Morgan Harrington Murder: A Security Check On Security- Why Did It Fail?
Charlottesville, VA-
On the afternoon of October 17, 2009, Morgan Harrington and three of her friends drove to John Paul Jones Arena, located on the University of Virginia campus, to attend a long-anticipated Metallica concert. Following an apparent fall and chin injury occurring around the time she was visiting the ladies room, Morgan ended up outside the arena and attempted to gain re-entry to the venue.
How and why she got there comes in at a baffling second only compared to what happened to her next.
Nine months ago Dr. Dan and Gil Harrington, Morgan’s parents were notified their daughter was missing which is when their nightmare began.
On November 5, 2009, the day before a search which was organized at the request of the Harrington’s was to commence, a vintage black Pantera t-shirt placed on a bush in front of an apartment complex at the intersection near 15th Street and Grady Ave. was located by a nearby resident.
While this discovery was not released publicly, Charlottesville PD knew immediately it belonged to Morgan Harrington. Sara Snead, one of the friends that accompanied Morgan to the concert, immediately confirmed the distinct vintage design that compelled Morgan to borrow the t-shirt from her a week before the show.
Subsequently, DNA analysis confirmed the t-shirt was indeed the same one Morgan was wearing the night she disappeared.
On January 26, 2010 the remains of Morgan Harrington were discovered by David Bass, owner of Anchorage Farm, located in Albemarle County. Although her cause of death has not been released, her manner of death has been classified as a homicide by the Virginia State Police.
Dan and Gil Harrington marked the nine-month anniversary of Morgan’s disappearance from her memorial on Copeley Bridge 4 days ago.
Gil Harrington’s impassioned statement made it clear that her family’s mission is to prevent what happened to Morgan from happening to another victim and their goal is to educate young women about safety and personal security.
On July 1st, based upon an article posted on blinkoncrime.com inside sources confirmed a forensic link between Morgan’s homicide and a Fairfax County Case. Research on this case indicates it was a violent sexual assault that happened in 2005. The victim assisted in the sketch of a man police wish to interview in connection with both the Fairfax assault as well as the apparent abduction and murder of Morgan Harrington. .
What did it mean to the investigation and to the parents of young women in Charlottesville? We have a serial offender on the loose in multiple jurisdictions and an immediate need to beef up personal security.
As our very vulnerable student body returns to campus next month, blinkoncrime.com provides a glimpse at current conditions.
Unregulated Regulations In Security
The 2004 General Assembly, through House Joint Resolution (HJR122), requested the Virginia State Crime Commission to study safety at Virginia’s institutions of higher education. As a result, DCJS created the Office of Campus Policing and Security (OCPS) to address the law requiring minimum training and employment standards for campus security officers.
Campus Security Regulations for Institutions of Higher Education in the State of Virginia, fall under the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Private Security Services Advisory Board. Below is an excerpt of the unapproved draft meeting notes of their quarterly meeting held December 8, 2009; the first and only since Morgan’s disappearance from JPJ.
The issue of safety and security on college campuses was addressed in a 2006 Crime Commission Study on Campus Safety. This study resulted in the statutory requirements under Code of Virginia (Code) §9.1-102 (49).
College populations represent a large concentration of students between the ages of 18-25 years with limited supervision and life experience. In terms of homeland security, campuses are identified as “soft targets” and are frequently targeted by domestic and foreign terrorists. Campuses also house volatile materials and research facilities that are also targeted by radical elements in society. Campuses host large stadium events and concerts that are potential targets for terrorism and riots. Most campuses also have facilities that are open to the public and are relatively difficult to secure and lockdown. Campus Security Officers are primary first responders to incidents of crime and violence on campus.
Although UVA campus security officers require a certification provided by DCJS, there are ZERO regulatory standards for certification. It was NOT until Morgan Harrington disappeared from the grounds of the JPJ Arena that emergency regulations were sought from Governor Bob McDonnell.
How does a woman on the campus of a University that provides it’s very own Police Department in addition to event security simply vanish without a trace?
By the time Morgan ends up in a hay field 7 miles away, she has passed through 3 different law enforcement jurisdictions and a slew of private campus and event security agencies and personnel. While private security regulations fall under the umbrella of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, they also require a judicial amendment only if and when they are approved via “emergency” status by the Governor.
Who’s Looking Out For The Kids, Exactly?
As the safety on campus study showed, our college age kids are at their most vulnerable in the University setting. Out from under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad and wading through the rich culture and nightlife of downtown Charlottesville, students face a host of potential safety risks.
In fact, during the very development of this article, I received an alert from UVA security that a UVA student was sexually assaulted in the area of Roosevelt Boulevard. While I commend the swift response and warning from UVA PD chief Michael Gibson, I can’t help but wonder if a similar alert upon learning Morgan disappeared from the UVA/JPJ campus would have made a difference for her.
A simple Google of “Charlottesville security” produces the front page for HH Security Services, Inc, a local private security and bail bonding firm. I am no expert but isn’t it a bit odd to claim to protect one’s security and then bond out someone that may threaten it in the first place?
Who is vetting the security that is responsible for ensuring safety?
While HH Security or it’s employees have no known ties whatsoever to the Harrington case, it is a prime example of the weakness of current security regulations, involving students and private events, 6 years in the making.
At H & H Security Services, Inc. we specialize in Private Investigation, Private Security both armed and unarmed as well as fast efficient Civil Process Service. Our full-time professional agents are well trained, well equipped, well informed, and discreet.? Owner Rod Howard is a native of Charlottesville and central Virginia, where he’s been a well respected business owner for over twenty years. H & H Security Services, Inc. is his vehicle in his effort to help serve and protect the community he grew up in. Over the years he’s assembled a team of certified and experienced personnel who share his commitment to the safety of the community.
HH Security, in a business journal ad, claims to hire members of law enforcement and be very well connected with various police departments and security agencies for nightclubs, special events and home security checks as well in 2007.
HH Security is the security firm of choice for Club 216, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Rivals, which are bars frequently visited by UVA students and athletes.
Roderick M Howard, owner of HH Security and H&H Car detailing maintains active licenses issued through the VA Dept of Criminal Justice Services for private security and as a bailbondsman.
While blinkoncrime editors were researching this piece, a review of Albemarle County Court records show Roderick Howard was arrested for felony rape in 1993, subsequently indicted for same and a year later on the first day of trial, pled guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery whereby he was sentenced to 12 months, 11 of which were suspended and two years unsupervised probation.
Howard was also arrested a few times for felony bad checks; both cases ended nolle prosequi.
How can an accused rapist and convicted sexual batterer hold a dual license in the private security sector as well as two classifications of firearms, all of which is monitored by the VADCJS? It is specifically stated in the regulations regarding moral turpitude AND sexual battery that the VADCJS MAY DENY an applicant on those grounds.
According to Mr. Howard’s own advertisement, he has been in the security industry since 1989. Would that mean he was employed in the security field when he was arrested for rape?
Shockingly, It may be perfectly legal. Although the administrative statute for licensure prohibits granting a license to someone with a misdemeanor sexual battery conviction, if Howard divulged the crime in his application and requested a waiver from the director at the time, it is possible one was granted.
Blinkoncrime.com spoke to Lisa McGee, Regulatory Program Manager for DCJS, private security advisory committee:
“…there is a code in the statute that allows the potential for both an individual convicted of a felony and the outlined misdemeanors exceptions contained therein to obtain a director’s waiver. Two felonies we would never even consider are rape and murder, but dependent upon the criminal offense, the circumstances and the length of time that has transpired with a clean record, the verbiage in the statute would allow an applicant to at least request a waiver for our consideration…” Lisa McGee
Ms. McGee was not able to address Mr. Howard’s file specifically, citing privacy laws, but she was able to verify that Mr. Howard’s registration with the agency is current.
There are however, some discrepancies in the press release written to announce the “restructuring” of both companies, announced October 19th.
For starters, there was only a name change to Mr. Howard’s business, which actually took place prior to the October 19 release date, in May, 2009.
These are not two separate businesses. In fact, the bailbondsman license issued to Mr. Howard’s agent, Anthony Halstead, leads back to Accelerated Bail Bonds, which is not a listed entity in the state of Virginia or listed as a fictitious name for H&H Security Services.
I would be willing to wager that the police departments that allow off duty security employment with this firm would appreciate some clarification on both the personnel and licensing issues.
There has been no arrest in the homicide of Morgan Harrington. In a statement released by Corrine Geller, PR manager for the Virginia State Police, VSP has received approximately 100 significant leads from the release of the sketch of the alleged perpetrator of the 2005 Fairfax County sex assault.
Dan and Gil Harrington will be meeting with new University of Virginia President, Teresa Sullivan, next month to address safety and security issues on campus.
“..People think it cannot happen to them, IT CAN– Dan Harrington.”
Editors Note: I am not a resident of Virginia. However, I think the interest of the safety of our children is a National one. Any person that is placed in a position of public trust, most especially those that come into contact with our vulnerable students, should be REQUIRED to disclose past convictions that would negate them that position without some sort of subjective “pass”. How can we know-TRULY KNOW the level of presumed safety if we really aren’t aware of the backgrounds of those in charge of it?
Blinkoncrime.com editors Jason Mateos, Elizabeth Morton and Madeline Tanner contributed to this report
Images by Klaasend
Related Posts
Related Posts:
2,469 Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
OT:
I just got done reading “The Lovely Bones” and LOVED IT! I could not put the book down and read it in its entirety in 48 hours!
Does anyone have any other similar type books to recommend?
P.S. I can’t even count how many times I thought of Morgan while reading this book.
There were connections in Snardsville between the late Sheriff Morris and the late Colby Eppard such as long time family friends. In the obituary of each of them were, same name close brotherly friendships. One thing after another happened to that poor community, all at the same time.
The Marsh woman who is co-listed as contact with RH on the Keswick rental is closely related (is she his mom?) to someone who drives for Greene Co Fire and Rescue. In fact, you can look up his schedule, and although it appears to change from period to period, he has driven with WT. I’ve mentioned this relationship several times already. She appears to be linked to the phone number for RH’s auto detailing branch, so it’s possible she’s under his employ.
A reminder to all that Albemarle County’s GISweb is not the only place to search for property records of individuals who work in Charlottesville. Do not forget the surrounding counties — Fluvanna in RH’s case. Also a reminder that SH’s residence is in Louisa.
Bottom line is, there are so many interconnections, it’s impossible to say whether they are coincidence or clue, but it’s important to take note of them where they occur. I would think it’s overwhelming for LE, but I hope not so much that it dulls things for them; I hope they keep the same detailed notes on these relationships that Blink does.
Since Colby Eppard has been mentioned again, I have linked a story from the Washington Post. I decided to link this article because it is not from a local news site.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101884.html
Hook followup article after Denise Lunsford, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Albemarle County, completed her investigation.
http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/02/25/COVER-eppard-authorites-duck-parents-d.aspx
I have posted the above links only to provide information to Blink readers who perhaps are not familiar with the incident and do not have the time to go back and read previous threads.
blink, eloise and others on the construction tip. not sure i am feeling it, but i hope you find it if its there.
i don’t know how you guys get through this all. besides the eppard coinky, i see another possible. looks like pcc did some work for a brown automotive along the way. i believe SH works at a brown’s mercedes or something like that iirc.
keep up the great work folks and fish, you are the best!
Yep. Parts manager.
B
Alexandra,
Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking that I wasn’t clever enough- and the jury may still be out on that one- to read between the lines or that I had missed something along the way.
Blink, I’m with you (scratching my head) on why this guy showed up at two pivotal and tragic events post-10/17/09- Eppard and Morris.
Keep up the good work everyone. Stirring the pot can be a good thing.
An old saying comes to mind…
“One Hand Greases the Other”
@ Texas Grandfather: I am glad you like Willie. The music video which Toby Keith and Willie made of the song, about whiskey for your men and beer for your horses was so good, I tried to post it. If you get a chance, look on youtube for the video, “Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, Beer For My Horses”.
So the dna from Sketch was from the shirt, I thought that was the case. But I was not sure.
It makes me wonder if someone was trying to pin this on sketch when some others might be involved also. But it would seem to the detriment of any of the others involved to point out one of their accomplices.
I do not know what to make of the finding of the T shirt.
It seems like someone could be in danger from
Sketch by putting the T shirt out that had Sketch’s dna on it, whether to lead or to mislead. I would not want Sketch mad at me, I do know that much.
One reason that I do think that this is a crime that sketch could be involved in is because of the horrible beating which sketch inflicted in the Fairfax case. He seems like a violent person full of rage at women.
Blink,
I’ve been thinking a lot about MsL and feel that I need to apologize for confusing her with another poster in regards, to Mrs. Rosentiel.
I must have just been confused.
I posted an apolly on August 19 at 10:10pm
After all it is what Blink always says;
“We are a sum of our parts”!!!
Ms L, I hope that you were able to see this is now outta moderation. I just didn’t want you to think I couldn’t apolly.
I can and do frequently.
I also want you to know that I placed those little stones on Copeley for your little ones not because I felt obligated. I did not.
Just thought that it would give you another avenue to talk to them about their safety. Never too early to start. No, don’t scare them but make them aware. And yes, even our little ones support a family that will endure pain like no other for the rest of their natural lives. Something I know all too well.
MsL, I value your insight and your diligence for standing up for what’s just. I also want you to know although I may write with way too many!!!!!!, hmmmmms, pssft’s, ????, gasps, and swear words(although I’m trying to cut down on that but sometimes, “gosh golly” doesn’t work for me!), I want you to know it is that I’m not being sarcastic (yikes, sometimes I am) or mean-spirited.
I’m actually a very nice person.
You might just like me. Really like me. lol
And, although I miss my Shore, I love this state! Your state. It truly is a gem and a beauty beyond compare. I can’t believe ya’ll were so close by and yet, I never knew it!
That is why I want justice for Morgan.
I just do not want him to be able to roam about this beautiful state of Virginia freely. Period.
MsL, I do hope that all is well with you and yours!
Signed: a fish part!
http://www.barcc.org/blog/details/what-we-can-learn-from-uva/
Blink,
Is this the same Dave Gardner that spoke with Morgan Harrington?
(comment section)
Just asking. That’s all.
I could not see it, but if it is the lax dude, no.
B
TexasGrand!
Now to you, my friend.
Sorry this is so late in coming.
But, thank you for the explanation.
You and I get it. The ratio, that is.
As far as the Hill Country comment, I was thinking Tapatio Springs in comparison to my trek out looking for deer.
I was indeed, hoping that you would compare elevations and write back. I just feel this is so very important but I needed a visual for my pea brain to compare.
This specific Texas Hill Country was the only place that I could hook you and I up to so that I could visualize. I remember it well from having my sister, who was fit as a fiddle, hike me out there.
Not fun.
This type of research you do so well and me, not so much. But, I’m one that is willing to try anything once. Even it is on my back hill.
Texas, I have checked out property close by and its ratio. Not as steep as yours. I thought 3:1 but more like 2:1. Maybe a slight bit under. Hard to carry a girl downhill. Tried my kid.
I can’t do it.
You fall and you get dirty.
(How was it that HE didn’t get wet, muddy, and dirty, etc…)
My husband said he could with motivation and fireman’s carry and not care whether she breaks a thing or he if he had help.
**I do see that it would be a limited time “hauling” in and out of there.
But, one can do it. They obviously did.
Or my husband thinks she made to walk it.
**Regardless, I wonder if Mr. Bass did find any breaks in the fence line in this area?? Or how about VSP?
Was the fence line compromised?
Repeat Trespassers?
**What else was found out here?
I also happen to think they had a house close by, where they took her and it was there, they were able to regroup, so to speak. Maybe someone helped them and told them to enter through Blandemar.
Makes it sound like a local, doesn’t it?
It would be the simplest. He is a simple person.
He/they had only a couple of hours.
I have listened to people say that she was dead by concert’s end?
Why do you think that they needed to be somewhere by concert’s end?
A job, a monitoring ankle thingy, did Sketch need to be somewhere?
Or could it be that people started to chat about STUFF?
Did someone wonder where HE had been and asked him?
I wonder. I really wonder?
No, please someone help me understand!!!
A man picks up a girl on a rainy night, takes her someplace where whatever happens; rape, beating, a violent assault. Continues to end up in a murdering rampage and then hauls her out to a no doubt, muddy field with loads of obstacles and dumps her AND NOBODY, NOBODY even has a clue to this guy’s whereabouts?
No. Bullshit. Someone else knows besides Sketch.
He came back muddy.
Now to another train of thought.
Blink, I’ve never been called “SUBTLE”.
Other things but just not that. I do try on occasion though!
Do I think that Mr. Howard resembles Sketch? Yes.
There I said it.
But..
Do I hope that if Mr. Howard, even given his past history, has a possible clue to who Sketch is, that he turns him into LE? Yes.
It seems as if Mr. Howard tried to make a bad decision in his life and tries to turn it around and lend support and assistance to all walks of Law Enforcement. I’m not being subtle, here.
Now that they are aware of his past, do they have a problem with his services?
Let’s just go here for a minute. Please.
Could it be possible that a panic-stricken, young woman who was grabbed in the dark, late at night, all alone could have gotten an accurate height wrong? Why sure, she could have.
I looked taller a few years back too! Taller and not for nothing, I was thinner. Seems weight, stress and the years of both are building up. Maybe Sketch has the same problem. ???
I sit confused.
I am thinking that even though they have outlasted LE, they are still simpletons.
Not the sharpest tools in the shed.
Light is on but nobody home, kind of guys.
Violent and sadistic: Yes! But MIT grads: No!
(and before anyone wants to bark at me, Yes, I know that even the smart ones can be violent and sadistic. But guess what?! Even the smart ones get caught!)
I do believe that there are good people in the North Garden area.
I met a mom. They are good and honest and true. I would imagine that when they tuck themselves and THEIR KIDS, in at night they would prefer HIM/THEM caught! But what do I know? I’m just some middle-aged, goofy, mom2.0. But, I do support them.
One bad egg doesn’t spoil the whole dozen.
Does it?
TexasGrandfather and all!
I know that some of you are far away but do you see how valuable your time, research, and commitment is?
Have you any idea how good this makes family feel?
A little bit of hope.
Maybe no one has said thank you. Well, I’m sayin’ it now.
TexasGrand, I have a much clearer picture of land ratios.
Who would have thunk it! I did learn something.
Oh, I wish, wish, and wished you all could have been there for all of us. Families need the support and love and yes, the downright confusing part of research.
They need to have people with them on that bridge (a hum or that lot).
Lt. Joseph Rader is 100% correct!
It is all about the location.
I’m just going to start interpreting that as:
Location: John Paul Jones Arena, Cville, Va
Location: A house in North Garden, Va
Location: Anchorage Farm, Plot 88-41A, North Garden, VA
Texas, please read this article and I’ll post the exact comments;
http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=11101808092903167&ShowArticle_ID=11800102104276532
“The grass probably would’ve been at least two feet, maybe three feet tall, at the time of this tragedy,” said a resident about their property. “Anyone going through that field by foot or by car, I would’ve seen the tracks…[A]nd I saw no tracks.”
The resident also detailed the division between Anchorage Farm and their property in Blandemar: a half-mile that includes a ridge (“very steep”), a creek, woods and several rows of barbed wire fencing. “Not that it couldn’t be done. It could be done, but with great difficulty. At night, I’d say pretty much impossible.””
Interesting about seeing no tracks and they wouldn’t of known to look. So are we back entering somewhere else? What do you think?
I think that we all are counting on a resident of North Garden to have their ears perched and eyes open. Ready for the one thing that just triggers a memory.
To be able to make that “One courageous phone call” and clear their beautiful land from the filth that took Morgan’s life and then deposited her without so-much as an afterthought.
Texas and all, again accept a big thank you for listening to me.
It is sometimes hard to truly “get” what people what to say over the written word.
I do try. I really do.
susan, how did you find out sketches dna was on the tshirt and not the body? I apolly if I missed it. It is very important IMO.
That information has not been confirmed one way or another.
B
Blink,
Do you have any recollection of a post I made yesterday afternoon/eve about Doug Ward? I dont see it pending or anything. I cant tell if it got lost in internet air, holding or on my end as my computer is hosed. If not that’s fine.
Also: do we want to know what unnatural things you all have been doing to verify a perp? LOL!
I dont have it E- can you please repost?
B
DW as spelled out above is an intrigue to me. He seems to be running under the radar. Seems to be away from his family home more than not. What I can speculate is my feeling that he is involved w/ the military here in Vabch, possible instructor? I also saw some casual inferences that may be a past or present construction association.
Now I know he may be completely unrelated, if so that’s good. But, having so many ties to key peoples, I’d like to know more. This is step BIL of SH. Anyone have anything to add so far?
After reading Acho’s comment about the overlap in the timeline, just thought I would ask…has it ever been confirmed that kickee was indeed outside of the arena waiting for friends? Did anyone see him there? Is there any proof whatsoever that he was waiting there? I would think that one of the “ticket-takers” at JPJA would have seen him there especially if there were commotion from Morgan “yelling & kicking”. Maybe by the time he called the girlfriend he had already abducted her? (this is purely speculation, I am aware that kickee has not been charged nor named a suspect in her disappearance)
Also, another thought that crossed my mind as I was reading back, catching up on past comments…this whole thing about the construction work at the hospital. Let’s assume that maybe the perp was someone who lives out of town (maybe even out of state) and was here for work, for something like a hospital I would imagine it would take a while for the construction process and employees would probably be placed in hotels to stay in until they were done with the work. Soo…if he were here working for a period of time, I think that he would have met several people from around the area he were working, possibly even becoming close friends for the time he was here. These could be people who were staying at the hotel, working at the hotel, or even people he met out at bars and such. If this is the case, wouldn’t it be possible that one perp could very well have been from out of state and just had the help of his new, “familiar with the area” buddies??
Sorry if I’m rambling…sometimes my brain works faster than my fingers can type
49.Mom3.0 says:
August 29, 2010 at 11:51 pm
~snips~
Here is 18 year-old Colby Eppard’s obituary. Another tragic death that seems to be surrounded by many questions and so few answers.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyprogress/obituary.aspx?n=colby-w-eppard&pid=138174359
Lol you fox in mom’s clothing you-
The aunt/guardian, curiously enough, does not appear in young Colby’s obituary.
She does however, make an appearance in the myspace of one HH Security Employee, John Ray.
Coincidence or clue?
B
**************
Ok, well I cannot find said myspace person. I am looking for T Naylor?
Guide me someone, I have a respiratory issue and it is clouding my thinking…lol!
I do find it worth noting the beauty JR dated, looks like up to 2008, then no more love posts. I wonder who broke up with who?
http://www.myspace.com/127471854
Rhymes with fox, lol, your right, you are not your usual sharpie self. Feel better.
B
This is my above reference point.
http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/02/25/COVER-eppard-authorites-duck-parents-d.aspx
Kim Nash, also of Free Union
Feel free to delete my goofiness.
Fox cox. The one w/ the scary photos, figures. I will go bury myself.
I heart u.
Double heart u.
B
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:dfCqx_CLkMYJ:www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/80660247.html+Tammy+Cox+Standardsville&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
comments are informative. What county were they charged in? Hmm..
here you go Eloise
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/cdp-news-local/2009/feb/20/greene_woman_gets_jail_time_for_teen_sex-ar-69427/
@Fish
You said something that I have been thinking about. If someone is being attacked, I would think they are more likely going to describe the attacker as being taller than they are. I would think especially if they victim was pushed to the ground and the attacker was standing over them. This is just my opinion only, no data to back it up unfortunately.
@ Alexandra: I must have misread what I thought I read, if it hasn’t been released, as Blink said, then we still do not know. I am sorry. There has been a lot of speculation about the matter of sketch’s dna, and I do think the VSP has been very coy about it.
Frankly I would hope that sketch’s dna would serve as proof positive by being connected with Morgan’s body, not just the shirt, for evidence purposes, (not that I want to place her at any scene with Sketch, the horrible monster.)
Before reading the news account of the Fairfax case, I had no idea how horrible that case was in and of itself, the poor Fairfax woman was brutally beaten, and almost killed. I can certainly believe that in the state of shock which she must have been in, that the sketch drawing and the height could be a little off, or a lot off. Also there may have been a language barrier.
What is puzzlement to me, is that with the Fairfax case, which is so specific, as to rage, manner of beating, attempted strangulation,and other features, (10pm), (weekend night), (location), that other cases in other places have not come to light to id this miscreant, by mode of operation, if not by physical description.
I am not so sure now that it wouldn;t do to have a review of similar crimes in VA, and in neighboring (or all) states, to see what sketch has done in the meantime.
I hope LE has done this, because 5 years is a long time between rages for Sketch to behave. I just do not think a person this impulsive with this amount of rage (as evidenced by the Fairfax case) could handle himself in a law abiding manner for 5 years.
On another note, I called my state DCJS today, and talked with “Leon”, (I actually did not write down his last name,– my bad), to register my concern that some people with sex offenses are allowed to detain people and so forth in a security job. Leon is the person at VA DCJS in charge of the department regulating security companies. He was very professional, and took a long time in listening to my concerns, but in the end, said it was up to the legislature, (of course that is true), as to the regulations, and whether they want to let a person with one mistake never get in the field, who has put it behind him.
He knew the case I was speaking about, and knew the charge was in 1993, but seemed to think that this might have been before the person’s entry into this line of work. Leon did not seem to know if so and so had gotten a special note (or whatever they call it) from the then director. I plan to follow up with a legislator or two I know to find out how this came about.
Evidently a felony would have been a real problem, but a misdemeanor may be subject to ‘discussion’, or waiver for good behavior.
I did not know what business so and so was in in 1993, other than he was a ‘respected businessman’, so I could not challenge that, but when this is all said and done, IF ease of entry into the security field has been a bonanza for attacking women and couples in VA, which has been rumored in several cases over many years, I am going to be very disappointed with our legislature, and the lobbying by an industry, which lobbying I suspect kept the regs weak.
I plan to call Leon back soon to discuss the whys and wherefore’s of security business/bail bond business, and why one may be separated from the other, at a certain date.
Now, in closing, I had a final thought. Suppose the miscreants had help from ‘Sketch’ in covering up the crime relating to Morgan. Or suppose “Sketch” NOW possibly a law abiding ciitizen, with a troubled past, and a good business today, got on to the miscreants.
I suppose the miscreants were pretty sure of themselves that Sketch would not say a word against them if they played the shirt card, and IF the shirt was the source of Sketch’s, or a relative of sketch’s dna. Which we do not know.
Boy, someones a busy fella, always in the thick of things.
~snip~
A trial date for the Greene County woman charged with having sexual intercourse with William Monroe High School football players will be set at 9 a.m. today in Greene County General District Court.
Tammy Harlow Cox, 39, of 3543 Celt Road in Stanardsville, has been charged with two felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child while in a custodial or supervisory relationship, and three misdemeanor counts of causing or rendering children delinquent.
Cox was arrested Friday, October 3, according to a statement released by Major Randall Snead of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation of Cox began as a result of a locker room incident at WMHS.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:cMQOH064eRoJ:www2.greene-news.com/news/2008/oct/09/local_woman_faces_sex_charges-ar-313327/+Tammy+Cox+Stanardsville+va+charges&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Yep.
B
11.deetee says:
August 30, 2010 at 10:13 am
blink, eloise and others on the construction tip. not sure i am feeling it, but i hope you find it if its there
*********
Pure speculation here, but maybe Blink was using that conversation on construction to stear us in a particular direction or persons.
Yes’m, that and location of the LE search-
B
Was the overlap in timeline I posted correct? Susan added granny saw Morgan wrestling with a man at 9:30. So if these times are correct, some witnesses must have seen someone else or were mistaken about the time?
TexasGrand,
Your summary of this case so far should be required reading for first time posters on BOC. Frankly it is a very good review for any of us. I am assuming by your post you would agree with those time lines, and, the overlap is because these are not “confirmed
sitings” that the VSP are working with, right?
My question is: If we do not know what timeline is correct or the one LE is working with , aren’t we just going in circles.
So Far, it has been:
-”a” Local
- more than “one” local
- one or many tied to the Virginia music scene
- a farmer
- firemen
- security for JPJA
- security for the venue
- police officers or someone impersonating one
- Various S/O
- a construction worker
- an electrician
- a jealous women and her boyfriend
- and now we have a wrench thrown in with “Sketch”. Who saw this one coming!
It would seem to me if we don’t have the proper timeline, how can we help but suspect anyone and everyone. The one’s who keep coming up are Kickee,4ywm and 4 bb players. As I have said before how is it possible Morgan passed through these three groups, one group being the last to see her, nothing happens, and minutes later she runs into a psycho and is never seen alive again. What are those odds?
Perhaps the VSP know exactly who these guys are , but they are very well connected and an arrest just isn’t coming anytime soon. I would almost rather believe this, than believe Virginia’s law enforcement agencies are this incompetent in allowing this to go on for so long with “No” information forthcoming. They may not owe the Public, but they do owe the Harringtons.
Thank you for the welcome mom
I have tried to read up as much as I can but couldnt find answers for some important questions maybe your collective minds can answer them please.
A. Did Morgan have keys to her appt. on her? Or spare keys to her car?
B. Were the Mc Donalds/Taco Bell places still open (NE to arena)
C. How much did a ticket to the concert cost? (cash at booth)
D. Did people she interacted with seem to direct her to the bridge?
E. Were there ever arrest made at the RV spot for similar crimes and ppl getting caught?
F. question deleted
G. Did she have a coat?
The answers must be not so hard to get and will indicate if her friends could chip in and buy a new ticket (concert didnt begin yet), if she indeed wanted to go home (keys or not) and why she took that route etc.
faithfully
Yes Blink, I noticed that his aunt, was not mentioned. However, a (Cox) Montgomery, did sign his guestbook.
That is quite interesting about the aunt and HH employee John Ray- It seems a Becky Ray signed his guest book. I do not know if this Ray is related. But if one were to go off of names alone, then these book’s would be something. As a J. Howard signed his quest book too- Still, again, I do not know if any of these names are related to others with that last name. Do you?
Is his mom, Tracy Leigh Morris related to Sheriff Morris? And is his aunt/guardian, Tracy Harlowe Cox related to O and J Harlowe as they signed S. Morris’ guest book?
I must caution everyone from assuming anyone is related-
If going by names alone, it is easy to assume.Everybody does know everybody, or at least it seems so, as anyone can tell by reading the heartfelt condolences on Colby’s and Sheriff Morris’ pages.
For instance many of the same people signed both guest books- which of course, in no way is strange- just goes to show you how right J. Bass was. Heck, believe it or not, a Breeden – both A. and a T. signed Sheriff Morris’ guest book.
http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dailyprogress/guestbook.aspx?n=william-morris&pid=139115585&cid=full
http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dailyprogress/guestbook.aspx?n=colby-eppard&pid=138174359&cid=full
As acho, wrote, and I believe it bears repeating- () mine not acho’s –
“Bottom line is, there are so many interconnections,(or possible interconnections)it’s impossible to say whether they are coincidence or clue, but it’s important to take note of them where they occur. I would think it’s overwhelming for LE, but I hope not so much that it dulls things for them; I hope they keep the same detailed notes on these relationships that Blink does.”
I think LE is well aware of all these possible connections/coincidences- and I am sure they have ruled out many as clues- for they undoubtly, have far more information then we do- and they know for certain if anything is notable.
Amelia, you are welcome. Nice to have you. Your questions are all quite good- and it would seem that they would be easily answerable, but alas, some of us have been asking these same questions for months. However, I am sure that the ticket question is findable- Can anyone help Amelia out with it?
Morgan did not have a jacket on her person, although I believe it has been said, one was in the car- but to my knowledge that has not been verified.
We do not know if Morgan carried her apt. keys on the same chain or not- She did not have access to her key ring for the car- her friend SS was holding them as she drove to the concert- However- DC drove Morgan’s car back. We do not know if she had extra keys to the car- Did Dr. Harrington ever answer this question? Anyone?
As for arrests, there were several that night at JPJ I do not remember if any were made in the RV lot. Can someone post a link for Amelia?
Amelia, no one has ever found out what was said by those who were reported to have interacted with Morgan- or what was said by she- other than the kickee encounter and the grandma encounter-
We have asked many times what was said or how they knew she was HH ect.
If it makes you feel any better, some of us believe LE has all of these answers, and does not feel it would be in the best interest of Morgan’s case to release the info. Some believe that many of the answers to sonme of these questions wouldn’t have any bearing on Morgan or her case. I hope I helped and I hope you will continue to seek the answers-perhaps you will succeed where others have not- As Blink often says We are the sum of our parts at BOC and we welcome you.
JEEZ I think your timeline is good- i can’t think of anything to add right now- thanks for trying again to lay everything out and put it together.
ps sorry about asking others to help Amelia find the links to stuff- I didn’t mean to come off as bossy or anything- I am unable to look right now is all- Peace everyone.
A couple of small things that just don’t add up. (1) Morgan going to the ladies room by herself. Just doesn’t happen with a group of girls; they always go at least two at a time. I think it is in their genetic code. Especially at a concert like this one where a certain percentage of the concert-goers were, in all likelihood, somewhat strange. The only reason Morgan would have left the others would be if she wanted to leave the group for a time. To meet someone inside the arena? Outside the arena? (2)The statement by one of the friends that Morgan said she would try and find some friends who would give her a ride back to Blacksburg. Why ask a friend to drive 150 miles from Charlottesville to Blacksburg and then return the same distance for a 300 mile round-trip? On a weekend night? Doesn’t make any sense at all. Why not ‘I’ll be at Ted and Jane’s, call me after the the show and we will figure out what to do?’
As for the house fire in North Garden, I am wondering if it could have been a meth house even before the last occupants moved in? They might not have had any knowledge of its prior history at all.
Another piece of highly questionable information put out was that Morgan did not drive her car because ‘she wanted to study on the way’. Does anybody on planet Earth believe this? Morgan may have been very busy on the cell phone and texting, or had had a couple of beers beforehand and decided not to drive, but I doubt seriously that she was studying in a car full of students going to a Metallica concert.
I can confirm that is not accurate, not that anyone believed it.
B
I am reviewing, thanks for the recap MsL, but if I took an exam I would not pass.
acho says:
April 12, 2010 at 9:18 am # 27
~snip~
This may be O/T, but Randy Snead inserts himself in a lot of stuff, huh? Seems he is a graduate of Albemarle High School. Why does he work for Greene Co and not Albemarle Co? Plenty of Albemarle LE live in the surrounding counties. Albemarle Co LE also pays better.
What is the interest in Colby Eppard that one would drive all the way from Stanardsville—on New Year’s Day—down to North Garden (which, despite its name, is in SOUTHERN Albemarle) to get in on that chase? Or was one already in North Garden to begin with?
^^^^^^
On Snead- He was a good 60mi out of his jurisdiction if I recall correctly, AND he was NOT in an active pursuit anyway (I don’t profess to know VA statute but here unless the suspect was wanted for a felony on an active warrant it would not have mattered) which would have limited his range to under 30 mile leeway regardless.. and he was in the only other unmarked car ( other than the stolen one) and he is the officer that requested the dispatcher advise everyone he was shooting. Why would he have needed to that anyway, wouldn’t they have all been on the same frequency?
You know, I don’t pretend to know what this kid was thinking, I am NOOOOOO protector of thugs or bad eggs. He reminds me of a case I had with a young man that had some emotional challenges through no fault of his own, and he was chronically taken advantage of, and put up to do things his cowardly ass friends would not want to get caught at. They ended up murdering him. This just smells the same to me.
That in no way excuses the risk he put to others, and LEO. For me, understanding the motive of the perp is critical to an investigation and I did not so much as see that question posed in Lunsford’s report.
What triggered this mess for Colby Eppard?
OMG I second the contractor issue. Landscape lighting in most cases is tied into the security systems, how would one even get bonded appropriately? Does it matter this is a franchise? Consumers need to ask the questions correctly when evaluating any individual or company that would have access to your home, and you and your family of course.
I have a good deal of past experience in this area, and I can tell you the best ones check backgrounds, and a felony conviction means your unable to work there. Most insurance companies require it, to my knowledge.
I have a good friend who designs golf courses for a living, you cannot believe the clearance he is required to have for that work..
I don’t know about who asked about the Jersey trip, but there are one or two extended members of this family that appear to be “away” based on facebook postings, but that does not mean anything nefarious.
B
http://blinkoncrime.com/2010/04/11/morgan-harrington-murder-coincidences-or-clues/comment-page-1/#comments
Back to Tammy, how did she end up being a foster mom? Who else did she foster? I see colby was frequently in uvenile homes, is this how they came to be in that relationship? ( Lynchburg and Richmond)
Did this employment route cause her to be ‘friends’ with J. Ray?
I am still working on that.
Susan, you are a pip! Good for you. I wonder if Leon knows Blink? That whole excuse of a story about his past before his new and improved self is very sorry. They need to work on their story. I am in full agreement with you.
I wonder what Howard and Sneads relationship is?
Who the Hell is Leon, lol?
B
don’t construction ,plumbing ,low income housing go together?
or high income housing,where again was all the constuction happening in north garden,there was the house on red hill road.
This latest blog by Gil just slayed me and is so very powerful. I hope I am not out of order in reposting it, it sends such an urgent and important message, I wish everyone in the world would read it!!
Thankyou Gil for not sugar coating this issue of violence towards women and children.
God Bless the Harringtons and may justice come soon for Morgan.
Help Find Morgan Dana Harrington.: Gil Harrington’s Blog for August 30th, 2010
I am enraged and amazed by the tolerance for violence and acceptance of crimes against the weaker members of our society, women and children in America. Is it really OK? Are we still just expendable goods?
Beware! I believe the numerous injured and murdered women and children are the coal mine canaries of our times; delicate creatures whose deaths indicate a lethal toxic presence in our midst. They are a barometer of evil. Take note, hear the alarm and address the underlying problem of pervasive violence. Don’t just step over the corpse of the next lifeless golden creature and say “funny another dead bird.”
If you keep doing that, ignoring sentinel events, sooner of later the lethal emanations of violence will have fingers wrapped around your throat choking your breath away – all because you didn’t listen, turned aside, couldn’t be bothered, ignored the signals because it couldn’t happen to you.The fluttering wings of coal mine canaries in their death rigors have become deafening. Can’t you hear the clamor? Please listen, take heed, there is poison here. Find another path or risk your very lives.
Susan
Your conversation with the state agency represenative tells me he thinks the legislature may have tied their hands and even though he may disagree, he has to live with the rules that he has.
The thing that bothers me about the misdemenor charge rather than a felony is it could be something that a smart lawyer was able to plead down from a felony. Maybe a first time offense or a combination of that and an age less than 30. This type of thing is what makes me say most plea bargans shouldn’t happen.
George
I’m with you on the fact that the possibility of studying in a gagle of chatty young women is nil. She probably didn’t drive because she had consumed beer or something stronger and was afraid of getting a ticket if they were stopped. Somewhere, early on, there was mention of a flask taken from Morgan at the door. We don’t have any confirmation of that so it is just speculation.
On the meth house situation. This is very difficult to conceal. It’s vapors when behing cooked get into anything that has a porous surface.
Fish
Turn you ratios around. The smaller the first number the steeper the slope. A 2:1 ratio means that for each horizontal distance of two feet there is a one foot drop. That is very steep for someone to walk down. It takes a lot more strength to walk down a slope than up.
I don’t have a government quad map of that area where actual elevations were surveyed and placed on a map. Your husband is correct. A strong determined person could carry a 120 lb. person down the slope and then back up the other side.
When I was 55 years old I suprised my friend by grabbing him in a bear hug lifted him off the floor and turned him around. He was 6′-1″ and weighed 320 lbs. There are plenty of men that have more strength than that. Lifting and carrying heavy weight is all about knowing how to do it.
My feeling about how Morgan was placed in the field is that she was not forced to walk in the dark to that location. On a dark rainy night walking in the woods is not easy. I believe that she was taken to the house that burned and then her body was transported by two persons to the location at AF within four or five days of her disappearance. She could have been transported wrapped in plastic and the plastic was removed at AF. LE have not released details if any type of cover was found.
The real problem is we don’t have information about the amount of clothing found or the actual condition of the remains. After three months in a field, the body would have been mostly skeleton.
In the Fairfax case in 2005 involving sketch, the woman was severly beaten. Sketch may have thought she was so close to death that she would die and not be able to identify him.
Hummingbird
Thanks for posting Gil’s message.
She is so right. When I was a child our world was very safe for children and women. This was mostly true up till the late 1960′s. Then things changed. Pot and cocaine and prescription drug abuse became prevalent. Dope heads cannot work regularly so they must steal in order to survive. We have lost our value system and the need to be made responsible for our every act in this country.
We see it in the example our POTUS uses on a daily basis. It isn’t his fault that things don’t work, it belongs to George Bush. This behavior cannot continue or we might as well become a third world nation where those that survive have to be meaner than those that do not. Life will have no value and we will revert to a primitive condition of survival of the fitest.
I recall a post about the possibility of a gang abducting and murdering Morgan. This seems very plausible to me. The four boys in black were reportedly some of the last to make contact with Morgan. Black is a popular “color” of street gangs. I don’t live anywhere near Virginia but can imagine how street gangs could have a strangle hold on local police with members infiltrating the police force. This could explain the long silence from LE on Morgan’s case.
Gang members could live near the farm where her body was found and others could live in the neighborhood where her shirt was located. The act could be a gang initiation or just gang violence. The people who know about Morgan’s murder would be highly intimidated to come forward for fear of gang retribution. I know that this is a scary thought, but it seems to me to be the most logical theory so far.
George, you ask why Morgan would go to ladies room by herself? I understand there was an argument between them. They were pizzed off at one another. Don’t know why.
I hope Morgan wasn’t slipped a bad drug sometime between 2pm and arrival at JPJ. Where did they go after Morgan called her dad?
Does anyone know the status of the house fire investigation – is it still pending?
Eloise, Agree with everyone, Snead was far out of his jurisdiction. I’m going to speculate, and whether it was justified even if I’m right, I have no idea. The young man had stolen a Greene County Sheriff’s Department vehicle. That vehicle had been left locked but running while the officer pursued him into the woods. Very bad decision I would say. Once Colby stole the vehicle, he had in his possession a Greene County Sheriff’s Department weapon. If that young man had killed someone with either the vehicle or weapon, how much s….t would have been on the face of the entire Greene County Sheriff’s Department? Here’s my speculation, that was Snead’s motivation for crossing jurisdictional lines, an attempt to get back the car and the weapon and Colby Eppard.
I had not read the entire Hook article before posting the link. I had no idea this young man had covered the distance he did from Greene County to where the chase finally ended. I actually was confused about the end of the chase. I thought from posted comments that it ended in very close proximity to Anchorage Farm and that most of the pursuit had taken place on Route 29. Apparently he traveled a number of back roads from Greene County to Carters Bridge. If I read the article correctly, it seems his whereabouts was largely unknown until he was spotted on Georgetown Road. I knew nothing about his encounter with the woman from Free Union or the radio transmission picked up by NBC 29. The store where he stopped to buy gas is basically the only commercial business in Free Union. I think what he said to the woman and what NBC 29 picked up on the scanner give some insight into what he was thinking. By the time he reached Free Union, it sounds to me like he either thought he was in the middle of a very exciting game with LE, or he had already set his mind on a standoff. Maybe he had decided there was no out, or maybe he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to a final outcome. The story ended very tragically for this young man and his family. It’s only through pure luck, or by the Grace of God, that innocent people were not injured or killed during the pursuit by either an out of control car driven by the pursued or by the pursuers. I don’t know and won’t even speculate on whether innocent people would have been in any danger from the weapon he carried. I also will not speculate on whether or not LE had any choice other than the actions they took to end the pursuit in Albemarle County. I do hope Greene County has done their own analysis of how the situation was handled in their county, beginning with an officer leaving a vehicle running, a shotgun on the seat, and a high ranking officer pursuing a suspect into another county and then taking part in the conclusion. Perhaps they have and decided either that everything was done correctly or there were severe extenuating circumstances.
I think Blink mentioned that she found it either interesting or curious that the guardian aunt was not listed as a survivor. Is this the same aunt who called LE because he had taken her vehicle without permission? I’m not expressing an opinion on whether or not she made the right decision, but isn’t it just possible that the call and what happened later caused family ill will?
Does this whole horrible event have anything to do with Morgan’s death? I doubt it very seriously, but that’s only my opinion, and I certainly could be wrong.
Not the same aunt, no. Randall Snead was supposed to be on desk duty yet until the DA investigation was completed by Lunsford when Willie Morris committed suicide. That said, I find nothing off or suspect about Wille Morris death.
There are 2 things I continue to be baffled by in Colby’s death, which I wrote about previously.
(btw, props to The Hook on that piece).
1. If he were trying to engage in a firefight, he did not need to leave the scene of the crashed truck, he had 2 shotguns in his own vehicle.
2. At no time did LE engage Eppard on the radio in an attempt to negotiate his surrender, or “talk him down”.
And this:
The notes and tapes of the radio continue to be withheld from the public citing it being part of an ongoing investigation- what investigation might that be?
Your correct that Colby, the charges he and friend were facing may be wholly unrelated to what happened to Morgan.
However, HOW HIS DEATH was investigated, and subsequently Morgan’s may not be.
I’m still trying to stay away from criticism of other postings, but I do want to comment about all of the related signings of guest books, friends on facebook, etc. Maybe our area is different from other parts of the country, but I doubt it. So many of our families have been here from the 1700′s. There are a lot of people who have moved here from other states or parts of Virginia, but there are a lot of us who have been here our entire lives and for generations before. We don’t all know each other, but we have a lot of acquaintances in common. It’s probably hard not to find an old-timer (doesn’t necessarily mean old, but just been here a long time) who doesn’t know somebody, who knows somebody else, who will finally come back to knowing you. It’s not uncommon for people who have not been in contact with a family or friend of the family for 30 years or more to read the obituary of someone from childhood and go to family night or funeral to “show my respects.” My dear departed grandmother could find more funerals to go to, people we didn’t even realize she knew. Funerals are a time to bury, but at least here, they are also social events afterward where people eat a lot and just generally reestablish contacts with family and friends. Grieved widows or children or mothers will sit and laugh uproariously at a family remembrance. Some people might find this a little odd, but at least in our still somewhat rural area, it’s a step in the grieving process. I’ve been to family reunions and funerals where I have run into classmates from years ago. Surprise, these classmates turned out to be distant cousins and we never knew. People in Greene County work in Ablemarle and Charlottesville. People from Charlottesville and Albemarle have moved to Greene as real estate prices and taxes continue to go up and up (several years ago that is, maybe not so much now.) My father probably knows as many people from Greene County as he does from Charlottesville and Albemarle.
re-reading some of this stuff we’ve been over way back when has proven enlightening for me on several occasions. some stuff certainly becomes clearer in the rear view.
i will just mention for the hell of it, as has been mentioned before i think, that fired acpd officer caleb marden was involved in the eppard shooting.
wrt to sketch, and the possible height being off. iirc, the 2005 victim was not an english language speaker, which probably means that the imperial measurement system we use here in the US is also very foreign to her. my wife has been in the states for over 10 years, and has no idea of her own height in feet and inches. idk if she could even get within a foot of being correct.
OK – country fans – was it Martina who had a song about some loser named “Earl” “she looked all around the town and all she found was Earl…” It was a hoot – really funny song. Not so funny – Earl’s going to be off VA around 10 am Wed. And yes The Lovely Bones was a great book. The DVD is pretty good, too.
Minnie Penney–the song was “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks, and yes it was a hoot!