A 20-Year-Old's Death Was Ruled a Suicide — But Family Says She Was Murdered

It’s been eight years since Morgan Ingram, 20, was mysteriously found dead in her bed in Carbondale, Colorado.

The college student’s Dec. 2011 death was ruled a suicide. But her parents, Steve and Toni Ingram, have long argued that their daughter was not suicidal or even depressed, and that the circumstances surrounding her death don’t add up.

The Ingrams claim their daughter had been stalked for four months before she died — and according to various news reports, they believe her alleged stalker killed her. Though Morgan’s autopsy revealed no signs of bodily trauma, her parents, who found the body, have claimed she was bruised and bloodied.

The parents’ theories will be examined along with other aspects of the case on the special 90-minute season finale of Oxygen’s Accident, Suicide or Murder on Saturday, May 18, at 6 p.m. ET.

The episode includes the insight of forensic investigator Paul Holes, best known for his work on the Golden State Killer case. Holes played a pivotal role in breaking the case open when he uploaded DNA from one of the Golden State crime scenes to a genealogy website in the hopes of finding a match — leading to the subsequent identification and arrest of suspect Joseph DeAngelo. (The DNA evidence allegedly linked DeAngelo to at least 13 murders and 50 rapes across California throughout the 1970s and ‘80s.)

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“I was drawn to the case of Morgan Ingram because the initial investigation left many stones unturned, from the stalking allegations to her initial death not [being] looked at as a homicide. … We dug deep to find out what really happened to her,” Holes said of his involvement with the Oxygen special.

According to the Post Independent, after Ingram’s death, an initial autopsy report stated she had died of natural causes as a result of a genetic metabolic disorder called acute intermittent porphyria. However, the coroner changed his report eight months later, stating that Ingram had died by suicide after ingesting an overdose of the prescription drug amitriptyline. (She had not been taking the drug — prescribed to treat various conditions including headaches and depression — at the time of her death, though she had in the past.)

Since then, a bevy of theories have arisen about the final moments of the bright student who loved animals, ballet and photography. Did she take die by suicide after struggling with months of fear and exhaustion from her alleged stalking? Had she been secretly depressed or suicidal for other reasons? Or was it actually a homicide?

For more about the death of Morgan Ingram, tune in to Accident, Suicide or Murder, a special event with Paul Holes, this Saturday from 6 – 7:30 p.m. ET on Oxygen.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.