Visit with My Friends

Morgan Hannah MacDonald

Today, I welcome Morgan Hannah MacDonald to be the first of my friends to visit with us to share her short story, I Dated a Serial Killer. A very chilling story I was shocked to discover is true!!!

Morgan’s debut novel Sandman released earlier this month, which she graciously offered as a gift to one lucky poster. To be eligable to win, just sign in and leave a post, and your name will be entered into a drawing.

I Dated a Serial Killer

I’ve been asked where the inspiration for SANDMAN came from. Well, truth is stranger than fiction. It was November 3, 1998.  I had gone away for the weekend to the mountains with a couple of friends from work.  There had been rumors of snow, so we put the TV on immediately to track the storm.  The minute the news came on, there was a story of a trucker who had walked into the police station, slapped a plastic bag on the counter and stated; I think you’re looking for me.  The bag contained the severed breast of a woman.

As the weekend wore on, more information became available.  They stated that the man had frequented a Karaoke bar in San Clemente. That perked up my ears.  Five years prior, I had dated a guy who ran that Karaoke bar.  I might have met this guy! Chilling.

After I got home, there was a message from my best friend.  She asked if I had seen the story on the news and wasn’t that the guy I’d dated? I laughed.  I’d never dated a Wayne.  I would have remembered, that was my grandfather’s name.  Then she told me his full name was Wayne Adam Ford, it hit me.  I did date a guy named Adam, but he didn’t look anything like the guy on the news.

The Adam I knew was sexy, tall, fit and had a neatly trimmed beard that brought out his gorgeous deep green eyes.  It had been the winter of 1993 and he wore flannel shirts with straight legged 501 jeans.  I love that lumberjack look! *giggle*  The guy on the news was heavier and balding.  Of course, I hadn’t seen him in five years and people do change.  But I still wasn’t convinced.  My friend said that Inside Edition was doing a story on him that night.

So at seven o’clock I sat on my couch and waited.  They started the segment with the exact same clip the news had showed all weekend.  It was a slow motion shot of him entering a court room in an orange jumpsuit.  But this time, when he turned to face the camera, I recognized those eyes.  I burst into tears.  It was him, it was the man I’d dated!  My body trembled, then turned numb as I listened to the frightening tale.  He was discharged from the marines for psychological reasons in the early eighties.  In 1985 he was arrested for the rape and beating of a prostitute, the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.  That’s when it occurred to me, he was already on the brink of insanity when I’d known him!

In 1994 he’d met a young girl at that same karaoke bar.  They’d married and had a child.  After the birth, he started to unravel.  He’d become possessive, jealous and asked her to do strange things in the bedroom.  She divorced him and took the child to live with her mother. He was refused visitation rights.

That was the catalyst that started his murderous rampage.  He started picking up prostitutes and hitch hikers at truck stops along his route.  He raped and tortured the girls before he killed them, then sliced off a breast as a souvenir.

The camera panned to a trailer surrounded by woods alongside a river. The picture would have been beautiful and serene if not for all the cops parading in and out carrying evidence. They announced his freezer was full of body parts. It seems that one of his victims had her legs, arms and head amputated by an ax. Her torso was found bobbing in the water by a fisherman. They were still searching the Madd River for her head.

In a moment of hysteria, I remembered how overly dramatic the guy had been.  If not for the fact that they’d found all that evidence linking him to those grisly crimes, I would have thought he’d confessed just to get attention. Maybe he did.  The authorities didn’t know they had a serial killer. He wasn’t even a blip on their radar. So the only way he could get his fifteen minutes of fame was to turn himself in.  But the joke’s on him, fifteen minutes is all he got.  After all, have you ever heard of Wayne Adam Ford?  It is said that there are approximately 50 serial killers active in the United States at any given time.  So if in his sick twisted mind he thought he would be another Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy, he was sorely mistaken.

The final twist to this already disturbing story is that I met Wayne Adam Ford on my birthday November 3, 1993 and he turned himself in on November 3, 1998.  After this revelation, I didn’t trust my instincts regarding men.  I didn’t go on another date for over ten years. I’m still single to this day. I guess you could say that this has really messed with my mind!

Now I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true.  I never had a clue.  The guy I dated was charming, handsome and had lots of friends.  We dated only a short time.  I questioned his relationship with his ex-girlfriend who was cooking him meals and leaving them in his freezer.  He broke up with me because he said I had a suspicious mind.  Funny, but I ran into him some months later and we went out to grab a bite to eat.  That’s when he confessed he had to stop seeing her because he was still in love with her.

Now, when you read SANDMAN, you will find bits and pieces of these things in the story.  I borrowed some facts from his case and mixed them up between the suspects so no one would be able to guess the killer’s true identity.

Available at Amazon

Beware the SANDMAN he’ll put you to sleep…forever.

A serial killer on the loose, a woman being stalked, and a homicide detective who must find the connection between the two before she becomes his next victim.

He collects women. He imprisons them, plays with them, tortures them. Until they bore him.  Then he removes a souvenir. They call him the Sandman.

Meagan McInnis is being plagued with late night calls, yet when she answers, no one is there. Then one night she makes a grizzly discovery in her own backyard.

The caller is silent no more.

Homicide Detective, J.J. Thomas, realizes Meagan is the key to finding the Sandman. Now not only must he protect her, but he must find the connection between Meagan and the killer before she becomes his next victim.

WARNING:   This is a Romantic Thriller that contains adult language, explicit sex and graphic violence.

Morgan Hannah MacDonald writes Romantic Thrillers that are Not for the faint of heart. She has always been interested in writing and serial killers, but it wasn’t until she found she had dated one herself that a true writer was born. She belongs to Romance Writers of America, the San Diego Chapter, as well as the Kiss of Death Chapter. She resides inSan Diego,Californiawhere she is busy working on her next novel.

www.morganhannahmacdonald.com

https://www.facebook.com/MorganHannahMacDonald.Author

morganwrites@yahoo.com

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23 thoughts on “Morgan Hannah MacDonald

  1. Morgan, your book sounds great. I always enjoy a romantic suspense and I love true crime, so the fact that some of your story is based on true events is very interesting to me.

    You brush with dating a serial killer sent goose bumps up my arms….how terrifying to discover something like that.

    Congrats on your release 🙂

  2. Wow, Morgan, and I’m sorry, thats all I can say about your experience and how it impacted your life.
    On another note, congrats on the release. This is one story I’ll be watching for.

  3. D'Ann Linscott-Dunham says:

    You told me this story before, and the hair on my arms stood up! I, too, believe I’ve had a brush with a serial killer, although nothing like this!

  4. This is so damn scary. I can’t even imagine how you felt–still feel–to know…well I don’t need to say it.

    Your book sounds amazing and it is now on my list.
    Thanks for sharing your story.

  5. Pam Moran says:

    Morgan,

    How chilling! Sandman is already in my computer (on Kindle for PC) and high on my TBR list. Congrats on your release!

    Pam

  6. How terrifying! No wonder it still has an effect to this day. I’m glad you were able to use it to fuel your writing, and I hope it’s been at least a little therapeutic to do that. I loved Sandman (especially loved JJ and how Meagan’s feelings develop for him) and can’t wait for more from you! And heck, talk about unlucky in love–poor Meagan!!! It’s a wonder she could ever trust again.

  7. Deb says:

    Morgan, yours is a chilling story, so I can’t wait to read you book, it’s bound to be packed your energy and emotion. That alone will make this great! Can’t wait!

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