Father of slain cousin sentenced on drug charges
September 13th, 2013 by Ric Hanson
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced the father of one of the cousins abducted in Evansdale to prison on drug charges. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Judge David Staudt sentenced 37-year-old Daniel Eugene Morrissey, of Waterloo, on Friday to up to 90 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 30 years.
Morrissey had earlier pleaded guilty and agreed to Alford pleas, which acknowledges evidence needed for a conviction, to charges involving the manufacture of methamphetamine and other drug offenses. The charges stem from incidents before and after the cousins disappeared.
Morrissey is the father of Lyric Cook, who disappeared with her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, while riding bikes in Evansdale in July, 2012. Their bodies were found in a remote, wooded area 25 miles away last December.