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Devon Morgan and Shanice

Devon Morgan and Shanice dated for approximately three months in summer 2014. The relationship began after they hooked up at a party and ended after Shanice assaulted MJ at the West Baltimore Recreation Center and used a disability slur in messages to Devon.

Beginning of the Relationship

Devon and Shanice knew each other through volunteer work at the recreation center. After they hooked up at a party, Shanice began telling people they were together, and Devon went along with it.

Devon was living with untreated depression and anxiety during the relationship. He was emotionally numb, struggled to eat or remain awake, and frequently followed Shanice’s decisions because resisting required energy he did not have. Shanice criticized his passivity, motivation, and ambition while expecting him to support her position within the volunteer group.

Recreation-Center Dynamic

At the center, Shanice treated MJ’s disability-related fatigue as a reason to leave him out of activities. Devon did not initially challenge her or the other volunteers, although MJ’s friends repeatedly tried to include him.

Kelsey’s arrival made the neglect harder to ignore. She questioned MJ’s positioning, exclusion, and care and directly challenged the volunteers after she witnessed Shanice assault him.

Assault and Breakup

Main article: Summer 2014 MJ Assault Crisis

Shanice grabbed and shook MJ hard enough to leave finger-mark bruises. Devon was not in the room during the assault, but he later saw photographs of the bruises, received Shanice’s messages about what she had done, and knew the broader pattern of neglect at the center.

Shanice expected Devon to defend her after the center suspended her. She wrote that everyone was turning on her, that she had not hurt MJ badly, and that she had been trying to help him. When Devon said she had hurt a child, she continued minimizing the assault and accused him of taking everyone else’s side.

Her final message read:

are you seriously breaking up with me over this?? over some retarded kid who doesn’t even know what’s happening half the time? who just sleeps all day like a lazy piece of shit?

Devon ended the relationship, blocked her number, and sent Ms. Patricia a written account of the neglect and aftermath he knew.

Facebook Retaliation

Main article: Shanice Facebook Slander Incident (Summer 2014)

Shanice later posted that Devon had thrown her under the bus over nothing, called him fake and a snake, and warned other girls that he would turn on them. The post received 128 likes and 64 comments. Devon did not respond publicly; Keisha, Kelsey, and Ty supported him privately.

End of Contact

The relationship ended permanently after the assault. Devon continued volunteering at the recreation center and became more directly involved with the children and with the center’s response to the neglect.

Relationships Romantic Relationships Ended Relationships