Father of Lyric Cook Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges

By Jeff Reinitz, The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

In a Tuesday, July 17, 2012 file photo, Misty and Dan Morrissey speak to the media near Meyers Lake where their daughter Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, disappeared, in Evansdale, Iowa. Misty Morrisey must appear in federal court to face allegations she violated the terms of her supervised release in a decade-old methamphetamine case, records show. U.S. District Judge Linda Reade signed an order directing Misty Morrissey to appear in a Cedar Rapids courtroom Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, one day after family members will mark the four-month anniversary of the disappearance of 11-year-old Lyric Cook and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

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By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Mar 1, 2013 at 4:45 PM CDT

Story Updated: Mar 1, 2013 at 4:45 PM CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa — The father of one of the missing cousins is facing upwards of two centuries in prison after pleading to drug charges.

Daniel Eugene Morrissey, 36, of Waterloo, had been scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but he opted to enter guilty pleas to seven meth and marijuana felonies Friday in Black Hawk County District Court.
“I’m tired of fighting ... I just want to take responsibility for what I’ve done,” said Morrissey, who is the father of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, who disappeared in July and was found dead in December with her cousin Elizabeth Collins.

No one has been charged in their deaths.

Morrissey’s drug charges stemmed from three cases and included possession of meth and marijuana with intent to deliver, conspiracy to manufacture meth, possession of meth and marijuana and possession of lithium and pseudophedrine with intent to make meth.
Sentencing will be at a later date.

At the maximum, with all of the charges running concurrent with enhancements, Morrissey faces 235 years with a 57-year mandatory minimum before he is eligible for parole.

Morrissey said the enhancements, levied because of prior convictions, were “scaring the crap” out of him.

“I feel like I’m in here for a Class A murderer,” Morrissey said.

A judge could opt for a more lenient sentence, imposing 15 years behind bars with a mandatory five-year minimum. The judge could even go one step further and suspend the 15-year sentence to probation, authorities said.