He said the killer had written all over the walls.
update 9/1/2021 11:19 AM
The father of Mercedes Morr -- real name Janae Gagnier -- described the moment he found his daughter's body, initially believing she fell down the stairs. Mark Gagnier said he only realized she had been murdered when his girlfriend ran upstairs and found the suspect, Kevin Alexander Accorto, still "twitching" and "gurgling."
Recounting the horrific Sunday in a 30-minute-plus interview with ABC13, he said he went round to his daughter's house — only a few minutes away from his own — to check in on her, after family and friends reported not being able to get hold of her.
"I knew something was wrong. I wouldn't have kicked the door in if I didn't know something was wrong, and what I saw did not surprise me at that moment, because I knew something was wrong," he said.
He described the scene as "just disgusting inside": He found his daughter motionless, in a state of undress, at the bottom of the stairs.
"My daughter was on the ground, and at that moment, I thought Janae had an accident and fell down the stairs... she looked like she came home, was getting undressed and fell down the stairs," he said.
"So I was like, 'Baby run upstairs and get something to cover Janae up'... and I kind of like turned away. When she ran upstairs and saw the guy - then I realized it wasn't an accident."
"So as soon as she went upstairs and saw the guy, that's when my anger level got so bad, that all I could feel was just hot anger, and all I could do was just sit there and watch him until the police got there."
"He was twitching, he was gurgling. I could look in the room, there's writing all over the walls," he said, adding the suspect had been in there for two days.
"There's blood all over the apartment," he continued, adding that it was supposedly when he kicked the door in that the suspect attempted to take his own life.
"When the detective told me that she had been strangled, that's all I can think about in my mind," he went on. "I did not want my daughter to go out in any kind of pain or suffering or any kind of traumatic anything... and I would have been happy with the thought in my mind that he pushed her, or she fell down the stairs, because it's quick. And I know that's a bad thought, but I didn't want my daughter to be in any kind of struggle, fight or pain."
"I'm almost okay in my mind about something that happens by an accident... or something that happens, like sickness and stuff? That in my mind is not okay, but it happens, it's life. I am not okay with murder, okay?"
Speaking alongside Jenae's mother Jeaneta, he said that while they knew who is suspected of killing her, they didn't know why, or how he managed to gain access to the house.
"I don't know how the guy got into the place, because it was locked up tightly, and my daughter does not open the door for anybody," her dad insisted.
He revealed the alleged killer had not parked right in front of Janae's house, but ten houses down; he said his daughter sometimes left the garage door open, and that he must have slipped in that way. He also said it must have happened some time after 11 AM Saturday morning, because Janae had texted a friend then, right before everyone lost contact with her.
Both parents said they were tortured by the thoughts of what they had been doing at the exact moment their daughter was being killed.
Her dad also admitted the sheer number of her social media followers "scared the hell out of me".
"Janae had a lot of followers, and I warned Janae about her followers," he said. "Some were true followers, some were there for their own reason; apparently one was a little nutty."
Some of her real friends, he admitted, even thought her real name was Mercedes Morr.
"Janae was a handful to her dad... and I loved that about her. She kept me on my toes, I swear," he added.
The parents say they intend setting up a GoFundMe to celebrate their late daughter's life.
original story 8/31/2021 8:41 AM
Instagram model Miss Mercedes Morr has been found dead in what police believe was a murder suicide.
The 33-year-old, whose real name was Janae Gagnier, was discovered in her Texas apartment on Sunday during a welfare check. Medical examiners said she was strangled to death.
In the same West Point Circle apartment, police found the body of her suspected killer: 34-year-old Florida man Kevin Alexander Accorto. According to investigators, he had stabbed himself to death via "multiple sharp force trauma."
Houston Police Hunting 19-Year-Old Woman They Say Walked Into Man's Home and Set Him on Fire
View StoryThere was no signs of forced entry at the apartment, KHOU reported.
Gagnier was hugely popular on social media, boasting more than 2.6million followers on Instagram — Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Meek Mill and Snoop Dogg among them.
"Yesterday was the worst day of my life .. my heart is gone. My soul is gone," Gagnier's sister London posted on Instagram.
She said both she and their mom had last checked in on Janae on Thursday, saying she was having "an amazing time."
Police do not believe there was any relationship between the suspect and the victim.
"At this point, this is being considered a murder/suicide and it is an ongoing investigation to determine motive in the case," they said.
Widow of Man Gunned Down Shielding Son at Miami Cafe Describes His Final Moments
View StoryLondon believes her sister's killer had been stalking her.
"She wasn't robbed. It was just a stalker from outta state who'd BEEN stalking her," she posted.
Neighbors were horrified by the attack in their quiet community.
"What I thought was safe it seems is not. We have so many rules and so many guidelines I would never expect someone to breach our security and someone be murdered on this property," one told Click2Houston.
"It's safe over here, we have the gates the fence, you got to have a code to get in a code to get out, I'm just in shock," another added.
Janae's final post was littered with tributes and condolences from shocked friends, including rapper Bow Wow who said he'd spoken to her just days before she was killed.
"Stop playing we just spoke on thurs dont do me like this yo! Naaa," he wrote.