screaming, the attacker cut Jennifer’s throat. Now, Jennifer was even more afraid for her life.
The attacker drags Jennifer across the room and goes back to the bedroom. This was Jennifer’s chance, she slams the bathroom door shut. Unfortunately, the bathroom didn’t have a lock so in a desperate attempt to save her life Jennifer then gets creative. She sits down and presses her back against the door while pressing her feet against her bathtub to hold the bathroom door shut. Then, it’s quiet. With a moment to gather her thoughts, Jennifer realizes just how much blood is coming from her throat and she attempts to stop it. She knows that she’ll need help soon or she would surely die but she’s unsure if her attacker had left or not.
Jennifer decides to chance leaving the bathroom, struggling to even get the door open as her hands were slick with blood. She is relieved to find that she’s alone in the apartment and attempts to turn on the lights only to find that the power has been cut; meaning the phone also had been useless. She finds her cell phone and is able to call 911.
She calls 911, stating she knew she locked the door when she came home earlier that night, was not sure who her attacker was, or how he got inside. The dispatcher tries to keep Jennifer calm and stays on the line with her, 15 minutes into the call Jennifer hears a pounding on her door. Jennifer lets the dispatcher know that help is there, but he informs her that he can see their route and whoever is at the door is not the authorities. He instructs her not to answer the door and Jennifer calls out to the person to identify them, the person on the other side of the door stating that they are security. The security officer was insistent that the door be opened but the dispatcher instructs Jennifer to avoid opening the door, since she doesn’t really know who’s on the other side.
Jennifer was struggling to keep consciousness after two slices to the face, a stab to the throat, and two stab wounds to her arm when the police finally arrive. Jennifer, now too weak from the blood loss she's experienced, can’t get to the door to let the officers in but she listens to the voices outside her door. She hears that the security guard has also been injured in a struggle with her attacker and they are soon able to access her unit, first responders rushing Jennifer to the hospital.
Upon further investigation, the police find objects in Jennifer’s apartment including men’s underwear, a belt, a glove, a knife, and a security hat. They bring the most likely culprit, the guard, in for questioning. When they take his clothing, they find that his socks and midsection are splattered with blood and that he’s missing his underwear. This leaves them with the most obvious possibility, the security guard had been Jennifer’s attacker. He had jumped off the balcony after the assault and pretended to be helping when police arrived. His name is Bryan Gibson and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Surprisingly, Jennifer survived to tell her story. She still keeps in touch with the 911 operator that helped her, he even came to her wedding. Luckily, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to sexually assault Jennifer. It was later found out that 20 people had heard Jennifer struggling against her attacker, heard her asking for help. None of those people called 911.
If you see something, say something.
Sources: I Survived
