Former Kentucky lawmaker begs for justice after daughter, 32, is shot dead

A former Kentucky state lawmaker broke down in tears as he spoke about losing his daughter, who was killed in a home invasion early Tuesday morning.

Former State Rep. C. Wesley Morgan said he was his first-born daughter, Jordan Morgan, just hours before an unknown assailant entered their Richmond mansion, and opened fire.

Jordan, 32, an attorney who lived part-time at the home in Madison County, died in the shooting, while her father was taken to the hospital with three gunshot wounds.

Wesley, 71, now says he is recovering well from the wounds, but that he never will recover emotionally from the loss of his daughter.

‘I’m heartbroken,’ he told FOX 56 as he audibly started crying. ‘I can’t understand why, and would give anything on this Earth if it would have been me rather than her.

‘I’d much rather it’d been me.’

Wesley said he was with Jordan, watching an episode of 1883 just hours before the shooting at around 4am.

‘She got up, put her arm around me and said “I love you, Daddy,” and I said “I love you, too,”‘ he recalled to the news station. ‘And then she went to bed and that son of a b**** killed her.’

He added that his ‘life will never be the same,’ saying: ‘Until the day I die, I will think of her, yes I will.’  

Jordan Morgan, right, was shot and killed in a home invasion early Tuesday morning, and her father, former State Rep. C. Wesley Morgan, was wounded

Wesley said he is now recovering from his wounds but will never recover from the loss of his first-born daughter

Wesley said he is now recovering from his wounds but will never recover from the loss of his first-born daughter

The incident unfolded at Morgan's $6.5million mansion in Richmond, Kentucky, pictured

The incident unfolded at Morgan’s $6.5million mansion in Richmond, Kentucky, pictured

Kentucky State Police said they received a call at 4:30am about a shooting at Morgan’s mansion, valued at $6.5 million.

Detectives said several people were asleep at the home when someone or possibly a group of people entered the home and opened fire sometime between 3.45am and 4.30am. Wesley then shot back at the perpetrator, police said, and they fled the home.

The Madison County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that Jordan Morgan had been shot ‘more than once’. 

As of Wednesday, detectives were still in the ‘very early stages, preliminary stages of the investigation,’ Kentucky State Police Trooper Robert Purdy said and that a motive was not yet known.

‘This isn’t the kind of incident or situation that we see a whole lot of in Madison County,’ he told NBC News.

‘I know the family and it’s a tragic loss for the community. As a dad myself, I can’t imagine anything like that happening. Our hearts go out to them.’ 

Investigators were back at the scene Wednesday afternoon as Sgt. Purdy appealed to the public for help.

‘Frankly, we believe someone knows something and we would just like accurate information to follow up on,’ he said.  

He encouraged anyone who witnessed anything unusual in the area between 4 and 4.30am to call the Kansas State Police at (859) 623-2404.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Kansas State Police for more information about the investigation. 

Jordan was shot multiple times in the home invasion early Tuesday morning

Jordan was shot multiple times in the home invasion early Tuesday morning

Jordan, left, was described by friends and family as kind, loving and intelligent. She is pictured at the Kentucky Derby

Jordan, left, was described by friends and family as kind, loving and intelligent. She is pictured at the Kentucky Derby

Sgt. Robert Purdy, pictured, is appealing to the public for help in the investigation

Sgt. Robert Purdy, pictured, is appealing to the public for help in the investigation

Jordan had previously made headlines in 2017, when she publicly accused State Rep. Michael Meredith of sending her inappropriate text messages as part of a sexual harassment settlement involving four House Republicans.

She said at the time that she started receiving a number of messages from Meredith after she worked on Republican Matt Bevin’s successful 2015 campaign for Kentucky governor and worked with him for a year-and-a-half afterwards as a member of his communications team. 

Jordan accused State Rep. Michael Meredith (pictured) of sending her inappropriate text messages in 2017

Jordan accused State Rep. Michael Meredith (pictured) of sending her inappropriate text messages in 2017

Jordan met Meredith, she told the Courier-Journal, when she and the rest of Bevin’s campaign staff were celebrating his victory. 

She said Meredith’s behavior was a ‘little too friendly,’ so she left the event. But afterwards, he sent her a message on Facebook saying:  ‘Where’d you go, beauty?’

Over the ensuing year and a half, she claimed, she received a number of messages from Meredith, including one that read: ‘You are like six foot tall with jet black hair and high heels and can probably find some way to persuade anyone about anything if force is needed lol.’

None of the text messages was ‘too extreme,’ she said; they were ‘just kind of flirty,’ but they struck her as ‘inappropriate,’ particularly because Meredith was married and in elected office.

‘He wasn’t my boss, but he was in a position of authority,’ she said. ‘You don’t want to make an enemy of a state representative, so you just laugh it off.’

Jordan said she only came forward with the inappropriate texts after it was revealed that four House Republicans were involved in a secret sexual harassment settlement with another female staffer. 

The scandal cost former House Speaker Jeff Hoover and Meredith their leadership positions, but Meredith was reinstated as chairman of the House Local Government Committee one year later.

Jordan previously made headlines in 2017 when she publicly accused State Rep. Michael Meredith of sending her inappropriate text messages. She is seen here with her dad at her law school graduation

Jordan previously made headlines in 2017 when she publicly accused State Rep. Michael Meredith of sending her inappropriate text messages. She is seen here with her dad at her law school graduation

Jordan recently joined the Reminger law office in Lexington

Jordan recently joined the Reminger law office in Lexington

Jordan, meanwhile, left the world of politics to become an assistant commonwealth’s attorney prosecuting felonies, based in Boone County. She had recently joined the Reminger law office in Lexington. 

‘Reminger wishes to express its sincere condolences to the Morgan family,’ the firm said in a statement. ‘She was a pleasant colleague and a promising attorney. We are shocked and saddened at the circumstances surrounding her unfortunate death.’

Her Facebook profile was filled with memes, photos of her with friends and family, and photos of her small dog – Gucci. 

Friends and family describe her as kind, loving and intelligent, with her niece, Hayleigh Burrows, who was only 11 years younger than Jordan, saying: ‘She was just so great. Generous, selfless, funny, so funny, [and] loving.

‘She’s the queen of networking,’ Burrows told Lex 18. ‘If I ever needed to know anyone, she knew someone who could get me connected.’

Burrows said she decided to follow in Jordan’s footsteps, pursuing a pre-law degree at the University of Kentucky, and is planning to take the LSAT this summer.

‘She was always pushing me to do my best,’ Burrows said of her aunt, whom she described as ‘more of a best friend.’

She said she is upset that her aunt will not be around to meet any of her future boyfriends or attend her wedding, but, ‘I firmly believe she’s in a better place and happy. So that kind of helps me get through this.’

Wesley is well-known for his eccentricities after he listed his mansion for sale with an in-ground bunker

Wesley is well-known for his eccentricities after he listed his mansion for sale with an in-ground bunker

Wesley served one term as a state representative for Richmond and Berea in Madison County

Wesley served one term as a state representative for Richmond and Berea in Madison County

Jordan’s father, Wesley, meanwhile, served one term as a state representative for Richmond and Berea in Madison County. 

While in office, Wesley, who owns several Kentucky liquor stores, was charged with illegally transporting alcohol across county lines. 

To do so was illegal at the time without a transporter’s license.

A judge ultimately dropped the charges, after state law was changed.

He went on to unsuccessfully challenge Senator Mitch McConnell in the state’s Republican primary in 2020.

The home was said to be 'the most secure home on the market' and built to withstand an earthquake

The home was said to be ‘the most secure home on the market’ and built to withstand an earthquake

The 2,000-square foot, steel-enforced bunker itself is said to be worth $3 million

The 2,000-square foot, steel-enforced bunker itself is said to be worth $3 million

When the home was listed for sale it was advertised complete with a nuclear bunker and able to withstand nuclear attack and the strongest of earthquakes. Pictured, the food reserves

When the home was listed for sale it was advertised complete with a nuclear bunker and able to withstand nuclear attack and the strongest of earthquakes. Pictured, the food reserves

The bunker also includes an 'escape tunnel' to an undisclosed location

The bunker also includes an ‘escape tunnel’ to an undisclosed location

Wesley was also known for his eccentricities.

Last year, he listed his 14,300-square-foot, six bedroom, seven bathroom mansion for sale. 

It comes complete with a saltwater pool, steam sauna and heated floors set on 200 acres of lakefront property. 

However, perhaps its most unusual feature is a 2,000-square-foot, fully stocked underground bunker set behind a huge steel and concrete door.

The $6.5million listing advertised the home as being able to withstand nuclear attack and the strongest of earthquakes with the bunker alone valued at $3 million. 

Wesley started building the bunker more than a decade ago, following the election of President Barack Obama.

He said at the time that he ‘could see the handwriting on the wall that Obama was trying to change our country into a socialist country,’ and with hundreds of tons of chemical agents stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot, south of Richmond, he decided it would be wise to build a bunker.

‘I saw the bad stuff that was going on in the world,’ he told Kentucky.com last year. ‘And I think there’s a lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now.

‘If we don’t get our act together, we’re gonna end up in a civil war.’

He said he and his wife, Lindsey, lived in the bunker – which can hold up to 30 people with separate bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room – for several years as construction on the house above was completed.

Zillow described the home as being ‘the most secure home on the market in this country,’ and it comes with an ‘escape tunnel’ to an undisclosed location.

‘I just wanted someplace safe,’ Wesley said when the home was on the market.  

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