Murdered mom's last act: pleading for life of 2-year-old son (Zeeland, Michigan)

Just appalling. This mom did everything she could do--short of finding a hit man to take out her extremely violent ex-husband, DONOVAN MORRIS, the father of her 2-year-old son. She got a divorce, got custody of her child (very difficult these days), got a protection order, even managed to get moveaway rights (also very difficult, as a lot of judges are refusing mothers' requests for moveaways). She took her son clear across the country--from North Carolina to California--but it still didn't save her life. Morris tracked her down like some kind of animal, and abducted her at gunpoint from the hallway outside her apartment. She was later found murdered in the parking garage below her apartment complex. Mom's last act? Pleading with the killer to abduct her instead of the child, and spare his life.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/feature/x1560859229/Murdered-Zeeland-mom-s-last-act-pleading-for-son-s-life

Murdered Zeeland mom’s last act pleading for son’s life
Fund established for care of Bodkins' orphaned toddler

By MEGAN SCHMIDT
The Holland Sentinel
Posted May 13, 2010 @ 06:06 PM
Last update May 13, 2010 @ 10:54 PM

Zeeland, MI — Even though Ivy Bodkins moved across the country, it wasn’t enough to keep her estranged husband from stalking her.

She had moved from North Carolina to Long Beach, Calif., taking along 2-year-old son Kalin, in pursuit of a new life for both of them.

But her fresh start was cut short this week when Bodkins, a 1999 Zeeland High School graduate, was found dead in the parking garage below her apartment complex in Long Beach.

Several hours later, her husband, too, was dead, after police tracked him down and a standoff ensued in a parking lot about 100 miles away.

After the shock of losing Bodkins, her family is figuring out how — and who — will raise her young child.

In the meantime, a memorial fund has been established to help pay for Kalin’s future needs, including education, as well as funeral and travel costs.

Ivy Bodkins’s father and stepmother, Brad and Linda, have temporary custody of Kalin and will likely seek permanent custody, Mike Bodkins, Ivy Bodkins’s uncle, said.

Even while she was being held at gunpoint, Ivy Bodkins was thinking of her son, Mike Bodkins said.

“She was really instrumental in saving Kalin’s life,” he said.

On Monday, Ivy Bodkins left for a morning workout and upon her return, was abducted in the hallway outside her apartment, he said.

She begged her husband, Donovan Morris, to take her and not her son.

It was not the first time Morris had been violent toward her.

While living in North Carolina, “there was a severe incident of domestic abuse where he beat her up,” Mike Bodkins said. “He was found guilty and initially given probation but he violated it and ended up serving six months in jail.”

After getting out, Morris followed Ivy Bodkins’s trail to California.

Bodkins tried to take precautions, such as filing for divorce and a personal-protection order and living in a highly populated community with good security, her uncle said.
It wasn’t enough.

“It was a tragic occurrence and it’s so similar to so many where husbands violently kill an ex-wife or lover,” Mike Bodkins said. “I think in some ways people can be naive as to the minds of perpetrators and how determined they are to do such a bad thing.”

A private memorial service for Ivy Bodkins’s friends and family in Michigan is tentatively scheduled for May 23, Mike Bodkins said.

The Bodkins memorial fund has been established through Huntington National Bank in Zeeland. Checks can be made out to Jack Dekker.