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'My baby is going in the ground': Jordan Morgan's mother shares tragic loss with LEX 18

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Posted at 6:00 PM, Feb 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-27 11:41:53-05

(LEX 18) — Jordan Morgan's mother is planning her daughter's funeral.

"It's so hard to even believe," said Lisa Foster, Jordan Morgan's mother. "I think it's not real, then it hits me, it's real."

Lisa's daughter was killed during a violent home invasion earlier this week. She says with community prayers, she's trying to get through everything by remembering the funny, strong, and driven daughter she raised.

"She always, was always trying to give people something or help people with something," said Foster. "She was so smart, helping my granddaughter pick out law schools, constantly doing stuff for other people. Very, very generous, very, very kind."

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Jordan Morgan with her mother, Lisa

The 32-year-old had just started her dream job at a Lexington law firm when the unthinkable happened Tuesday.

Police say 23-year-old Shannon Vincent Gilday was seen on security video in camouflage lurking around the Morgan home before he burst in with a rifle. Officers say he shot Morgan in her bed, then fired at her father, former Kentucky state representative C. Wesley Morgan, as he tried to defend his family.

"There's still a lot of things we're looking at," said Sgt. Robert Purdy with Kentucky State Police. "At this time, we don't believe there's any connection between the two previously."

So why would Gilday drive 100 miles from Taylor Mill, Kentucky, to the Morgan home in Richmond? State police say they won't know until they talk to Gilday but are aware of a statement his mother released Friday.

In it, Katie Gilday offered her condolences to the Morgan family saying she was "greatly saddened" by the tragedy.

Katie said her son had not been of sound mind recently, distraught with what he thought was the certainty of a nuclear war. She said he spoke of building a bunker and believed the CIA was following him. She urged him to turn himself in.

Read the full statement below:

"First I want to state that I am greatly saddened for the Morgan family, friends and loved ones for the pain and suffering it is believed by the police that my son has caused them and especially for the loss of their daughter Jordan. It is a terrible tragedy.

My son Shannon Gilday, who I love so dearly, has not been of sound mind the last couple of weeks, distraught with the certainty a nuclear war is imminent. He spoke of building a bunker and the CIA following him. I tried to get him psychiatric help but to no avail.

I plead to Shannon to turn himself in so that he can get the help he so desperately needs.

Meanwhile, I thank my family and friends for their love and support and ask for our privacy as we navigate through this unthinkable tragedy."

It's well-known the Morgan home, which is for sale, boasts a 2,000 square-foot doomsday bunker.

"Until we locate Gilday and speak to him about a motive, I am unable to say with certainty what his motive might have been," said Sgt. Robert Purdy to LEX 18. "We're aware of this being a possible motive, and looking into every possibility."

For Jordan's mother, her focus is on the daughter she'll never see again.

"What I know is my daughter, my daughter is going in the ground on Monday," Jordan Morgan's mother, Lisa, said. "My baby is going in the ground. It's really hard at this point for me to care about that other mother, I hate to say that, but right now, it's my baby going in the ground."

Gilday is believed to be driving a white 2016 Toyota Corolla with the license plate of 379-VMJ. He's considered to be armed and dangerous. Police say do not approach him.