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Nov 21 08 2:53 PM
Wife of an Addict
Court documents paint a tragic picture of the last days of Carly Morris' life - and also of the night with methamphetamine-makers that led to her death.
The 24-year-old Liberty woman died in October 2007, more than a week after taking a drink of what she thought was a soft drink but turned out to be diluted lye in an unmarked bottle at a meth house.
Two Kansas City men admitted to a federal judge Thursday that, while they didn't intentionally hurt the young woman, their meth operation created the dangerous situation that caused her death.
John D. Williams, 29, and Benjamin T. Clarkson, 38, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and one count of creating a substantial risk of harm to human life while manufacturing the drug.
Williams told the judge that he and Morris had been close friends for more than four years. On Oct. 12, 2007, he picked her up from her apartment about 1:30 a.m. and took her to the house he shared with Clarkson in the 1700 block of West 44th Street. He said Morris wanted some meth and knew the men would be cooking that night.
About 11 a.m., court documents said, Morris' roommate got a call from Williams saying "something really bad happened to Carly."
Attorneys did not detail all the events in the courtroom - "What we're dealing with here today is a very sad, very difficult and very tragic case," Clarkson's attorney, Cheryl Ann Pilate, said - but court documents describe what transpired:
Williams, Clarkson and Morris were all high when Morris took a big swig from a soft drink bottle on the table next to her. Realizing it wasn't what she thought, she ran to the kitchen and rinsed her mouth but soon started vomiting.
She vomited blood for more than an hour before Williams drove her to her apartment. Neither he nor Clarkson wanted to take her to a hospital or call an ambulance for fear of being questioned.
When Morris arrived at work that afternoon, co-workers immediately took her to an emergency room.
Doctors treated Morris for extreme pain and tried to make her comfortable but told her that her situation was grave.
Surgeons tried to repair her badly decayed stomach and esophagus, but after 10 days in the hospital, Morris died.
Authorities found chemicals and other items consistent with a clandestine meth lab in Williams and Clarkson's home.
In exchange for Thursday's plea agreements, prosecutors dropped several lesser charges against each defendant. Both face a minimum of 20 years in prison.
"This case is a vivid and sad reminder of the awful dangers created by those who choose to manufacture methamphetamine," Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Wolesky said. "By all accounts, Carly Morris was a charming, loving and beautiful 24-year-old young woman who died a horrific death as a result of simply being around these two defendants while they were manufacturing meth."
According to her obituary in The Star, Morris graduated from Liberty High School and was working at Smithville's Justus Drugstore restaurant.
Several of her family members attended Thursday's hearing but declined to comment.
Court documents said that when Morris was admitted to the hospital, text messages to friends were upbeat, indicating she hoped to be released in "a few days."
But those soon were replaced by messages like "Things are very serious" and "I'm so scared."
To one friend, she wrote: "Thinkin strong thoughts, gonna fight through. But I need your fighting thoughts and prayers, too. All I can get."
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