Morgan Harrington Murder Update: DNA Links WANTED SUSPECT
Corrine Geller, PR Manager, Virginia State Police Released This Statement:
special thanks to argano_m for the image work to remove the beard
special thanks to Klaasend for the age progression image
Related Posts
Related Posts:
931 Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
If this DNA evidence is from the t-shirt found in front of the apt complex, I sincerely hope that evidence was handled properly. not saying anything against LE, I just recall that whole situation begin off.
starbusks, Thank you for posting that.
Debbie- Happy Belated Birthday
Eloise, Thanks for posting Vanessa’s memorial page. The pictures there underscored the point to me that Vanessa and Morgan were alot alike, both beautiful, young, vivacious women.
Vanessa too liked music and going to concerts. Many of the same pictures and activities as we have seen with Morgan. Love of outdoor venues, posing with friends, ect.
I think we can all agree that if this guy targeted both Morgan and Vanessa- he isnt targeting based on the same physical traits.
Although both women are beautiful, Morgan is tall, blonde, blue- eyed Caucasian. Vanessa is short, brown-eyed brown haired Asian.
Begs the question- what connects these two beautiful girls on opposite sides of the spectrum?
Right now, I am thinking- concert venues-music, and Rt 29
Could this guy be stalking these women before he attacks?
What was the last music venue that Morgan attended before Metallica?
What was Vanessa’s last venue attended?
Where is the last known outdoor activity/venue of both girls?
Could this attacker be someone that is a constant at these venues or parks?
Could he be someone that everyone may know, or may have seen, but quickly is forgotten or overlooked?
Gil just recently wrote a very poignant piece recalling how she would hide Alex’s and Morgan’s presents in plain sight- and they would somehow overlook them- She voiced her concern that this is what she believed Morgan’s attacker was doing- Hiding in plain sight….
I’m thinking Gil could be right, especially knowing now, that this BG has stayed in the area- even after, having attacked a woman and her successfully getting away, and possibly being involved in Vanessa’s case and Morgan’s.
The description of the attacker in those cases was similar to the description of Saturday’s attacker: a dark-skinned man in his late teens or early 20s, about 5 foot 6 and thin.
– Tom Jackman
By Focus on Fairfax | June 5, 2007; 10:38 AM ET
OK, he is described as a dark skinned person, not an African American. Could this be the same guy??
___________________________________________________
Other than being dark skinned, it doesn’t sound like the 2005 guy — who is described as 6 foot, solidly built and older.
Any thoughts on the age group of the folks in Chickenhead Blues Band?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chickenhead-Blues-Band/120635784218#!/photo.php?pid=2336169&id=120635784218
I’m not trying to accuse anyone, just having trouble digesting this is about someone we never contimplated before. I know I am a hard head.
Holy Moley, Blink and Klaas! Warn a girl! I thought he was jumping out of the screen at me!
When I read that the 2005 Fairfax assaulter attacked the woman from behind and *carried* her to
a wooded area (or park-like area near the apartment’s swimming pool) I assessed his height and build, which was listed as “medium” and realized this man could easily overtake most women. If he is 6 feet tall and 180 lbs. he could carry that body as far as “the now-well-known” (j2k) resting place of Morgan Harrington.
All this brings to mind the need for vigilance and training to defend ourselves against attack.
The car keys-between-the-fingers will not work. A decent-sized can of pepper spray will help, but more than anything, the awareness of environment coupled with a mindset to defend and survive is paramount.
I agree with Slowroller re: the scalper profile. That is a plausible commonality from a geographic perspective (JPJA and GMU Patriot Center) if these cases are indeed linked. There should be an active outdoor concert season at Nissan Pavilion this summer in addition to other venues along the Beltway/ 29 corridor. Another reason to be alert at these events.
RE: “Eloise says:
July 2, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Any thoughts on the age group of the folks in Chickenhead Blues Band?”
See link for ages and bio:
http://www.charlottesvillepavilion.com/calendar/show/201/
From the pictures on FB, it appears that they have different musicians playing with them.
One pic in particular: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2336169&id=120635784218
shows a drummer that died in a house fire in Cville:
http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/23/drummer-lost-fire-victim-was-johnny-gilmore/
In NJ there was a Police Detective Jerome Pleasants who looks an awful lot like the sketch and shares the same name as the link Eloise and Jamie posted above of the gentleman who was recently charged with abduction in Charlottesvill. He is getting closed hearings and is a state ee, which tells me something is up . . .
RE:
twoforks says:
July 2, 2010 at 1:27 pm
++++++
Yes, I recall that now. Maybe that is why it was in my head that they had an AA band member. Thanks.
There is a lot of questioning with regard to the race of the man in the sketch, which seems unnecessary. The person from the 05 attack obviously described him as a black male. I would assume she would know best and would be able to tell a black male from an hispanic male, from a middle-eastern male, etc…hence the sketch and description of a black male. If it were arbitrary, I doubt LE would have released a sketch specifying a black male.
When the top of the head of the sketch appeared on my screen I immediately knew negro. I have lived among them all my life, and one soon learns head shapes.
I have always leaned towards what happened in the parking lot regarding the basketball players as to what part they may have played in Morgan’s disappearance and death. I don’t believe she was killed right away, but held at some location for a week to ten days.
Who placed the shirt on the shrubry? Is this the source of the DNA?
This guy either lives in the Charlotsville area or has a reason to travel the area from Fairfax and Charlottsville as a part of his work. He may be related to some of the basketball players.
His previous victim was a woman walking alone at night. She is one lucky person to still be alive. I think when they catch him, they will discover other victims. We also do not have information as to how the abduction of the rape victim was accomplished. Did he use a weapon or did he simply overpower her?
Don’t post if not appropriate, of course, but this guy gives me the creeps. He lives 12 miles from JPJ arena off of rt 29. Rape and forcible sodomy in 85. So, if Va didn’t start taking DNA of convicted felons until 1998 … or would he have had to submit DNA later? Anyway, creepy. And you now a lot of this guys live together and hang out together too. They are in “clusters” in some areas.
Registration ID : 1624
Name : CHAMBERS, RONALD, ERICH
Sex : Male
Race : Black
Age : 52
Height : 5 Feet 11 Inches
Weight : 180 lbs
Hair Color : Black
Eye Color : Brown
Palm Print : On File
Finger Print : On File
Violent : Yes
Everyone, if he is in the system, it is not him. They have a profile, they need an ID to match.
B
fish -
Ahoy from across the Ben-Frank!
(you said:) “… I just may be with Observer’s review of Morgan on the bridge, car pulls up and pulls her in and HE; Sketch Guy, turns around in that RV lot. Dumping purse. Thus, people seeing Morgan on the bridge, scent hitting but no one saw her get into car.
It WAS your so-called rabid dog, assault-type abduction. …”
I’m feelin’ ya, fish. But *how* does Sketch get Morgan into his car?
Thinking this through, I’ll assume this predator was *not* on university grounds that night initially (i.e., the JPJ/UHall vicinity), but rather, was driving along an adjacent road – either cutting from Route 29 South (as it becomes Emmett nearing the JPJ) onto Ivy Road *via Copeley*, as it skirts around the stadiums, or heading south down Ivy and *cutting left onto Copeley* (over the bridge and around the stadiums) to cut onto Route 29 North. (Why else would anyone be on that little by-way?)
So Sketch sees his victim – the lone, possibly wobbly MH – walking along Copeley as he cuts through, making gestures that appear to indicate she’s in need of a ride. For some reason, I have a hard time picturing her just hopping into the vehicle of a random 35-year-old black guy because he pulls over and offers her a lift – not a race thing, mind you, but a comfort-zone thing, demographic-wise. Unless an older guy resembled her dad in some way, I don’t think a college-educated 20-year-old (albeit, an intoxicated one) would get into a vehicle driven by a significantly older stranger – willingly.
This brings me to the limits of my reality-grounded imaginiation. *How* did he isolate her in that very public area and forcibly abscond with her – and was that act of abduction related to the “dropping” of her purse in the RV lot, resulting in the subsequent dislodge (my theory) of her phone battery? I now think that find was related to a struggle – and, no, I do not think Sketch took the time to pop open her battery casing before tossing the phone. That’s the last thing he was thinking about, and a fairly nonsensical thing to do anyway.
Blink – I meant these guys live in clusters and by that I meant RSO’s.
Sorry about that blink. Found this on the VSP site:
A person required to register shall register, and as part of the registration shall submit to be photographed, submit to have a sample of his blood, saliva, or tissue taken for DNA deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis and submission to the DNA databank to
determine identification characteristics specific to the person, provide electronic mail address information, any instant message, chat or other Internet communication name or identity information that the person uses or intends to use, submit to have his
fingerprints and palm prints taken, provide information regarding his place of employment, and provide motor vehicle, watercraft and aircraft registration information for all motor vehicles, watercraft and aircraft owned by him.
Just want to remind everyone of the very secluded path from the parking lot behind and below Foods of All Nations on Ivy Rd, across the RR tracks, and into the RV lot. It weighs on me b/c I know people park back there and walk over for events, and since then I’ve heard of difficulty with vagrants hanging out back there (which makes sense, excellent dumpster diving I suppose).
For that matter, has LE looked at employees of Foods and other businesses in the vicinity, and any employees who were from Fairfax or had cause to drive to and fro? I can’t remember what else is there (I remember a UPS/FedEx mailing/package center), but it is true that the Charlottesville rapist worked in the meats department at Harris Teeter. I recognized him after they got him.
For me, the sticking point is that this person knows North Garden and/or has an associate who does.
Blink:
I expect Morgan would have been pretty colorblind. I have always felt the hitchhiking was plausible, as she was pretty messed-up and perhaps very angry. Don’t quite get why so many here are so shocked. Serials come in all shapes and sizes and types – some look like Manson, some look like Bundy, some look like Williams, some like Malvo.
Morgan was a person, not an ideal, and her deification by many of the posters here is bizarre. This statement is in no way demeaning to her memory, in fact what is demeaning are the statements of SHOCK! – This POS couldn’t be the perp! My GOD he’s a NEGRO! Morgan would never get in a car with SOMEONE LIKE THIS!. And NEGROS don’t have cars or live in Virginia or hang out at Universities or go to Metallica concerts do they? Must be from D.C.! Morgan would be dissapointed in many of you.
Good Lord folks – get it together. This guy looks like Tim Duncan – if I was furious, blotto and looking for a ride I would get in with him same as I would get in with Blink, and I am a right wing redneck from Montana. The astrologers here frighten me more than this sketch – women went with Bundy because he looked anything but menacing and he was manipulative in ways that make your skin crawl. This girl was just a person, she made some decisions which placed her at risk, those decisions were her responsibility, she is not beyond reproach, she is instead tragically dead. Her MURDER was in NO way her responsibility – it is very likely it was the action of this dirt pile and we need to find him.
Please folks take Morgan off your pedestal and let her be a fine and fallible human like the rest of us. She didn’t die to be your Martyr or your inspiration, she was snuffed out by evil. Don’t forget she was a “hippie wanna be” just like alot of other 20 somethings – that has little bearing on her intrinsic value as a good and worthy soul. Let’s find this piece of debris and dole out the justice it has coming and perhaps prevent the destruction of yet another victim-to-be.
Blink – I must ask: Are there DNA results in the Cassandra Morton murder? – i.e. can that case be excluded from connection here or is the relationship unknown? Sorry but I find it very difficult to learn of any developments in that investigation and I still think it could be related here.
I ahve always thought we had a lone wolf, a stranger and a serial and I am thinking this is our guy. He is clearly a predator and may be both runnin and needing another fix. Please people, get this sketch on your billboards and bookfaces and let’s put this one to rest permanently.
Remember – it doesn’t matter who is right here, what matters is if our collective efforts can be constructive in getting shy of the ones among us without the capability of judgment or remorse and with the undenied compulsions to do evil.
GBU all.
All I can say is WOW, Blink. Big news and hopefully brings us closer to catchin the BG.
Are we still in the thinking he’s associated with the location of where Morgan was found? If so, someone in the area must know this guy. I could be wrong, but the image looks an awful lot like the emt (sorry, can’t think of his initials).
I think we are assuming Morgan wasn’t acquainted with this guy- We have mostly all said that Morgan probably was comfortable with her attacker. She probably knew him- or knew him/them through a friend or acquaintance….
What has changed? Why the sudden turnaround?
Look at Ted Bundy he was a nice upstanding guy but he was a rapist/murderer. He had many friends and love interests that would never believe he could do these horrible things. Look at OJ Simpson, even though he was acquitted for murdering his wife and Ron Goldman a civil court found him guilty, and now he is guilty of burglary.. He was a fine upstanding celebrity. He would never have worn those ugly %$ed shoes- I am sure he had family and friends that thought he was innocent.
This guy (Sketch) can not be an RSO- This guy can not have been arrested previously. He is not in the database….
His friends might be. His friends may be Morgan’s friends of friends- He may be a new friend of Morgan’s or an acquaintance, or an acquaintance of an acquaintance.
Just a thought…
35.Concrened Mom says:
July 2, 2010 at 9:12 am
I am very concerned about why Gregory Sandridge is listed as missing on the VSP sex offender registry. I am also confused b/c it says his photo date is June 24, 2010. Can anyone make sense of this for me b/c it could be a safety issue for my family b/c of the business he is in. Why would his pic be taken a week ago and then he is listed as missing??
I am with you on this and EH was ?arrested/ found on the 24th as well and CH was also arrested on the 24th wasn’t he. Seems like a busy day.
) Best wishes.
The BB player that left UVA this spring was from Fairfax, just a point of interest, in no way am I saying he was involved in any way.
Observer, sorry you are having some health issues. I believe Morgan has her hand on your heart and it will mend
J2k what is it with all these fires. I am glad all the folks and cats survived. I have been through something similar, the first minutes were complete panic, I could not remember my address with 911 and she had to talk me down. Deep Breaths. Sorry you had to go through this.
Speaking of fires, would firefighters be familiar with the people that come in to clean? Also, could the disposal guy have any contracts with cleaners to carry away debris.
Word Girl – re: your post (July 2, 2010 at 12:56 pm)
Great, succinct comment – and an important reminder. TY, friend.
*clink*
Ode – Fire!!!
Thanks, ode, and you have my sympathies as well. I never thought I’d be able to explain what “carbon strings” were, but I’ve now experienced seeing them first hand, looking like ink-black alien cobwebs draped across my ceiling… [shudder]
In answer yo your question, suffice it to say we live in a highly combustible world.
Let me know in advance when it is ok for me to go “light” on the fire issue, in honor of our old Sutherland discussion.
B
Ms. Blink:
I should have added: This human is not a “Black Male” he is a pile of cells and the pigment of his epidermis is relevant only in tracking him down. The entire concept of race is absurd and solely political, not scientific but i will spare you all that rant for another day.
Find him. Try him. Kick him out of the pool in the manner that the citizens of Virginia see fit. That is our duty to one another as citizens and souls.
BLINK you and me may not always agree but i will sit up front with you anytime, and I must admit I would do the same with half the other oddballs that hang out around here.
Luck!
You were doing so well until the oddball comment!! Alas, once in a while that may be true.
I think the surprise at the link with a black man is not racist, I resent that implication completely.
It is a statistical surprise only, and I will be honest, as we developed a profile of data we developed from the case and passed on, it was not a surprise to me personally.
I maintain a level of caution that this is the perp, it has not been released the exact “forensic connection” or confirmed where it was located, although everyone knows it was the shirt. A shirt that was found on a bush, not on Morgan. I think our sketchdude is on the immediate hook for the sex assault, and the rest will follow.
B
ps. The front seat? That’s brave. Haven’t you heard? I am a Jersey driver
Well for heaven’s sake, I pop back in to catch up on comments but not before I reach for a gulp of my coffee. Out of the corner of my eye I catch that the image up top is now moving…that was the eeriest few seconds of my life. Thought for a bit I had gone all psychic or something.
@joeamerica
that is the first thing I thought when I saw this sketch…he looks like Tim Duncan!
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/major-break-in-case-of-virginia-tech-student-morgan-harringtons-murder/19540253?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fcrime%2Farticle%2Fmajor-break-in-case-of-virginia-tech-student-morgan-harringtons-murder%2F19540253
I logged in and was so glad to see this. And JoeAmerica I seldom say anything negative about a poster so I do not want to start. At this point I have Gil, Dan and Alex on a pedastal. I am sure they have wanted to go stark raving mad over this.
They have been subjected to read all the different comments and speculation. This is something new in our social world and they are pioneers here. Can you imagine the constant…constant…constant reminders, not just in their mind but everyday they read something. It has to be a hell that not many have experienced. Yet they have not cracked. They stay firm. Morgan came from that. Morgan was able to draw alot of people to her. Why?
Dang Blink, your site got a link on NBC29
Keep on investigatin’, and hopefully we’ll see justice soon!
http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=12749084
TY. Kudos to Blink Editors. Nice Job
B
“the pigment of his epidermis is relevant only in tracking him down. The entire concept of race is absurd and solely political, not scientific”
joeamerica, here-here, but we went round this when the basketball players were in the spotlight. There are unfortunate social justice complications to the concept of race, which is what I tried to point out then.
Anyway, I think the point now is that there would be fewer cells with this pigment likely on Anchorage Farm. Might help progress things.
a confirmed oddball, lizzy
*waving hands wildly!* I’m an oddball and don’t mind saying so. I call SHOTGUN though! (For those that aren’t from the south that means whoever calls shotgun FIRST gets the front seat.) So Joe – come by and pick me up. I appreciate the open discussion about race – is it or is it not an issue. I think the fact that most of us assumed upfront (me included) that we were dealing with an evil dude with pale skins cells vs darker skin cells is the only surprise. In the end, it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other the shade or tone of skin – all that matters is finding and dealing with whoever it is.
I still cannot get over how brilliant the age progression and the facial hair progression are on the photofit. Amazing.
On this Independence Day Holiday – I am now reminded that there are members of our society that don’t really enjoy safety and freedom to be out and about without risk to their health and lives.
Wasn’t there a basketball game/practice that night at UVA? I understand there are quite a few basketball players on the UVA team who are black. I’d think they are checking out any family members/friends that attended the game/practice that night that fit the description of the 2005 attacker. What are the chances of poor Morgan coming across this creep by a happenstance driveby. He had to be in the area for a reason and then jumped on what he saw as an opportunity.
He looks very much like King Tut/prince tutankamman
Blink– Where are people getting info on the t-shirt DNA source? Only thing I’ve found in the news is a comment from Gil yesterday on WSLS out of Roanoke “How does your DNA happen to be on a dead girl? DNA doesn’t land like rain on a dead girl” (http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/link_made_between_morgan_harrington_case_and_2005_fairfax_abduction/108967/)
This comment by Gil leads me to believe the DNA source was from her remains. No?
Well if the method of his last attack hasn’t changed then it’s hard to believe he’s some smooth talker like Bundy. He basically attacked his last known victim and carried her off against her will over his shoulders. This is why we are saying MH didn’t willingly get into his car, not because he is older or black, or because he couldn’t possible be charming or appear harmless due to his race/age. Lets not for the fact her backpack type pocketbook her stuff and cell phone was left in the little field area near the parking lot.
Sounds like another blitz attack to me.
And while it’s POSSIBLE Morgan knew Sketch, it’s not probably statistically speaking.
http://knol.google.com/k/can-dna-tell-what-race-you-are#
This link is to a very informative article by Frank W Sweet that answers the question, “Can DNA tell what race you are?”
The short answer is “no.” Mr. Sweet, a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida majoring in history with a minor in molecular anthropology, has written definitive works on the history of racialism in the US. He explains:
It often happens that an American who looks White and is seen as White actually has significant African DNA, and one who looks Black and is seen as Black has more than half European DNA. But most importantly, Hispanics are usually seen (and see themselves) as a third “race,” no matter what their DNA admixture shows.
As I understand it, just having the DNA from Morgan’s t-shirt and the DNA from the rape victim will not give the race of the perpetrator. We also have the description from the rape victim, but it was dark and he grabbed her from behind.
I keep remember the limo driver who reported an hispanic looking man walking a car length behind Morgan. I hope LE shows him the sketch.
As to the composite sketch: we have recently had several bank robberies in my area that have resulted in composite likenesses that have been featured in the newspaper. Two of these robbers have been caught during later robberies and each vaguely resembled the sketch, buy one could never have used the sketch to find the robber. I think these sketches are only as good as a combination of the skill of the artist and the victim’s memory.
to joeamerica at 3:08pm today. Thank you. So glad I didn’t gloss over or just scan your post.
Great job Blink! I was so happy to see this (once I got over the shock of seeing the suspect!) and know that justice is finally coming for Morgan and the Harrington’s. Thanks to the diligent work of you and your team! You are a special person who has undertaken a special cause for people who truly need you. I have been here since the beginning, don’t post very often, and have been so impressed with your site. I am a lifelong member if you’ll have me.
The age progression and the facial hair progression are absolutely amazing on the photofit!
Thank You. We are very optomistic about this new development.
B
I would assume they have looked at all of the people who worked for the JPJA management staff? Typically staff will be brought in from a large region to work an event (say, NOVA). A lot will get paid in cash and many will leave once an event starts.
well said joe. From the silence before your post, I was beginning to think people really thought all “negros” must play basketball and/or know each other.
Few of the people on this board can believe morgan hitchhiked in the first place (even setting aside race) because they would never do it themselves. But most of them would also probably not wander out of a metalica concert and then wander around a parking lot acting unusually. I can see her thinking it made sense to hitchhike and I can see her getting into the wrong car — or being pulled into the wrong car when she bent over to look in the door.
SnarkyT-
Although I agree with you that the odds of Morgan knowing this guy “well” are next to nothing- I do disagree that she could not have known him- possibly may have known him only by sight- having seen him around concert venues, or having known him through a friend of a friend or an acquaintance or may have seen him on campus or sporting events, or working in the area….
I don’t know- But, Think Elizabeth Smart.- In other words -Known him enough to walk up to his car to say Hiya -and then he could have blitz attacked her. Or he may have known her or stalked her and she may not even known he existed.
Lets not forget how easy it is to cyber-stalk these days- Morgan posted where she was going- she had been talking about going to the concert for months- Did Vanessa post her plans on FB also?- Was this meeting with friends discussed prior, on her FB or her friends’? Did this previous attack on ’05 occur on a route that the victim walked frequently? Was it a routine? Did she post her plans on the web….
Another thing Snarky- I agree that Sketch’s last known victim was carried off- in a blitz attack- but I would also like to point out that this guy now, would be older and possibly more adept at luring his victims away from the immediate area- so as not to be foiled again by a passerby- as in the earlier attack.
And as for Morgan’s bag and cell- We still don’t know whether or not it was returned there after the fact- or whether or not Sketch is the attacker or the helper- as Blink has wrote, she still believes this may be the work of 2 perps. Until that is proven false I am willing to stand behind her analysis.
As a very astute poster once wrote, Skyler or Fish IIRC- Everything’s in until its out-
To disregard any plausible scenario at this point would put us at a disadvantage- As Gil wrote this guy is probably hiding in plain sight- He may be your neighbor, your friend, your mail carrier, your son, your friendly librarian – Look around you- Do you recognize him?
So, could this be the guy that was reportedly seen walking a few feet behind Morgan?
Ode says:
July 2, 2010 at 3:31 pm
“The BB player that left UVA this spring was from Fairfax, just a point of interest, in no way am I saying he was involved in any way.”
Im no Sherlock Holmes but i could never get past the BB players and their initial reluctance to come forward. This isn`t a race issue either, they were the last known people to speak/interact with Ms Harrington before she was “hitchiking”.
For me, unless there is a link, all conjecture up to this point goes out the window and we are back to square one.
TO: redly: You said: “Few of the people on this board can believe morgan hitchhiked in the first place (even setting aside race) because they would never do it themselves…I can see her thinking it made sense to hitchhike and I can see her getting into the wrong car — or being pulled into the wrong car when she bent over to look in the door.”
Exactly. This is what I have been thinking for several months–and tried at least once unsuccessfully to articulate. Thank you for explaining better than I the fact that although we might never imagine ourselves doing something does not necessarily negate the possibility that someone else might do so in other circumstances.
FWIW: I realize that I remain in the minority here–and that’s ok–but I believe these things:
* The suspect displayed in the Fairfax case composite is the person who abducted and subsequently murdered Morgan.
* This individual acted alone.
* This individual did not present as a suave, charming Ted-Bundy-like persona.
* This individual had more than a passing knowledge of AF.
* This individual has an extensive–but undocumented–history of sexual assaults and/or crimes of violence.
* Until apprehended, this individual will continue to offend, either via sexual assault or sexual assault and subsequent murder.
A cautionary reminder to all (and FWIW): the serial rapist who terrorized CVille and the surrounding communities for several years (1997-2007) was a married father of four young children. He worked at the meat counter of a local large-chain grocery store and also delivered newspapers for a local paper. He was seen weekly at the store by literally hundreds of customers. He lived in a large apartment complex right behind Cville’s only enclosed shopping mall.
His composite sketch had been displayed for an extensive time–since 2003– before he was apprehended.
http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=12749074
Release from Virginia State Police:
The Virginia State Police, Fairfax City Police and investigative team working on the Morgan Harrington case would like to thank the public for coming forward with new information related to both the 2005 Fairfax City abduction and sexual assault, and the 2009 Morgan Harrington disappearance and murder.
More than 50 tips from all over the country have been received via phone and email within the past 24 hours. Investigators are now vetting the tips and prioritizing them in accordance with the information provided. Investigators are encouraged by the immense response from the public and renewed interest in both ongoing criminal investigations.
Ode (3:31 pm), when you said “The BB player that left UVA this spring was from Fairfax,” did you mean TS? Born in Fairfax but from Woodbridge, according to UVa, but close enough.
Just want to be sure. Thanks.
joeamerica I agree with you in some ways. I think Morgan was colorblind. I think she would have had friends of all races and all colors. But I don’t think she would have jumped into a car with anybody that she didn’t know or feel comfortable with black, white or yellow.
I have looked at a lot of Metallica concert pictures and I have to tell you. A man of color is not the groups following.
So what would he be doing there.
Working at the Arena
Working security
Visiting friends
Trolling
We just don’t know. In all of these 8 months we have not really spent too much time on men of color being the killer. Mostly white men.
Now that we find a match with a black man that raped a women lets not pull the race card. I just don’t find that productive.
Blink,
Do you still feel that Morgan knew her attacker (even as an acquaintance) as you had stated before?
Or do you feel this is a random attack – wrong place, wrong time?
Thank you!
Lovely- I am going to defer on that. There are leads being processed I do not wish to compromise.
B
Observer Says:
FWIW: I realize that I remain in the minority here–and that’s ok–but I believe these things:
* The suspect displayed in the Fairfax case composite is the person who abducted and subsequently murdered Morgan.
* This individual acted alone.
* This individual did not present as a suave, charming Ted-Bundy-like persona.
* This individual had more than a passing knowledge of AF.
* This individual has an extensive–but undocumented–history of sexual assaults and/or crimes of violence.
* Until apprehended, this individual will continue to offend, either via sexual assault or sexual assault and subsequent murder.
———————————————–
I don’t believe you are in the minority Observer. I believe a similar scenario based on what we know. I, however, think that there may be more to the story, a piece that may contradict the above somewhat. A piece that LE knows, but has not shared.
Yep.
Dear Observer,
You appear to be back on your game…with a vengeance. I only disagree with points 2 and 3 of your above post. Maybe it’s just the fact I was born in a small town and have lived here all my life, but I find it hard to believe in the apparently relatively isolated community of Anchorage Farm/Blandemar, that “Sketch” – love it – has not raised an eyebrow (that we know of). Mr. Bass doesn’t recognize him apparently.
I think how this person presented himself depends on what was going on around him in the moment he spotted Morgan and her vulnerability. If he was with other people, he may have been highly capable of appearing suave and in control.
I agree with your comments on findmorgan re: escalation from peeping tom to serial killer. In your opinion could this guy’s MO in 2005 been refined to more of a Ted Bundy level by 2009? Let’s say 2005 was his very first assault. How fast do rapists escalate to serial killers? Again, agreeing with you that not all peeping toms->rapists become serial killers, in the ones that do, how fast?
My gut feeling (apologies to all facts-only readers) is that this guy is not your run-of-the-mill rapist-turned-murderer. Someone said he looked like Tim Duncan. I had to google him (sorry, not into basketball) – but not too shabby I must say, and a philanthropist to boot. I would not hesitate to get in a car with someone projecting the air of a Tim Duncan. NOT accusing Tim Duncan for goodness sake, just trying to say that I don’t believe because the guy acted one way in one assault, does not mean he could not have found ways to adapt to his environment and refine his modus operandi in individual situations. I mean someone like this guy could be in Cassandra Morton’s neighborhood one day and wearing a suit and tie on the Grounds on another. And I really don’t know what the *@;% I’m talking about, just wondering if Observer can validate my theories.
If the guy acted alone, he most certainly has to have ties to Anchorage Farm and I just FEEL (again with the feelings, sorry) that he has been involved in the UVa community in/with a fraternity – SORRRY! Just my feelings. Even if he had an accomplice, that person IMO was aware of the AF property because of fraternity affiliations.
One thing I feel is absolutely certain: Sketch did not carry Morgan bodily from the RV lot to Anchorage Farm. There was a vehicle involved. And that brings me to another question: If Morgan was abducted from the RV lot and the car she was in went over the bridge, if her window was down, would it be possible for her scent to be noted on the bridge? I have never believed she was hitchhiking and have had a hell of a time believing she was even ON the bridge in the first place! Maura Murray’s scent was picked up where a school bus was parked who’s driver had stopped to ask her if she needed help.
Sorry for the long post. Just some questions, theories, etc. Someone PLEASE answer the questions!
Where was it that Morgan volunteered? Was it at a hospital? Thought I had read that the 2005 attack occured near a mental health facility and was wondering if perhaps Sketch could be a person that Morgan worked with while volunteering somewhere?