A week after their 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old niece went missing, an Iowa couple with a criminal past has stopped talking to authorities and hired a lawyer. Relatives aren't viewing the couple with suspicion, said a family friend, but the actions are seen as taking resources from the search for the girls.
Lyric Cook and cousin Elizabeth Collins disappeared a week ago, on July 13, after leaving Elizabeth’s Evansdale home about noon on their bicycles. The bikes were found about a mile away at Meyers Lake.
Daniel and Misty Morrissey, Lyric’s parents, were questioned numerous times by authorities, turned over their cellphones for inspection and took polygraph tests, but a family member said the couple felt harassed and accused of a crime and on Thursday decided to stop cooperating with police.
The decision came shortly after news surfaced of the Morrisseys' history of criminal activity. In August 2011, Daniel, 36, was arrested in Waterloo on suspicion of domestic abuse. According to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, he allegedly threw Misty to the ground, smashed her face into the floor and choked her by placing his knee over her neck. Misty’s finger was broken in the assault.
At the time, the couple had been married for about eight years, the documents show. Daniel was charged with domestic abuse with intent to cause serious injury and is scheduled for a jury trial on July 31.
That same day, Daniel is also scheduled to face charges of drug possession and that he intended to manufacture methamphetamine last year. He is subject to enhanced sentencing provisions because he was previously convicted of the same crime.
On Thursday, a Black Hawk County judge ordered Daniel to be supervised by parole officers to ensure that he'll show up in court.
Misty, 34, has served time in prison for possession of methamphetamine and violating her probation. Her criminal history includes possession of marijuana, public intoxication and petty theft.
According to court records, both Misty’s mother and sister have been temporary guardians for Lyric and her 16-year-old brother, Dillin. Misty has also been petitioned several times by the state of Iowa to pay child support.
Misty was the protected party in a no-contact order between her and Daniel entered in October 2011. On Friday, a judge filed paperwork that modified that order and said the two "may be in the presence of one another in public in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning their daughter while also in the presence of law enforcement officials."
The couple -- who have presented a united front to the media -- at first spoke openly about the grief that comes with a missing child.
“You try not to get frustrated or lose hope, but it does feel a little bit hopeless,” Misty said earlier this week in an interview with The Times.
The Morrisseys' decision to hire representation and end communication with authorities was called “a distraction” by Rick Abben, chief deputy of the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’re asking for 100% cooperation, and why they don’t want to do that I don’t know,” Abben told local media on Thursday.
Drew Collins and his wife, Heather, who is Misty’s older sister, have not hired an attorney and plan to continue aiding authorities who are searching for their daughter Elizabeth, a friend of the family said.
“There's nothing Drew and Heather have refused to provide. They are talking to the police all the time saying, ‘Hey, I remember one more thing that might help,'" said Craig Way, 38, who has known Drew since junior high.
“But Misty and Dan have had their brushes with the law so that kind of left them with the idea that law enforcement isn’t always out to help them. They have a different outlook on the police and how things work so they’re kind of on the defense already. The family doesn't think they had anything to do with [the girls' disappearance], but their actions are taking away resources that could be directed toward the search for the children.”
Way has been staying with the Collinses over the last week and said the couple, who have three other children, have tried to stay occupied and keep their minds busy.
“The worst is the nighttime,” Way said. “You get the realization that another day has gone by.”
Many in the small town of 4,700 have aided in the search, combing the area for a sign of the cousins, passing out fliers, and wearing T-shirts and buttons with the girls’ photos. Although family members believe the two were abducted, authorities are unable to issue an Amber Alert without proof of a kidnapping.
With few leads in the case, the FBI hopes its dive team from Los Angeles that started searching the lake Friday will find a clue. Authorities began draining the lake on Monday, but stopped two days later because the dive team’s sonar equipment required at least six feet of water, said Sandy Breault, a spokeswoman for the agency.
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Lyric Cook and cousin Elizabeth Collins disappeared a week ago, on July 13, after leaving Elizabeth’s Evansdale home about noon on their bicycles. The bikes were found about a mile away at Meyers Lake.
Daniel and Misty Morrissey, Lyric’s parents, were questioned numerous times by authorities, turned over their cellphones for inspection and took polygraph tests, but a family member said the couple felt harassed and accused of a crime and on Thursday decided to stop cooperating with police.
The decision came shortly after news surfaced of the Morrisseys' history of criminal activity. In August 2011, Daniel, 36, was arrested in Waterloo on suspicion of domestic abuse. According to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, he allegedly threw Misty to the ground, smashed her face into the floor and choked her by placing his knee over her neck. Misty’s finger was broken in the assault.
At the time, the couple had been married for about eight years, the documents show. Daniel was charged with domestic abuse with intent to cause serious injury and is scheduled for a jury trial on July 31.
That same day, Daniel is also scheduled to face charges of drug possession and that he intended to manufacture methamphetamine last year. He is subject to enhanced sentencing provisions because he was previously convicted of the same crime.
On Thursday, a Black Hawk County judge ordered Daniel to be supervised by parole officers to ensure that he'll show up in court.
Misty, 34, has served time in prison for possession of methamphetamine and violating her probation. Her criminal history includes possession of marijuana, public intoxication and petty theft.
According to court records, both Misty’s mother and sister have been temporary guardians for Lyric and her 16-year-old brother, Dillin. Misty has also been petitioned several times by the state of Iowa to pay child support.
Misty was the protected party in a no-contact order between her and Daniel entered in October 2011. On Friday, a judge filed paperwork that modified that order and said the two "may be in the presence of one another in public in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning their daughter while also in the presence of law enforcement officials."
The couple -- who have presented a united front to the media -- at first spoke openly about the grief that comes with a missing child.
“You try not to get frustrated or lose hope, but it does feel a little bit hopeless,” Misty said earlier this week in an interview with The Times.
The Morrisseys' decision to hire representation and end communication with authorities was called “a distraction” by Rick Abben, chief deputy of the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’re asking for 100% cooperation, and why they don’t want to do that I don’t know,” Abben told local media on Thursday.
Drew Collins and his wife, Heather, who is Misty’s older sister, have not hired an attorney and plan to continue aiding authorities who are searching for their daughter Elizabeth, a friend of the family said.
“There's nothing Drew and Heather have refused to provide. They are talking to the police all the time saying, ‘Hey, I remember one more thing that might help,'" said Craig Way, 38, who has known Drew since junior high.
“But Misty and Dan have had their brushes with the law so that kind of left them with the idea that law enforcement isn’t always out to help them. They have a different outlook on the police and how things work so they’re kind of on the defense already. The family doesn't think they had anything to do with [the girls' disappearance], but their actions are taking away resources that could be directed toward the search for the children.”
Way has been staying with the Collinses over the last week and said the couple, who have three other children, have tried to stay occupied and keep their minds busy.
“The worst is the nighttime,” Way said. “You get the realization that another day has gone by.”
Many in the small town of 4,700 have aided in the search, combing the area for a sign of the cousins, passing out fliers, and wearing T-shirts and buttons with the girls’ photos. Although family members believe the two were abducted, authorities are unable to issue an Amber Alert without proof of a kidnapping.
With few leads in the case, the FBI hopes its dive team from Los Angeles that started searching the lake Friday will find a clue. Authorities began draining the lake on Monday, but stopped two days later because the dive team’s sonar equipment required at least six feet of water, said Sandy Breault, a spokeswoman for the agency.
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[email protected]