Funds raised to support the family of Denise Morgan, who was killed in a suspected murder-suicide in Queens, NY, will aid in bringing the mother-of-one's body home.
IrishCentral Staff
A GoFundMe campaign launched to repatriate the remains of Denise Morgan (39), from Tullyallen, outside Drogheda, in County Louth has surpassed its target raising $33,020 (€35,779).
Denise Morgan, a mother-of-one, is believed to be the victim of a murder-suicide. Her body along with that of her boyfriend Joed Taveras (33) was discovered at their Glendale, Queens apartment after fighting and gunshots were reported. Both were pronounced dead at the scene early on the morning of Sat, Oct 21. A handgun was found next to her boyfriend's body.
On Monday, friends of Morgan set up a GoFundMe, which has now surpassed its target, in an effort to support the Louth woman's family and help them repatriate her remains.
Alan Whyte, who was the organizer, wrote: “Words cannot describe the generosity we have received, from across the globe."
“Honestly from the bottom of our hearts, we thank every single one of you for your donations, shares and kindness.”
The donations have now been disabled with €35,779 raised.
The Morgan family will travel to New York in the next few days to take her body home to Ireland.
Her sister, Shannon, told the Irish Independent "We just want the world to know what an amazing person Denise was."
She added "And we really want to thank everyone for their generosity too.”
Morgan had lived in New York for about five years. She has one nine-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. For about the last year she worked as a bartender at The Cottage Bar and Restaurant, in Forest Hills, closebby to where she lived.
The owner of the Bar, Roy Guzman, told the Independent that he and her friends at work colleagues had seen Morgan the day before her death.
He said “Oh my God, you can’t imagine how people reacted when they [found out].
“We all loved her, we were all friends, and we can’t believe it.
“She was here that Friday, three o’clock in the afternoon, she got pork chops for lunch, and then she went to work.
“When she came back from work [that night], she went to her apartment and that’s when it happened."
The New York Daily News reported that Morgan had dropped her daughter, Mollie off at her ex-husband's home the night before her death. Her friends and colleagues had also reported that Morgan planned to leave Taveras and that her living situation was not good.
Guzman continued “She was happy here. I mean, she had a life here and she had a job...She never complained. She was happy."
He said that as a bartender she "made a lot of friends. Everybody loved her. She was a good worker.”
He added “She was never angry. People loved her because she was that kind of person. She was like sunshine."
