Reason First: Downsized- The Vicki Morgan Murder

Sex, murder, and mayhem not only romanticize the streets, as business magnate Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter once remarked, they can seep into the crevices of Studio City, California, as they did on Thursday July 7, 1983.

That was the day that scorned Victoria “Vicki” Lynn Morgan received blows from a bat wielded by Marvin Pancoast. Vicki had been involved with another woman’s husband. But this was no ordinary figure. This was a family member of the New York City Bloomingdale’s family. Alfred S. Bloomingdale, 54, who was loaded with cash. He was also friends with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan.

Bloomingdale showered Vicki with gifts and supported a million-dollar plus lifestyle in exchange for sexual acts. This is where Vicki fell into a funk. She desired the money, but also hated it at the same time because of a lack of a solid ideological basis for tending to one’s own funds.

Bloomingdale, before he succumbed to cancer in 1982, outlined that Vicki should receive $18,000 a month. In anticipation of his death, his widow cut off the flow of money into Vicki’s account. Attorneys soon came to Vicki’s defense.

Lawyer Marvin Mitchelson floated a “palimony” case against Bloomingdale before his death. Soon, Vicki would dismiss Mitchelson for a new attorney after she learned of him schmoozing with the president and first lady.

Upon hiring new legal representation but saw the new case tossed as a result of “meretricious sexual services” or hired sex for money which California law prohibited.

Miss Morgan experienced a significant downsizing from her opulent home in Los Angeles to a San Fernando Valley apartment. In 1983, Vicki permitted a young man to rent an apartment next hers. This was her fatal downfall.

Pancoast bludgeoned Vicki and then reported to the police office in person that he had in fact dispatched Vicki with a bat.

He received a guilty verdict despite pleading insanity. The judge sentenced him to 25 years to life. However, Pancoast would not serve out the full term because he died in prison at age 42 of HIV/AIDS.

This is not a tale of greed, or love of money. Vicki wanted even more money and to perform all kinds of sexual debauchery against a married man. She may not have deserved her brutal end, but she did not live a life of ethics, morals, and values.

The selflessness involved in Vicki, Bloomingdale, and Pancoast all paint a portrait of decay within the hierarchy of values. Each wanted something but struggled or failed to express their desires. This either led to physical or spiritual life cessation.

The moral of this sordid story of everyone involved, except the widow, seems to resonate to this day. Whole programs seem dedicated to spitting in the face of the virtues of selfishness and avarice. The money wasn’t the problem, nor was the fact that Vicki received money for sexual favors. The fact that dishonesty and cheating dominated the lives of these troubled people led to their downfall.

People continue to feel that they can do whatever they want. Properly, an individual can think and act on rationality and do whatever they deem is in their best interest. But Bloomingdale, Vicki, and the murderous Pancoast all struggled with their own identities.

They each lacked the rationality and independence of spirit to brighten their shadowy lives. This void manifested most malignantly in Pancoast. This murderer viciously used his brute strength to forever silence Victoria Morgan. He committed this crime in cold blood because he was unable to face the truth. His malice should not be taken as poetic justice against the morally corrupt Vicki. He did his worst because he rejected the notions of proper behavior.