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
“There was a definite disagreement [between Morgan and her friends at the concert].
B”
OK, about what?
Nothing Uge, just friends had a bit to drink, big place, big crowd, loud music stuff. I am satisfied that it had nothing to do with what ultimately happened to Morgan- did it have her end up outside?
I don’t think anyone knows that for sure, but again, I still believe Morgan’s fate was sealed by the incredibly unluckiest cataclysmic set of circumstances to collide at one time to befall our shiny girl.
Something else I have always wondered about-
Remember the bookeeper/music crtique from Richmond who believes she saw Morgan with the 4 Bib and then again in the RV lot? Iirc, she called her friend from the car right after she spotted Morgan- I wonder if she thought Morgan may have been her friend?
As in, looked very much like her, so much so she called her and said, did I just see you at JPJ?
I have no basis for the question other than it has not been asked-
B
http://blinkoncrime.com/category/morgan-harrington/jenny-bass/
here you go susan “The 7 Mile Sleepover”
Construction, NGVFD, Anchorage Farm, security, local RSO’s, the house fire – what is the missing link ???? I feel like it is right there and we can’t put our fingers on it
I am becoming more and more convinced that Morgan had left the concert because she was upset with her friends.
What did we ever determine about the one video where it looked like Morgan kissing her friend on the cheek and leaving?
Is it that LE is not releasing if other DNA was recovered and from where or is it that the only DNA recovered was Sketch’s, presumably from Morgan’s shirt?
Man, would I love to know what Morgan said to the BB players. I am convinced that if she chatted with them for 10 minutes or whatever, she would have had to reveal how she ended up outside the concert and what her plans were.
I think she told her friends that she would find her own way home out of anger – I am not convinced she had that lines up yet but figured she could because she knew enough people in the Charlottesville area. Or maybe this is what she was texting the guy several miles away about – coming to pick her up?
I have so many thoughts flying around in my head. I just wish I could start connecting them together to make sense of them.
Minnie Penney-OT of course from Morgan, but I was just a wee one when Camille hit central Virginia. Caused flooding in Charlottesville and Albemarle, but nothing like what happened in our neighboring county. My parents and others still speak of that night with awe. It’s a topic that is discussed much when heavy rains, tropical storms or hurricanes are predicted. The very thing that makes our area so beautiful, our mountains, added to the devastation. Camille, by then a tropical storm or maybe even a depression, got hung up on the mountains and poured down torrential rains, hour after hour after hour after hour. Entire families, sometimes several generations, died that night, swept away in their homes by water, mud, trees and boulders. Many were never found. People, miles from any body of water, who never thought they had anything to fear from floods, were carried away by the liquefying mountainside. Boulders, trees, soil base, everything, down to the rock base, came down the sides of the beautiful mountains of Nelson County. The full scope of the tragedy was not known until late in the day after the night of rain. Much of the county was totally cut off and inaccessible. Route 29 became their lifeline for rescuers and emergency supplies. Today, 40+ years later, if you are driving Route 29 and look closely at the mountainside, the scars can still be seen, bare faces of rock with no vegetation even after all these years. Largely, tree foliage, even if they have not grown back onto the scarred areas, now hide most of the devastated areas, but reminders remain. I can remember as a young child, whenever a heavy rain was forecasted, locals would say, I wouldn’t want to be in Nelson County tonight.
We don’t know why after 2pm the plans changed regarding who was driving and if they were taking Morgan’s car to JPJ or not. We don’t know why the plans changed about who was using that 4th ticket to the Metallica concert. Morgan Nichols was supposed to go, but her boyfriend Dan Cassagne went instead. I don’t remember if he had his own ticket? Sarah drove, they said Morgan was sitting in the back seat, to study, but it was a small excused white lie, because they were probably scared of being busted for drinking (?). We don’t know where they went from 2pm until they arrived at JPJ, and we don’t know who was there, where ever they were. LE knows (i hope) and is satisfied with all the answers, the 3 car occupants are in the clear. They had an argument at some point and I believe this is one of the reasons Morgan stormed off, pissed off. What happened after that is so unbelievable and twisted, it boggles the mind.
“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”
@ Alexandra: thank you so much. I had read that in the past, and I was wondering why the invitation on facebook would say 8-11 p.m., and then say “slumber party encouraged?”
Since it was within one week of Morgan going missing, do you think that someone could have used the “slumber party” part of the event, (if that was not just said in jest by Jenny Bass), to place Morgan in the location?
I am picturing people on blankets listening to music, having drinks, etc, and then the sleepover part makes me think some people actually camped out there that night, sleeping bags, all night. Which would have been an opportunity for someone to be at the spot we have all come to realize is the notorious clue in this case.
Obviously they would have had to be discreet about it, such as pulling up to the location in an off road vehicle as close as possible.
With so much activity going on, would it have made it easier, not harder to surreptitiously place Morgan at the site, with other people just thinking, oh, those people are just wandering around with their blankets and sleeping bags?
Bottom line, is there any possibility that Morgan was placed in the spot BECAUSE of the cover of this party going on, and that event being the reason for the location of the placement?
Just a longshot, but the possibility has bothered me.
susan, re the 7 mile sleep over party. I think it was just eerie that poor Morgan was probably in the field when they had this party. I don’t think anyone, except the BG’s, knew Morgan was there. I can’t imagine anyone at that party camping that far away as the spot they found Morgan. IMO the party was not a good time to dump a dead body, nope, I don’t see it. (jmo)
I think Lt. Rader has his hands full on this case, and I think the State needs to hire a team of crack investigators, interrogators, to handle the matter, at this point. Lt. Rader can be in charge, but the lack of progress in what I see should have been an open and shut investigation is disturbing.
I am also concerned that in the recent instance of the “tip from someone who turned out to be false, and was determined to be a grudge or something”, where the State Police prosecuted the tipper for false info, that the VSP may have pinned too many hopes on investigating that tip, at the expense of going down the road to some other leads.
That is only my opinion, from reading the story about the prosecuted tipper, but it does seem to me like the VSP may have spent a lot of time investigating this one, and that obviously prevented them from following up some other leads. They need more people on this case, or more seasoned people, is my gut feeling.
I think they have the right assets, I think respectfully, they need a paradigm and strategy shift.
B
this is my sixth attempt to respond to judi’s post:
Judi says:
September 2, 2010 at 8:12 am
Construction, NGVFD, Anchorage Farm, security, local RSO’s, the house fire – what is the missing link ???? I feel like it is right there and we can’t put our fingers on it.
_____
this has been bothering me too. imo, the one person that is possibly at the nexus of all these elements you mention is SH. at least, based on the info i am finding online.
More than one, but yes.
B
Judi says:
September 2, 2010 at 8:12 am
“I think she told her friends that she would find her own way home out of anger – I am not convinced she had that lines up yet but figured she could because she knew enough people in the Charlottesville area. Or maybe this is what she was texting the guy several miles away about – coming to pick her up?”
Not trying to be difficult, but who living Charlottesville were her friends and why haven’t they surfaced to say whether or not they heard from her?
Perhaps I am being paranoid, but every time I re-read Jenny Bass’ statements on her site, it almost sounds as though she may know (or suspect) more than she is telling (or maybe she has told LE more and and we just don’t know that)about Morgan’s death. The statements, IMO are full of innuendo…does anyone else see that? I know she is very creative, a poet, artist, etc, but I get a strange feeling when I re-read the comments.
is there anyone / anyway to determine what vehicles and/or who was parked in the RV lot the night of the concert / night of Morgan’s disappearance? has this been looked into by LE? by anyone? by JPJA? when you buy a ticket for a show at this arena, is parking included or extra? is there any documentation for parking? parking pass, etc?
@lee–Is there anyway you can post the link to the site you are referring to? I have never been on her site or read these statements, but am definitely interested.
Also, I get discouraged some days when I check this site and the Find Morgan website hoping for new developments yet there are none. However, I maintain hope by reminding myself that VSP has to know waaaaay more than they are letting the general public (us) know about. After all, they held on to the sketch/DNA link for how long?? I really think that this case is very much active and they are working towards a prosecutable case, as Blink had said a while back in one of her comments. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hope alive that justice for Morgan will come soon, and hopfully sooner rather than later!
A Texas Grandfather says:
September 1, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Redly
In response to your post about the police or security not intervening to help a slightly tipsy young woman that appeared to be in control.
That might be true in some places,but most would attempt to talk with her to determine if she were ok.
I don’t think this happened, because the more I think about it the more I have the suspicion that LE or security assigned to the outside of JPJA simply weren’t there. The reasoning behind this is the fact that no security video of Morgan could be found. This may be because UVA security would be on the hook for not doing their jobs. No video of Morgan and no video showing the absence of security.
I hope I am dead wrong on this. This means ,if I am correct, that there is a cover-up by the campus police/security of UVA.
I would much rather think that the much touted state of the art video system at JPJA is mostly smoke and mirrors.
Either way is not good.
____________________________________________________
they made several arrests at the JPJ area that night and obviously were there.
sorry to disagree grandfather but being tipsy and walking around talking to people is not going to draw police intervention in charlottesville and I don’t think it would be in any city or college town.
the article had one witness who saw her while driving past describe her as wobbly (though coordinated enough to shake her leg at someone). from the descriptions it does not sound like she was out of control at all.
agreed.
B
GEORGE: My point being that I don’t think she ever made the alternate plans for the ride home, but rather had no worries leaving because she was pissed and thought that she could line up a ride – my personal opinion is that whomever she was texting, she informed of what happened, and was possibly trying to line him up to come get her, maybe not but I think surely she told him about what happened to make her pissed in her texts. Additionally, her family originally lived in Charlottesvilee before moving (her father a former professor at UVA) and her brother went to UVA. She also had FB friends who were students at UVA.
DEETEE: I am confident that the link(s) between all of these things is where the answer is. It’s like we have the pieces of the puzzle but can’t figure out how to piece it all together and therewithin, lies the path to the killer(s). So frustrating, it’s like we are right there, we can see the finish line, but we can’t seem to make it to it.
ALEXANDRA & SUSAN: I also cannot get my mind off the sleepover and the thought that if Morgan was indeed killed the night she disappeared and placed on Anchorage Farm immediately following her demise, that she was there during the sleepover.
LEE: And, I agree with you that Jenny’s Bass’s post does raise the eyebrow. I too see where there is an indication that she, at the very least, suspects something or someone. Is she too afraid of this person or persons to voice her suspicions? Maybe she knows something that nobody even knows that she knows and she would rather keep it that way.
BLINK: Correct me if I am wrong and I apologize in advance if I am, but some of your responses over the past few weeks have led me personally to believe that you are trying to convey to us that LE has a very good idea of the who but not enough to win a prosecutable case thus no arrest yet, so as to preserve a conviction. Maybe wishfull thinking but I must admit that this is the vibe I am personally picking up on and crossing my fingers (and toes) that is indeed the status of this case.
Good job to all here and keep digging everyone. I feel we are so, so close.
Judi, just an fyi, that is not my quote, I believe it was written to me.
B
Blink,
Bookkeeper calling friend. All questions asked.
Again, that call seems a part of the collision of circumstances, but
my question has always been WHY did the bookkeeper mention the call?
Extraneous information or her attempt to ‘place’ herself in time, to clarify her frame of mind? Was it a “yes, I saw her. I was of sane and sober mind and just about to make a call to a friend” comment?
Do you believe it was Morgan she saw?
I do.
B
http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/15/concerned-witnesses-before-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry
“It was right about 9pm when we were driving down Massie Road with JPJ to left,” says a Richmond bookkeeper/musician whose late arrival prevented her from hearing opening acts Gojira and Lamb of God— but got her there in time to spot a “wobbly” blonde woman step in front of the car.
With the blonde were four young, white men— a conspicuous group, says the witness, because of the direction they were headed: away from the Arena.
In addition to a black miniskirt, tights, and a black shirt, the young blonde was wearing distinctive high-heeled boots, says the witness, a mother of two who spoke on condition of anonymity over concern for getting “pulled into the fray.”
Until now, the missing woman’s boots have been described as “knee high,” but this witness insists they were “over the knee.” (Through a spokesperson with the Harrington’s recently hired PR firm, Gil Harrington says the boots she saw Morgan try on prior to the concert were not above the knee.)
The men, says the witness, were allegedly laughing.
“I thought, ‘That girl should have no business going off with those guys, walking into an empty parking lot when the concert is getting ready to start.”
The blonde, however, did not allegedly seem distressed and even, seemingly as a joke, shook one leg at the men, also clad in black. The witness estimates the time at 9:05pm since she placed a phone call to a friend a minute later while still on Massie Road.
This is out there but Mr. Harrington made a point of saying the shirt Morgan wore was a present from Sara. Blink, I wonder is it important that the shirt was a present other than a friend giving a friend a present?
It is significant to me only because of it’s distinction in design. In other words, the day that shirt was found, although it would take weeks for DNA to corroborate, they KNEW it belonged to Morgan.
B
Fish! My friend! Thank you! I’m glad you were there to help those girls. The problem with my stupidity is that I was 28 YEARS OLD! I’m not sure my frontal lobes developed at all. Gosh! I tell people I didn’t get any sense until I had my daughter at age 30. Then of course after she became a teenager I lost it again haha! That’s also when I started back drinking a little wine lol!
Texas GF I’d like to also say how much I appreciate your posts. I thought for a long time you were my uncle who lives in Houston but he only had one girl. My uncle is also very knowledgeable about a lot of stuff and is very “cut and dried” in his take on things.
I appreciate all the posters here. I learn something every time I log on. One day soon I’m going to learn the truth about what happened to Morgan because there is going to be an arrest. I’m sure of it.
I’m sure everyone realizes that college football starts tonight in Columbia, SC lol. I just printed out a roster and there are several Fork Union Military grads and a Hargrave grad on the squad. There are quite a few graduates from other military academies. I just thought that was interesting. Go Gamecocks!
We still have over an hour unaccounted for from the time Bass found Morgan until he called 911. The distance he traveled from Morgan’s location on his farm to his house could be walked in 15 minutes by the average 85 year-old. What could be more important that calling 911 after such a find? One thing. Making sure his own daughter was safe and not involved. He may have felt whoever placed Morgan there was sending him a message, maybe to stop obstructing some real estate project?
Does anyone recall the name of the local C-ville (maybe even N. Garden-based) band with the large lead “singer”? I use quotation marks b/c I don’t associate growling and yelling with bellowing out notes. The band is definitely of a similar ilk as the opening acts at the Metallica concert. I remember there being a thread or maybe something that I researched a long time ago that led me to their Myspace site or something similar.
There are photos of a guy that looks like him in the NGVFD controlled fire training photos on their website (he’s standing by himself near the left rear wheel of the fire unit):
http://www.ngvfc.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=10&pos=5
Article regarding CA legislation awaiting the Governator’s signature:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/01/california.chelseas.law/index.html?hpt=C1
RE A Texas Grandfather says:
August 31, 2010 at 2:47 am
Hummingbird
Hello TG yes Gil is so right with her post.
Could you please explain to me from your post I have copied and pasted below …..what your abbreviation POTUS stands for, and your following comments re “what his example is that he uses everyday( what exactly is the example “he” uses everyday) and what you mean by your following statement re “it isn’t his fault that things don’t work it belongs to George Bush”
Quote TG: 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 fittest.
Thankyou, Hummingbird
I have a gut feeling that in the North Garden area , these kids all know who hangs out with who . And they know who used to hang out with the group that no longer comes around. They are not talking. the little Kat’s got their tongues. They all have drawn their own conclusions as to who , what , when , where & why but not one of them is talking. Why not? they are not one tight clique are they? Seems to me that there were several groups of kids hanging out amongst each other.
*Maybe the missing link here is the illict activity or activities that supposedly took place around the Red Hill area. What was it , what was the activity ? Was it the old standby of married men in uniform meeting up with women for illicit liasons? Or was it something much deeper ?
Was it someone or several in uniform who were on the take for drugs? Somebody running below the radar taking advantage of the drug money?
Maybe friends of LE as well , like bounty hunters both who would know what bad guys to call if help was needed to cover up something? Could they have somehow been protecting one of their top drug dealers of the area?
If it is LE , that might suggest to many it is why these kids are not talking. They know if they talk their behinds may end up like Colby Eppard’s. If you are a teen & one of your friend’s is killed by the Police , well …would that not make you tend to not be trusting of the police?
Not stating any of the above to be facts , just throwing a few thoughts out there for you all to consider.
I want to find the missing link as badly as the rest of you !
Lee , I agree with your take on J Bass. She is a strange bird. Not the quaint little Mother Earth .
Hi all!
Maybe I am crazy but I do not see the rescue call for the OD on NYE. What am I looking at incorrectly? This is what I am looking at.
000007 147 200 EDNAM DR OVERDOSE AWAKE AND T 01:45:31 01:45:51 01:47:05 01:53:48 –:–:– –:–:– 01:55:28
http://warhammer.mcc.virginia.edu/rids/search.php?flag=DISPLAY
oops, you are not crazy, it is my bad, there has been some changes to the site, AND the open reports are no longer being published.
B
This is under rescue calls.
21.CentVA Native Away says:
September 2, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Does anyone recall the name of the local C-ville (maybe even N. Garden-based) band with the large lead “singer”? I use quotation marks b/c I don’t associate growling and yelling with bellowing out notes. The band is definitely of a similar ilk as the opening acts at the Metallica concert. I remember there being a thread or maybe something that I researched a long time ago that led me to their Myspace site or something similar
********
Like the large fella in the pic of Sutherland? I think it was Bonecock Walrus something. I know KH went to Bite the hand that feeds, but I dont know if big guy is in it too. They had a girl, and then the MW. He’s med. lg. lol!
I want to make the John Ray connection, bugging me. Blink have you given all the obvious clues you can?
Open overdose? That’s rather unusual. Unless attatched to another open incident. Any address?
I have an interesting semi OT discussion. Have to be vague, obviously.
At my work place there is a person that came in with a reported ethelense glycol poisioning, attempted suicide. Doing poorly. Two detectives arrived and reported that if this person dies, it is going to be a homicide investigation. Apparently EMT was very astute, ( photos and all) and picked upon some hinky things at the home during the call made by the spouse. Report was 6-7 hrs after the fact. That spouse coincidently became suicidal at this workplace. Coincidence? No one found the container the substance was said to be ingested from. Neg etoh level.
Eloise, thanks. I’m laughing too. There have to be connections and I’m really hoping an investigator is talking to ALL prospective individuals with insight. Really, an investigator doesn’t have to be psychic, they just need to be tenacious and it will come together. I’m hoping that satellite office in NG will inspire someone to uncover some details that will assist VSP if that’s not against protocol.
Blink, this is OT, but do you know of any progress in the vanessa pham case?
no.
B
The Eppard case takes my breath away for so many reasons.
A few that I don’t remember being discussed here: (If I missed this & am repeating old information, my appologies.)
1) There were 14 officers present, yet only 7 discharged their weapons??
The party line is that due to fact that each and every officer was in imminent danger, it’s not only irrelevant who fired the fatal bullets, but that it’s also irrelevant how many shots were fired.
This begs the question:
If all 14 officers were equally in imminent danger, why did half of them refrain from protecting themselves?
2) Lunsford actually cleared the officers of criminal charges BEFORE all of the evidence was analyzed.
Per the 8-page report of 2/9/10:
“The result of the lab analysis of the gunshot residue kit collected from Eppard’s hands would not be useful in this analysis in light of the fact that Eppard was the only occupant of the stolen patrol vehicle and was
personally observed firing the shotgun in his hands by numerous officers.”
This makes my stomach churn.
sloopy.girl: OT (sorry) That last quote from the 8-pg. report from the Eppart case also turns my stomach due to its poor sentence structure. It troubles me that we no longer consider it important to instill great grammatical strength to our law officers in training.
However, fwiw, I personally do not think Morgan’s murder is related to this case.
Hey ya’ll I’m still here…. Not even a drop of rain. It’s very overcast today and the beach is getting some rough surf. The boys in black – we don’t know much about them, do we?
sloopy.girl says:
September 3, 2010 at 6:23 am
“2) Lunsford [the State of Virginia' attorney for Albemarle County] actually cleared the officers of criminal charges BEFORE all of the evidence was analyzed.”
Blatant cover-up there but we are supposed to believe that with a large chunk of 4 billion dollars of UVa endowment money at risk there is no influence at all being brought in the Harrington case?
Don’t ask me- I am of the opinion when it comes to evaluating an incident involving 14 officers over 4 counties a Federal entity should have investigated it. It is really a conflict of interest for The Commonwealth to investigate potential wrongdoings of colleagues, really. This is not a slam on Ms. Lunceford, it is just not good practice.
B
CentVA Native Away says:
September 2, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Does anyone recall the name of the local C-ville (maybe even N. Garden-based) band with the large lead “singer”? I use quotation marks b/c I don’t associate growling and yelling with bellowing out notes. The band is definitely of a similar ilk as the opening acts at the Metallica concert. I remember there being a thread or maybe something that I researched a long time ago that led me to their Myspace site or something similar.
There are photos of a guy that looks like him in the NGVFD controlled fire training photos on their website (he’s standing by himself near the left rear wheel of the fire unit):
http://www.ngvfc.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=10&pos=5
*******************************************************
The band is The Walrus Bonecock Conspiracy.
redly says:
…but being tipsy and walking around talking to people is not going to draw police intervention in charlottesville.
—————————–
Indeed, but there were several individuals who claimed to have spotted her in spats with people outside the arena (a commotion at ticket gate, Kickee). It was reported that her behavior was “concerning”. Concerning enough that a group of people, supposedly, did ask if she needed help. IMO, concerning enough, at the very least, to warrant a security call. A lone women, wandering around in dim surroundings with an apparent cut chin would have definitely aroused my suspicion, logical intervention would have been all that was needed IMO.
any updates on Cassandra Morton? she was killed right around the same time? any updates, leads, progress on that? …
i believe that somehow LE is tied to this case directly for the lack of solution:
whether it be liability suits and prevention, being in bed with UVA (giving the university priority and jurisdiction as opposed to making the constituents the priority), a member of a task force actually involved in the crime itself, or behind the scenes politics, over the past 10 months there has been no activity other than what you see in news or on forums. it is a true shame. no updates, press conferences, leads, suspects, POIs, etc.
this is it? just have faith? what if there is no God, people? then all that is happening is time going by with no results. no one has been held accountable for this … not UVA, not UVA LE, not VSP, not the FBI, not the city.
a girl goes missing and turns up dead and i am supposed to “have faith”? this could have been my daughter or one of my nieces.
how can we as constituents, citizens and tax payers get better results, because if this is as good as it gets, then we have to figure out how to improve the system. it can’t be about waiting … the criminals don’t have to wait for anything at all.
ODE–
I haven’t posted in a very, very long time–but my heart is still connected like many of you to this case, the Harringtons, and the shiny girl Morgan. So from time to time I check in and am grateful that questions are still being asked and the search for justice continues. I posted a while back my thoughts on how Morgan ended up outside the arena–I posited that she was booted for misconduct and that this information was not being released. But now ODE comes along and reminds me of the report of the leg shaking and the BIB again. And a light goes off. I remember going to many parties/concerts back in the day where drugs (‘ludes, lsd, hash oil, opium on weed, etc) were everywhere. I also remember the rising fear of whatever drug I had ingested begining to take effect and often my first inclination was to peace out–and get out fast. I was never considering a plan–just get moving. So what if Morgan had taken something during Lamb of God (“If I new what was going to happen we would have never “DONE’ it…” SS quote.) The drug begins to take over–she heads for the JPJ hallways–slips falls hurts her chin–gets to the bathroom (sightings) maybe the drug really kicks in and she realizes woa I need out now!–exits the JPJ center and now the drug(s) have peaked and the anxiety is not as bad. She tries to get back in but now she’s in an altered state and no security is going to help. F it! she splits after SS calls her. Enter 4 BIB leaving after Lamb of God–I have read on here posts that more Hard Core metal heads would have stayed for LOG but not wasted their time for Metalica–I’ve done that–no big deal. 4 metal heads come upon a very wasted, very attractive young blond “wobling” away from the event? I’ve bartended for years and I will say this about wasted women in public places–there are SOME guys that will help out, carry your purse you keep dropping, hold you up while you stagger, and get you in a cab. Unfotunately, there are also A LOT of guys that will only see an opportunity to continue the party with the wasted girl. What I am getting at is this:
The accounts that stand out to me–verified or not they still stand out–are SS quote about they never would have done it, the fall in JPJ, the bloodied face in the bathroom, the attempts at reentry, the f bomb to the couple who said something about her pantera shirt, Kickee episode, and the leg shaking with the BIB, and the newspaper lady at 3 or 4 am. All suggest a wasted girl timeline. I don’t believe she was hitching on that bridge. I mean hitching for real. I still stand by she ended up stuck with these BIB partying on campus and perhaps things didn’t go their way so they all leave perhaps promising Morgan a ride back to some place she wanted to go. The leave first party location and are spotted by the newspaper lady she says here legs were bare–maybe her leggings were removed at party location 1–maybe she became the NOT wasted girl and told these guys she was outta there or take to xyz. So one of the now dejected BIB knows of a more secluded (the eventual farmhouse that burns down) place to “hang out”. JMO.
It bothers me when I read people getting hung up on “the boots were over her knee” but Morgan’s were below and “she wasn’t wearing leggings” but Morgan was. A Wobbling blond girl, a pale blond girl, a young girl with 4 guys leaving the arena around 9:05–I mean we aren’t in a court of law here. I think sometimes people can’t put the puzzle together because they are hung up on a small detail-I just think there might be someone out there who is talking themselves out of something they might have witnessed or one of us solving this crime because the missing piece is the design of the Pantera shirt or Morgan’s hair was up at 8:14.
Sorry if I sound like I am ranting or just plain stupid– Falls is approaching and the colder mornings remind me of a cold haunting October approaching and still more questions than answers.
BLINK: This is the post I was referring to ( took me a little while to find it
)
5.DCsteve says:
August 18, 2010 at 8:26 pm
This case is never going to be solved, is it?
Your assuming it has not been.
Solved, and prosecutable are not always simultaneous.
B
forgive me if this is a repeat, but i just noticed that SH is fb friends with one Randall Snead, whom is in the employ of greene county.
not sure how i missed that before.
BLINK: And, here is the other one I was looking for. Sorry I didn’t reference the posts I was referring to in my earlier post.
It’s probably me taking from it more than I should from them anyways because I want so badly for this case solved
17.alexandra says:
August 27, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Blink, I’m sorry to ask again but, when you speak to LE regarding Morgan, do they sound positive, do they give you any hope? You’ve said yes before, do you still feel this way? We’re going on 11 months.
I am not able to discuss any conversations I have with LE on any active case.
I will however make a general comment- VSP is interested in one thing and one thing only- preserving and exacting a successful prosecution in Morgan’s case.
B
@ Jim M: I agree that people are getting all hung up on the little details which are verifiable, and missing the big details which are in conflict.
http://blinkoncrime.com/2010/04/01/morgan-harrington-murder-picture-of-morgans-boot-released/
Here is an official picture of Morgan’s boot. If I am reading correctly, her mother said this was correct, and the article says they could be worn over the knee. But her father says they were knee high boots. Men don’t understand women’s clothing as well as women do, perhaps Dad had never seen Morgan with the boot cuff up.
As I see it, the biggest timing conflicts to focus on are: hitchhiking at 9:30(??), OR, seen with the BIB at 9:05 walking to a dark parking lot, and then seen at 9:30 pm in an armlock with one male, by Granny.
I was not there, I am not an actual witness, but the hitchhiking idea is awfully convenient for UVA to convey a sense about the campus being safe, and this being a situation where Morgan walked into a danger zone, (without UVA actually saying that.) Instead of the possibility that Morgan was abducted in a dark UVA parking lot with no adequate lighting and no adequate security, and an incompetent concert administration who sent her into the dark to roam around.
Living in VA, I am aware of the tremendous pressure the state universities are under to avoid laswuits arising out of their own negligence, especially after the Cho/Va Tech situation, where administration was criticized for not acting in a certain way sooner. It is a BIG deal. And the desire to make sure that they are NOT found negligent.I can see the motivation for the hitch hiking story. I am not accusing anyone at UVA of lying, I am just saying…..several witness time lines do not match up.
Also, If I had made the mistake of getting shut out, whether by accident, or if I thought I could somehow get back in and could not, I too would be angry. Her state of mind is clearly understandable.
Do we know the exact location of those AF pics we were all looking at a couple months ago? Like, exactly how close to where Morgan was found were they?
Do we know how close the 7-mile sleepover was, or more specifically, what area were all the attendees all camped out at?
I, thank God in Heaven, have never smelled that horrible smell – they say is a very unique and distintive. I don’t know how strong it is, how prominent in the air it would be, etc.
But, if Morgan passed away that night and was placed on AF by day-break of the following morning, would there not have been an odor and would the people at the sleepover have smelled it from where they were OR Jenny Bass and her friends have smelled it when those pics were taken?
Or, can this be taken as a reason to believe that she may not have been placed on AF before the sleepover and the pics were taken?
Could she have been being kept somewhere else, rather it be dead or alive, and then placed on AF later, maybe beginning of November, around the time her shirt was found? Like the location of the house fire? Could that have been when she and her belongings were being discarded and someone was trying to throw off the scent so to speak by placing the shirt back up by UVA in a location where they knew it would be found.
Without being graphic, yes, it is possible there was no detectable smell prior to coming into visual detection of Morgan’s remains at the time of the sleepover, in fact, I mentioned I had changed my mind that there were attempts made to conceal Morgan’s remains, some time ago, I do not think there were and the fact that those folks were in close enough proximity underscores my opinion.
B
forgive me if this has already been posted, but i just realized that SH is fb friends with one Randall Snead, whom is in the employ of greene county.
Why yes, he is indeed.
Keep in mind, he is a new bail agent who has worked in security alongside LE for many years, in his case, part time.
He has a clean record, unlike a few of his colleagues, and we should consider the fact he may not even know about the “other”, in which case, I would be pretty pissed if I were him.
B
What about the horrific breaking of her bones – was it post mortem – or was she still alive? If she was still alive….it’s almost too horrible to even think about…and yes, maybe it is just that #38. Too long a time had passed….too much potential evidence gone.
a fire in North Garden, at Sutherland, from 2 o’clock in the morning, fighting a huge fire, until I don’t know what time, then taking a quick trip (6-7 hours?) to New Jersey the same day and then riding back to Virginia, the same day? Did I get that right? Those poor firefighters must have been so tired the next day. Was it all family that went?
It is significant to me only because of it’s distinction in design. In other words, the day that shirt was found, although it would take weeks for DNA to corroborate, they KNEW it belonged to Morgan.
B
I am interested in how LE treated the location of where the shirt was found. How many people were interviewed and if LE went back and asked again. especially after the DNA was identified and a possible perp with drawing to show people.
I know it would be a lot of work for detectives to do that..
But did they ?
Edward-
As always, excellent observation.
I do not believe the intake of the shirt was taken as seriously as it should have. My personal opinion is that until they ascertained it was highly probable to be Morgan’s, they considered it a possible prank.
I would go as far as to say I believe that the shirt may not have been considered viable forensically until Morgan was recovered without it as evidenced by the detectives back at Grady on the 27th.
Lt. Rader said it best when he was asked why they had not searched the 29S corridor -
“There was nothing to lead us there.”
B
IBE
You say before the internet and your mom found out through the newspaper about the 100 men on horseback riding the train to help out in Galveston. Amen to that. The first primative automatic switch for the telephone was only just designed in 1900. It wasn’t until 1970 that the telephone systems in the world reached a stage of development to allow even a primative internet to be built.
Hummingbird
The abreviation of POTUS stands for President Of The United States.
What I was refering to was the fact that he constantly tries to push away his responsibility by blaming something on someone else. Maybe this was a poor example, but I thought that if I used one from the top it would show how easy it is to shirk responsibility for our deeds.