Woman charged with threats to social worker

Kimberly Morris, 38, of Isabella, has been charged with first-degree felony harassment following allegations that she threatened a social worker involved in a case concerning her teenage son.

According to a probable cause statement prepared by Ozark County Deputy Jeff Lane, the sheriff’s office was dispatched around 5 p.m. May 13, 2026, in response to a report of harassment and threats made toward a social worker by Morris.

Deputy Lane contacted the social worker, who reportedly said Morris had called her place of employment to file a complaint. During that call, Morris allegedly stated that if the social worker ever came to her residence, she would “shoot her, stab her or otherwise harm her.”

The social worker told Deputy Lane she had been assigned earlier that day to a case involving Morris’s 17-year-old son, specifically regarding the juvenile’s refusal to return to Morris’s home. The social worker said she believed Morris blamed her for ongoing issues involving the teen.

“The Department of Family Services (DFS) received an email regarding these threats, which was subsequently forwarded to the sheriff’s office,” Deputy Lane wrote in the report. “According to the call taker and the documentation provided, Morris made a clear and direct threat to the life of the social worker.”

Lane also wrote that the victim expressed significant distress and fear that Morris might attempt to harm her or her family at their private residence because Morris knows where the victim lives.

Deputy Lane noted in the report that he had spoken with Morris earlier that day by phone and that during those conversations she made multiple accusations and verbal threats, telling him, “You better not come to my house or bother me anymore.”

Morris was arrested shortly before 9:30 p.m. May 13 and transported to the Douglas County Jail, where she is being held on behalf of the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department on a $5,000 cash-only bond.

If released on bond, Morris will be restricted to house arrest except for medical and mental health appointments, court appearances and meetings with her attorney. She will also be required to be supervised by Court Probationary Services and submit to twice-weekly narcotics tests.

Morris is represented by Public Defender Chase Opolka. The state is represented by Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney Lee Pipkins.

While Douglas County Associate Judge Elizabeth Bock handled Morris’s initial court appearances, the case will proceed in Ozark County Division II court under Associate Judge Raymond Gross. If Morris waives a preliminary hearing, or if the judge finds sufficient evidence to proceed, the case will be transferred to Division I court under Circuit Judge Craig Carter.