We Were the Morris Orphans

When a drunk driver orphans ten children, their plea to stay together sparks international news—and prompts a trust fund that attracts corrupt and abusive fostering.

“They’re not dead, are they?” The officer’s body visibly slumped as he delivered his final nod.

From that July day in 1968 on, the Morris family became the Morris orphans: ten children who attracted nationwide attention, and a trust fund that didn’t bring out the best in those who fostered them. Kathi, the oldest, was only seventeen when her parents were killed by a drunk driver. This is her story—behind the headlines—of when the Morris orphans only had their mutual loss and each other.