Brother: 'Baffled' sister was strangled

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - More than two weeks after his 89-year-old sister was strangled at a retirement home, Lyle Morrison is trying to make sense of it.

"I am totally baffled," Morrison told 24 Hour News 8 on Friday. "My whole family is totally baffled, but we're also outraged by the fact that somebody would come in and take a totally defenseless lady, an elderly lady, a happy lady and destroy her."

Mary Morrison was found strangled in her room at Sentinel Pointe Retirement Community. Her body was discovered July 19th after she did not show up for lunch. Kent County detectives say they haven't ruled out any suspects or any motives.

Her brother remembers a sister, the oldest of three children, who retired from the Blodgett Hospital medical records department, who never married but loved her family.

"We in our family have a love affair with each other," he said.

He described her as a "lady," a devout Catholic who never had a cross word for anybody.

Lyle Morrison, a former Grand Rapids Community College board member, lives within walking distance of Sentinel Pointe. He helped take care of his sister -- taking her to doctor visits, bringing her waffles and energy bars.

He said she was defenseless. She used a walker because of her bad hip and lately was needing more help getting around, he told 24 Hour News 8.

But she loved spending her retirement at Sentintel Pointe, where she'd made a few close friends and loved the food. She never expressed any fears about living there.

Her mind, he said, was still strong.

"She had an unbelievable pure intellect."

So, why would anyone target his sister? She never had money. Most of the money she got from her pension, Social Security and small annuities went toward rent and health insurance -- sometimes leaving her with an extra $12 a month. And, she had no enemies, he said.

"People who smile all the time and who are happy all the time don't have enemies. She was about as enemy-proof as anybody I know."

She usually kept her doors locked, he said. Police will not say whether there were signs of a break-in.

And nothing, Morrison said, appeared to have been taken from her room. Contrary to earlier reports, her room was not ransacked, though detectives say there were things knocked out of place, including chairs and a lamp.

In fact, whoever killed her apparently locked her doors before leaving, Morrison said.

He believes the killing is the work of a "saddist -- a pure saddist who somehow found some kind of perverted excitement or something about taking a life."