Siblings Fight To Keep Their Mother's Killer Behind Bars
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBS) — Kelly and Shawn Moreau have been on a single-minded mission the past five months.
When they found out the man who killed their mother in 1995 was about to be released from prison, they took matters into their own hands and lobbied everyone they could to stop the move.
Amanda Burden, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, spoke to the siblings about their determination and how it paid off.
Said Kelly, "I would never want another family to go through this again."
Their mother's then live-in boyfriend, Michael Garrett, was convicted of murdering Debbie Moreau as she slept in her Riverside apartment. And reports Burden, the way he did it, still haunts the siblings.
Says Shawn, "Some people who can do those kinds of crimes, kill a person while they're sleeping are just not right for society."
Kelly tries not to cry as she adds the gruesome details. "He went upstairs and brutally bashed her in the head ... with a pipe wrench and then after that strangled her with a necktie until she died."
Last October, the siblings were shocked, and horrified, to find out Garrett was approved for release -- just 16 years into his life sentence.
They took to the streets in protest. They started a facebook page. They started petitions online. They stood outside grocery stores. Anything to get notice.
The siblings acknowledge they sometimes though they were fighting a losing battle. Says Shawn, "We kept going and going. We wouldn't stop."
Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown faced a deadline as to whether he would reverse the parole board's decision.
At the 11th hour, they received a letter from the Governor saying he agreed with them -- that Garrett hadn't served enough of his sentence and he revered their decision.
Kelly says "I was in shock for the first few hours, And then it set in." Shawn concurs, adding, "A win for the good guys."
Proof one family's fight can make a difference.
The fight, reports Burden, is far from over. Garrett is up for parole again next September. But the siblings vow to fight yet again if they have to.
