Ron Morphis felt a sense of helplessness when he came home in March to find his Yoder farm in ruins – his garage flattened, an addition to his house demolished, his vintage cars overturned like toys.
His neighbor, Jack Herbst, had caused an estimated $150,000 in damage with a front-end loader, all over an $80 debt, Morphis said.
Last week, the hurt and confusion came flooding back when the 63-year-old Herbst was found dead in a Buick left running in a garage on Edison Road in Yoder, a rural community in eastern El Paso County.
Morphis, who was notified about the death by an El Paso County sheriff’s deputy, said he hung up the phone after hearing the word “suicide.”
“I cried,” Morphis said, describing Herbst as a onetime friend who struggled with drinking and debt.
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