Accused Father Haunted by Death of His Daughter

For John Morgan, first came the screams from his wife, then the silence, which now haunts their home, shorn of the “angel” who filled their life with joy.

“Our baby is dead!” Rosa Morgan, 40, screamed at him as he lay on a hallway floor, he said. That same afternoon, the 52-year-old motorcycle magazine freelance writer was arrested on suspicion of having killed his 3-year-old daughter. Police said he had left Angelina Rose inside the family van on a scorching summer day outside their Fontana home. She was dead by the time her mother clutched her and took her into the house. Police said the child had been in the van about four hours.

“It will haunt me forever,” Morgan said of seeing his dead daughter in his wife’s arms. “I used to wake up to the sound of, ‘Daddy, the sun’s up, time to get up,’ ” a sobbing Morgan said. “Because of my age when we had her, I used to worry whether she would be old enough and strong enough to deal with my passing. I never considered I would outlive her.”

How did this happen, Morgan said police asked him. On Saturday, Morgan, again, tried to explain.

Late Monday, Morgan said, he picked up a prescription to ease the pain from a workplace injury he had suffered two years ago.

Early Tuesday morning, he took the pain medication. Later, he and his daughter went to a supermarket to pick up some fast food. They returned home about 1 p.m.

As Angelina slept in her car seat, Morgan said, he took the groceries in and then the food. That’s the last thing he said he remembers before he woke up, sprawled on the floor, his wife screaming. It was about 5:20 p.m.

Morgan said he had blacked out.

Police could not verify Morgan’s recollection of what had happened. Toxicology test results have not been released.

He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and will be in court Monday. His oldest son from a previous marriage, Johnny Morgan, 28, paid his $100,000 bail.

He said his wife of four years has moved out, and they haven’t spoken.

He described a daughter who fit her name, Angelina Rose. Angel in a rose--that’s what her name means, he said. She would often ask him to read her the story of Jonah and the whale. She liked trying to ballet dance on the hardwood floor of the living room. She was on a waiting list for ballet classes. She would put aside watching cartoons so her dad could sit with her and watch what they called “guy TV.”

Angelina learned to like “The Rockford Files,” Morgan said.

“She loved Winnie the Pooh, Clifford the Big Red Dog and God,” said Morgan, who had been Angelina’s primary caretaker since his injury. His wife works as a nurse.

Morgan said the support of his five adult children and his Christian faith have kept him going.

He said he thought at first of committing suicide.

“But I know that only in heaven will I see my baby again. I’m in a bad place now,” Morgan said.

“But the only way to see her again is if I endure this pain and suffering.”