Inspiring Vigilance: The Murder Of Morgan Harrington One Year Later
Charlottesville, VA– Sunday October 17 marks the one-year anniversary of the worst day of Dan and Gil Harrington’s lives. Although they were not yet aware of the horror that had befallen their Roanoke, VA family, the next morning their daughter’s purse was found on the grounds of the University of Virginia Lanigan Field. Morgan Dana Harrington had vanished.
While attending a Metallica concert with friends Sarah Snead, Amelia Melvin and Dan Cassagne with tickets purchased 6 months earlier by Morgan’s Dad, Morgan, for reasons unknown, was outside John Paul Jones arena at approximately 8:45PM.
Morgan attempted to re-enter the arena but could not locate her ticket and was denied access to return to the venue. Shortly thereafter, Sarah called Morgan at 8:48PM looking for her and was told she could not get back in and would be attempting to locate a ride, according to Snead.
Various witness accounts and in some cases corroborating statements from Virginia State Police (VSP), place Morgan in different areas of the adjacent parking lots of JPJ over the following 45 minutes, moving toward the far perimeter of UVA property.
According to the VSP, there is a witness statement that a person matching Morgan’s description was seen hitchhiking alone on the Copeley bridge at approximately 9:30PM.
After several private law enforcement searches and two volunteer based efforts organized by the Harrington’s failed to locate her, Morgan Harrington’s remains were discovered by a prominent Charlottesville land owner on his remote 700 acre farm in Albemarle County, 8 miles South of JPJ arena, on January 26th, 2010. Morgan’s death has been classified as a homicide, however her cause of death has not been released.
Until July, the case seemed to be at a virtual standstill from an investigative perspective, in fact the only arrest to date is that of a man who provided a false lead to VSP, and was prosecuted for it.
On July 1st, as a direct result of an article linking Morgan’s case to an unsolved sexual assault case in 2005 in Fairfax, VA published by blinkoncrime.com, a sketch of a man forensically linked to both the Fairfax case and that of Morgan Harrington was released by the Virginia State Police, albeit grudgingly, at first.
Behind the scenes, Dan and Gil Harrington, who were made aware of the connection a few weeks earlier, were adamant the sketch was critical to developing leads and warning others and demanded the sketch be posted on the VSP website; it was uploaded later that afternoon at Dr. Harrington’s request.
Virginia State Police have not commented publicly on the case in several months, but in a private correspondence with a concerned blinkoncrime.com reader, Lt. Joe Rader, leading the investigation for VSP, said not only is the case not cold, but he has recently assigned additional manpower to it.
Dan and Gil Harrington, Morgan’s bereaved parents, along with Morgan’s beloved brother Alex, have spent the last year keeping Morgan’s case alive through the development of their own family blog, TV and radio appearances, and most recently, a meeting regarding safety concerns with new University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan. This Sunday, a memorial plaque to promote safety and honor Morgan Harrington is being presented to the Harrington’s on the Copely bridge.
Note From the Editor
“How would you describe the Harrington’s?” I am asked this question frequently.
I always respond the same way. “I would not”.
The grace and poise these parents have shown in the face of the worst conceivable tragedy to befall a parent is not something I could wordsmith or articulate.
If the question comes from someone I feel may help their cause, I offer to make the introduction, but I would never presume to speak for them.
The Harrington’s have created a legacy in memory of Morgan that only parents of a 20-year-old blossoming artist, music loving, budding educator could.
Morgan Harrington Photo chosen by and courtesy of The Harrington Family Library
Elizabeth Morten, Madeline Tanner and Jason Mateos, contributing editors to blinkoncrime.com
Madeline Tanner, copy editor
Images By Klaasend
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Olivia- I can never tell who someone is by the way they write. People have had to change their hats & I have no clue who/what. I’m kind of oblivious in that arena
Olivia,
I think blink managed to keep the poster I was thinking about out of here, but there was a guy who used to post non-stop under multiple names on the hook and various other sites. He can appear rational for a while but eventually just lures people into conversations and gets absurd and destroys any meaningful conversation in the thread. Probably shouldn’t have even posted about it, but the poster in the link just sounds like him before he goes of the deep end.
I delete posts from that individual that manage to get through askimet.
LE has spoken with him, it is absolutely best to ignore this person.
B
can his theory be valid? enquirer seemed convinced that a drug dealer was involved and that there was a said male who dropped her off somewhere,was he posting as enquirer,as well.
Redly and B,
Will ignore him. Thanks.
I still think the biggest question marks are those last near her–the BBPs, their friends or relatives who may have been watching the practice and still present, and the people on the small vehicle to whom she curtsied near the track. I hope they all have had their DNA tested, and if they have not, why not? And of course, Dad.
Hello everyone I am still checking in everyday, hoping against hope that justice will be done for Morgan and thankful to you all who have more sleuth like abilities than mine for your heart, brain power and perseverance. Salute to you dear Blink.
J4M.
My dearest- I jammed to you while cleaning today. I have missed you friend.
B
Hello All , Wanting to check in here & post so you all would not think I had dropped out or gone away .Have not been online as much , recently had surgery , so am still not up to sitting up at the desk to get online.
My thoughts & prayers remain with Morgan & the Harrington’s daily. I can only begin to imagine their frustration & feelings of helplessness at times.
Blink , I agree it’s past time to shake the trees , now they need to also shake the bushes & re-interview EVERYONE that they previously talked to who gave them a reason to think they should be questioned in the first place.
Blessings to you for all of your efforts & continued involvement !
Hi everyone, I’m still here too, just been so busy with family issues and stuff, I haven’t commented but I do try to check in here several times a week. It’s just so disappointing to see that no progress has been made by VSP…..my fear is that we won’t find this guy until he does it again, and that is unacceptable.
I keep going back to the “Disappeared” episode, when Rader made the comment that “Morgan’s friends weren’t that concerned about her taking off on her own, because she’s done it many times before.”, or something to that effect. The more I reflect back on the friends’ behavior that night and in the subsequent weeks, I think that statement by Rader spoke volumes. There is much we don’t know about Morgan, her lifestyle, and her personal life. I’m not saying the public should be privy to this info, but the fact is, we don’t know if taking off on her own was normal behavior for Morgan. If she’s done it many times in the past, at parties, etc., and always “landed on her feet”, it would somewhat explain why the friends weren’t freaking out when she didn’t return.
There’s no question Morgan was impaired that night….did she feel invincible, because she’d done similar things before with no consquences? Once she found herself outside, was she looking to party somewhere else? Was she seeking recreational drugs? The answers to these questions are certainly germane to the case, but you’d think LE already has the answers. I strongly feel that the RV lot is a place to go to “score”, party, etc., but did Morgan know that?
Please do not feel I’m trying to tarnish Morgan’s name, but she was in a bad way that night, I think her friends were in a similar state, but didn’t run into the unfortunate situations she did. I think they were too messed up while in the concert to rationalize that their friend was in danger, and once outside, off for more partying, still not thinking clearly, possibly until the next day. Whatever had been said to campus/local LE by the friends led police to believe Morgan was not in any danger, and this is where the investigation, in its infancy, started to get all effed up. By the time Lannigan Field, the RV lot, Copley Bridge area were searched, I think it was already too late…any evidence was probably picked up by groundskeepers/trash haulers, porto-potty emptiers. Evidence of an abduction/murder gone before anyone realizes what happened.
NO
Missed it totally cause I know her, you are amazing, thank you.
B
Georgie – I think you’re on target. No one was thinking crime just that Morgan left on her own and told them she was OK and would catch a ride. Now, did the friends report truthfully, or did they just tell what sounded best for their interests. I recall the official line was that Morgan told them not to worry, she would catch a ride. Was that the truth – we may never know.
Georgie, I think this is pretty much what happened, too. And it has always had the feel of a ramdom grab by someone with few connections, or at least no obvious connection to anyone here in Charlottesville.
Respectfully, I completely disagree. I don’t think one can say they have no connections in Cville, and have knowledge of AF. It was unplanned and a crime of opportunity by someone looking for such an opportunity, but this is an organized offender with ties to this community.
B
Morgan’s friends are guilty of not coming to her aid when she told them she was locked out. They didn’t have to leave the concert, just throw her a lifeline, like her keys or a jacket. It was cold and raining and Morgan had on a short sleeved T shirt. I just can’t wrap my brain around the thought that a serial rapist was lurking about at that time. Come on VSP, this case must be solved. He took her from JPJ to Anchorage Farm. There has to be a connection. Look harder.
blink, or anyone familiar with standard LE operating procedure:
i understand the importance of maintaining case integrity by not releasing or divulging certain details of the case. many of us do feel that “the timeline does not match the timeline” etc.
what i am wondering though, is what is LE protocol when it comes time to release information to the public, in the hopes of generating leads? is the typical method to simply omit details of a case? or is it more or less SOP to intentionally provide the public with misinformation?
perhaps i can answer my own question and it is varying degrees of both, with each case having specific needs.
personally though, i’d like to think LE would always seek to maintain integrity in both the case and their relations with the community, in which case the high road and best coarse would be one that does not include providing false information to the public.
i guess what i would really like to know is why doesn’t the timeline match the timeline?
Because it leads to suspects that VSP has no access to, in a prosecutable way.
It does not lead to a bystander in a vehicle crossing a bridge.
It does not lead to a presentation they feel comfortable with, in an election year for a new “Commonwealth Atty”.
You open one can, you open ‘em all here right now, and ftlog, can someone get a champion or advocate out there? This case haunts me because it is literally waiting for a future offense.
B
Blink, respectfully, I didn’t say Sketch has NO connection to C’ville. I said it SEEMS there are very FEW connections, or at least is no obvious connection to C’ville. Otherwise this case might have been solved long ago. Hopefully there will be an “a ha” when he’s caught, but right now it still seems unfathomable that someone from here could have done this. I know there must be some connection and that there are more than a few bad guys living here, but Charlottesville is still a good and peaceful place, much more so than many other places I can think of.
I agree he is not “from there”, but he has ties, and I feel strongly he has roots.
B
Yes that Anchorage Farm/Blandemar connection is what throws me. If someone here had an inkling of who he was you’d think at least rumours would have gotten out. But there has been nothing, everyone seems stumped.
B said
“Because it leads to suspects that VSP has no access to, in a prosecutable way.
It does not lead to a bystander in a vehicle crossing a bridge.
It does not lead to a presentation they feel comfortable with, in an election year for a new “Commonwealth Atty”.
You open one can, you open ‘em all here right now, and ftlog, can someone get a champion or advocate out there? This case haunts me because it is literally waiting for a future offense.”
B”
What am I missing here?!
The Colby Eppard case is the winning ticket for anyone who wants to run for Dist Atty!!!!
I’m sure there is more where that came from.
What is stopping you or anyone else from bringing this to light again?
Dee tee says: i guess what i would really like to know is why doesn’t the timeline match the timeline?
B says: Because it leads to suspects that VSP has no access to, in a prosecutable way.
It does not lead to a bystander in a vehicle crossing a bridge.
It does not lead to a presentation they feel comfortable with, in an election year for a new “Commonwealth Atty”.
You open one can, you open ‘em all here right now, and ftlog, can someone get a champion or advocate out there? This case haunts me because it is literally waiting for a future offense.
B
SOOOO….the evidence leads AWAY from “random opportunist in a car” and TO someone who is NOT PROSECUTABLE BECAUSE…? I mean, is this intentional, do you think? You know, “Turning a blind eye”? Because the BG is likely someone in a uniform?
This perp is an employee of JPJ/UVA or a subcontractor as a vendor. There is no such thing as a random organized offender. Not really, from a profile perspective.
B
If the BG were a “small-fry” local, he might have been outed by now. I think localcvillegirl said this (approx.): why hasn’t someone local near AF provided insider information to police if he’s from here? But what if he is a “big fry” local or past resident?
Just trying to work this puzzle out…
What are police avoiding?
I think that when you go out on the conspiratorial limb you do not focus upon the true facts as we know them so far. Such an analysis will detract from solving this case. The conspiracy theories will ultimately lead away from the killer(s). I realize that when all hope seems lost these theories are attractive, but they will be the last refuge of those who surrender to the notion that this case will not be solved.
I am not sure I understand what theory you are referring to as “conspiratorial”, because I don’t feel that way at all in this case and overall I am an occam’s razor gal. Morgan was impaired and at the wrong place at the wrong time for her safety, and sketch grabbed her and we all know the rest of the story.
B
LE went to Metallica’s concert the following night in another city. There was a reason to do that. Suspicion of crew member, security or vendor lead then to do that in moo.
Yep.
B
Georgie wrote:
I think they were too messed up while in the concert to rationalize that their friend was in danger, and once outside, off for more partying, still not thinking clearly
In the beginning I tried to explain it that way too, but realized the following:
I. there was at least 1 sober person (the driver)
II. Morgan said she would get a ride home
III. Morgan could not be reached by phone anymore.
IV. They drove home in Morgan s car.
V. This contradictionary to their actions (searching and waiting for Morgan)
Until more facts are released/confirmed/denied there is not much sleuthing left to be done. I just hope among LE there is the same tenacity as among Blinksters
And not the infamous ‘ let them do their job, and do not fantasize facts, and that person is unreliable witness’ attitude.
That attitude leads to dismissal of possible leads.
Crazy, unstable, ‘ different’ , criminal people are the ones with the most valuable information because they are not afraid of losing their life or reputation, faced with evil or danger.
What sane person would come forward against a killer he or she knows lives around the corner? I am thinking of ‘ associates’ of Sketch or even drug-users etc in the vicinity that night or among the crowd he mixes in. Someone with a conscience to speak of in a dog eat dog world. That would be crazily courageous.
Well and then we are not even talking about the possibility of the killer not being Sketch and working in LE/security. Imagine how crazy someone must be to talk about that not only fearing the killer but also the automatic protection / cloak of authority he enjoys daily. The thing about the t shirt and its location/timing is so odd. The courage this would take is mindblowing.
Listen and judge their information, not their name or reputation, its short sighted and pre judgemental. Look closer at the case where the kid was chased and killed with 200 bullets.
In handling the Anchorage Farm crimes/miconduct by LE they handled their internal affairs swiftly and harshly. So maybe they are already aware of who / what is involved and have some trouble left with evidence.
This case will not ‘ go away’ .
Another curious thing about this case is that, given the intense investigation supposedly underway, that no unrelated criminal activity has been uncovered in Charlottesville. It’s like all of the city and campus is squeaky clean.
As for Morgan’s assailant not having strong ties to Charlottesville, he obviously knew the area around the JPJ Arena, around off-campus student housing where the T-shirt was found, and around the Anchorage Farm/Blandemar Farms area.
The severity of Morgan’s injuries could suggest someone hopped-up on drugs.
I get the gut feeling that, for whatever reason, the VSP is not really looking very hard. They certainly are not engaging concerned citizens at all everything goes downhill from there.
glad you mentioned future offenses, Blink. i couldn’t bring myself to put it in my post, but i almost did. i think the sorry state of this investigation into Morgan’s case can only serve to embolden the perp at this point. students will be returning to uva very soon, and this animal has a habit of attacking in the fall.
turn up the heat, shake the trees, step on some toes, but please VSP, do whatever it takes to nail the bastard and at least deliver the message that he cannot do this again and get away with it. how hard is it to bring someone in and make them sweat? or to get a discarded dna sample? just give us a sign you’d like to solve the case.
I will say this in defense of VSP- to answer your question about how hard it is to “just bring someone in and make them sweat?” It is apparently impossible if all you have is a DNA profile and evidence from a prior assault.
B
Gil Harrington’s thoughts from August 8th, 2011
Dear Morgan;
We are excited. Alex is coming home for a few days and we are planning to take a short trip together. It is difficult to envision such a thing, a pleasure trip, but we must find new traditions for our triangulated family to survive, to one day thrive again. Contemplating these new travels returns my thoughts to ponderings I had of you at the beach a few weeks ago.
Morgan, there are flashes of you all around. I see your rounded toddler legs pumping up and down the beach, splashing in the surf like a little sandpiper. I see your towhead white in the sunlight like dandelion fluff. I see your skin bronzing and freckles dawning on your nose. I see you dragging surfboards and buckets full of treasured shells over the dunes. I remember the grit of sand ridden sheets, of course in our bed, introduced by baby feet at nap time snuggle. I love to think of you grown and sleek in the water jumping waves for hours with Dad and laughing all the while. I see glimpses of you in other young girls, Kate, Eva, Iris. I think of you whenever a gesture or turn of phrase reveals youth and promise. These little daily bursts, trigger my memory cascade.
Morgan, don’t get me wrong, this process is NOT sad. I actually relish these memories and revisiting our time together. I am so grateful for what we did share. A lifetime telescoped into 20 short years. Was it your destiny Morgan, morgen? My morning girl, to leave here in the morning of your life? Perhaps.
We are all in the process of becoming; some of us change more profoundly or more quickly than others. We can only hope to transform into better, more useful stuff. That’s the goal. I understand that sometimes this metamorphosis is thrust, indeed forced on us, not chosen. The abrupt onset of transformation makes it harder to discern the innate positive aspects of change. That acceptance follows at a slower pace.
I remember several years ago pacing the beach, desperate to find one perfect shell to take to the sickbed of my beloved sister, dying at 50 years old. There were NONE. On this barrier island pummeled by tides, the shells are all fragments and bits. I wanted perfect, found none, and was forced to see a different option. We gathered broken shells, strung them together and presented Jackie with a mermaid’s necklace instead. You have to adapt to circumstances – as difficult as that seems.
Those broken shells are beaten and pounded into bits and become so tiny – grains of sand, which coalesce and become the beach we walk upon. That is what we must do. Take the broken pieces, the shards, the grains and build an island. This synthesis is the key to survival and the very heart of love.
We can do it, if you help Morgan.
241
Always,
Mom
Very difficult to bring in someone when all VSP has is a drawing that possibly looks nothing like Sketch of 5 years later. Also, if the man lives in the area now, maybe he did not come to Charlottesville/Albemarle until after he aged by several years, shaved his facial hair, grew longer scalp hair or even shaved his head. Could have gained/lost weight. It’s doubtful, after the Fairfax attack, that he made no attempt to change his facial appearance. Our serial rapist from the 1990′s early 2000′s was proof that even the closest family members, his own wife and 4 children, and his fellow workers could live with and interact with a predator every day for almost 7 years and have no clue about the double life he was living. He was a hard working family man and a vicious, sadistic rapist but no one suspected the dark side of his life. As with Sketch, there was DNA evidence left behind, but the man had never been arrested so there was no match in the database. Despite what one poster quite some time ago seems to believe, a black man in Charlottesville is not an uncommon sight, and unless he was acting strangely or in a threatening manner, would not attract a second glance. Concert goers could have passed within feet of him as he stood on a sidewalk and never registered his existence. Even if the didn’t look like a concert goer, he could have been a limo driver, a scalper, or someone simply using a public street. Concert goers were not looking for the future perpetrator of a terrible crime. There are apparently no witnesses who even think they saw this man on the night of the 17th. Does that mean he was not in the vicinity of the arena. No. What it probably means is that he stayed hidden in the parking lot until the right opportunity virtually fell into his lap, or as hard as it is for some to believe, he drove across Copeley Road bridge, saw a young woman hitchhiking, and took advantage of the opportunity. He stopped, she got in his car, no violence initially and no commotion that would have attracted attention. Maybe when he first took Morgan, he didn’t intend to kill her, but we know he used violence against the young woman in Fairfax. He beat her and choked her to some degree during the assault. Where that violence would have lead had he not been interrupted cannot be known. If Morgan was his first successful victim since 2005, then his aggression had 4 years to escalate as his frustration increased if there were other young women who escaped his grasp. Possibly victims he had seen and planned to grab, who never even knew how close they came to falling into the hands of a predator because their husband or boyfriend or even a stranger happened to appear on the scene before this man could act.
Add to no known witnesses and no DNA match the fact that Morgan was missing for 15+ hours before her family learned she had not returned from the concert. That realization came only after they were contacted about items turned into lost and found. In that space of time, 100′s had walked through the same parking lots where Morgan walked, got in their cars, left town or even the state completely unaware that a crime had been committed within an hour and maybe within feet of their own car. Undoubtedly the arena had been thoroughly cleaned, concert trash picked up from the lot. Morgan’s purse and other possessions were found, moved from the spot where they had either been placed or dropped, handled by multiple people in the belief they were lost and found items. The finders got on a bus, left Charlottesville, participated in an exhibition lacrosse match, returned to Charlottesville at least 24 hours after the kidnapping. We don’t even known when LE became aware of who placed the items in the lost and found receptacle and was able to question them about the exact position of the purse and other items. To my mind, this case has to be an investigators worse nightmare. There were 1000′s of concert goers and others coming and going before, during and after the time of the abduction. Evidence could have disappeared in routine cleanup, and at the least was contaminated by multiple people doing what comes naturally, picking up, looking at and turning in items to lost and found. No witnesses to the actual crime, a shirt found weeks later, DNA with no matching hit, and sadly, a body exposed to heat, rain and snow measured in feet. I hope and pray that Morgan’s killer will be found, but I will not criticize LE because this man has not been arrested. It’s just my opinion, but I don’t see the wealth of evidence that some seem to believe exists. If there’s anyone who posts here who has actual facts and not just speculation that points to this killer, pass it on to the people who need it most, the investigators. Blink made what I think is a statement that, for now, has no basis in fact, “This perp is an employee of JPJ/UVA or a subcontractor as a vendor.” To my mind, that would be a good scenario because the suspect pool would be greatly reduced.
Somewhat off topic but a 56 year old man was arrested for stalking a 17 year old girl. He had been showing up at her place of employment however it was also reported that he was hanging out at the beach watching young girls swim and making inappropriate comments. Let’s hope they don’t just slap him on the wrist because it is just a matter of time before he acts on his impulses.
http://www.alpenanow.com/index.php/2011/08/08/cheboygan-troopers-arrest-stalking-suspect/
There was an episode on criminal minds on a&e last night. A serial killer on a college campus. It was a security guard giving girls a safe ride.
Over the past year, I do not believe a day has gone by that
I have not read this thread. Ive attempted many times to write out my overall thoughts and I’m sorry if I do so over and over and it becomes annoying.
Here’s the deal.
Thousands of murders and rapes are unsolved. Each case has not been solved for reasons unique to each circumstance. Many times, there are truly no leads, no matches to DNA, no DNA left etc
But there are also many cases that go unsolved simply Because LE does not have the time or resources to work put the amount of time/effort into solving them.
The fact is that we as the public simply do not know.
We don’t know
how many crime scenes have been contaminated
Leads have not been followed up on
DNA testing hasn’t been done to old cases
Evidence has been lost
Incompetent LE have f’d a case
Evidence has been tampered with
Cases have been sabotaged from the inside
LE has chosen to not utilize the press in a way to obtain leads
I wholeheartedly believe Rader and Whatshisface are 100% dedicated to solving this crime
I do not know what I dont know.
Was there more than one DNA profile found?
Was there only a small amount of DNA found that limits the number of times it can be tested?
Once this guys profile is in CODIS, it’s there- So why is testing limited?
I asked these questions alot early on and no one could ever explain to me….
Is the military DNA database linked to CODIS?
Since there is such a huge backlog of DNA testing across tue country-
Could this guy’s DNA Be on evidence found at another crime scene, a crime scene whose items are still waiting to be tested?
Could this guy have raped or killed someone else but that evidence hasn’t been tested
Or LE has forgotten to get it analyzed?
How many involved rapes & murders DNA evidence has new submitted to CODIS across the country?
How many have not?
It all sounds far fetched but honestly guys- we do not know.
—
I say all of this because, honestly, there’s nothing I can do here anymore other than contribute ideas and hope LE reads them.
I can ask and hope to someday get an answer to the question-
Have we really exhausted ALL resources? I doubt very seriously that we (LE) have.
This guy had either DIRECT or indirect intimate knowledge of Anchorage Farm. PERIOD.
Of that there is no question. Location, location, location. It is very difficult if one has not been there or does not have access to aerials with topographic overlay. Morgan was placed in a “gully”, which is not viewable unless one is elevated on the ridge, or frankly, in a tree or some elevated position.
That said, the person would also have some knowledge that the hayfield was not going to be cut again that season.
B
Oh Morgan i feel so sorry for you and your family each time i come here and there is norhing knew in Investigation. May God give your Family strongness and patience. May God help LE to catch who did this to you in the purpose also to prevent another crime. RIP Morgan Beautiful
Löni comment august 9 at 2:01am: i ment to write”…nothing new…” sorry for typos:(
This is probably a really obvious suggestion but thought I’d post anyway.
“This perp is an employee of JPJ/UVA or a subcontractor as a vendor. There is no such thing as a random organized offender. Not really, from a profile perspective.
B ”
Would it be possible for LE to run a check of all concerts/events in the Fairfax area in 2005 with the list of subcontractors/security/etc personnel used for these events and then compare with the personnel from the Metallica concert? See if there are any names that come up repeatedly. Then get the list of employees and start talking to all of them. Narrow it down based on the profile? Show the sketch to former employees? Is this even a viable possibility?
I would certainly hope that had been done the minute the link was made to sketch.
B
Blink, at the very least, wouldn’t familial dna testing reveal some distant relatives of sketch? if a number of sketch’s relatives lived in a certain city or state, le might be able to determine sketch’s roots / background.
Yes, but one has to have a suspect to start with. If they don’t know his name, how would they determine what family members to test, and then of course one would need a warrant.
B
A few weeks (ok, maybe months) ago, when we were discussing the local security/bailbondsman/process server, I figured that with all the credentials his two companies touted, he and his employees must have taken some courses on some of this stuff. On the Accelerated Bail Bonds website, there is a “DCJS” ID #, so I went to the DCJS website. Yes indeedy, there are courses offered for most of the services the company offers. I wanted to see if there were any training facilities in Fairfax, VA…holy cow, there’s several. So there is a possibility that someone from a local security company went to Fairfax in 2005 for some schooling.
https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/ps/directory/schoolSearchAction.com
There are at least four different training facilities in Fairfax, Va.
From the Charlottesville Security website: What is the difference between armed and unarmed security guards? What additional credentials must an armed officer carry? In the state of Virginia, a guard with access to a firearm is classified as an “armed guard”. He must take additional classes in firearm training and training in proper arrest procedure and laws which govern arrest. They are granted limited powers to detain suspects and effect arrest under specific circumstances.
http://www.charlottesvillesecurity.com
Also, on that website, a link to the C-ville Mixed Martial Arts Institute, as well as Buffalo Wild Wings listed as a contact/business relationship.
Georgie says:
August 9, 2011 at 7:31 pm
The Fairfax Judicial Center (including the lock-up facility) is only a few miles south of the 2005 attack location via Chain Bridge Road. I would imagine that C’ville Security’s business is not limited to only C’ville.
MsL: It’s doubtful, after the Fairfax attack, that he made no attempt to change his facial appearance. Our serial rapist from the 1990′s early 2000′s was proof that even the closest family members, his own wife and 4 children, and his fellow workers could live with and interact with a predator every day for almost 7 years and have no clue about the double life he was living.
Olivia: Well, the local serial rapist did not have a sketch posted around town–so there was no way for people to know what he looked like. I guess they knew he was black but there was not a real description beyond that. Didn’t he wear a mask or something? I’m not so sure what his wife and friends may have thought or worried about privately. Why are you sure? His children were in lower elementary school.
MsL: What it probably means is that he stayed hidden in the parking lot until the right opportunity virtually fell into his lap, or as hard as it is for some to believe, he drove across Copeley Road bridge, saw a young woman hitchhiking, and took advantage of the opportunity. He stopped, she got in his car, no violence initially and no commotion that would have attracted attention.
MsL, what do you make of the timeline problem? The police timeline, the “official” minute-by-minute story pieced together for the public based on eyewitness accounts of Morgan’s whereabouts during the last half hour does not hang together. She was seen by basketball players hitching at 9:20. Then Dad and Daughter saw her hitchhiking at 9:23. Yet somehow the duo who witnessed her curtsy over by the potties saw her do that AFTER the BB players left and BEFORE Dad saw her. Dad went to the dorms and returned to 7-11 for a quick purchase, and then came over the bridge again at 9:31-9:33, and she was gone. BUT was she somehow hitching on the bridge and curtsying by the potties/fence at the same time? I mean, it’s possible that she hitched when the BB players saw her as they left, then ran to the potties, curtsied for the duo, the duo drove off, and then she ran back to the bridge by 9:23 for Dad to see her. If the Bb players left at 9:15 (this is probably the earliest they could have left), that would have given her 8 minutes to get from the bridge to the johns and back again. But her scent trail, according to police, was fence to potties to bridge, period. No back and forth. The story just seems, well, “off.” (I may have forgotten a few exact times but I think I have it roughly.) And of course, the phone battery was out by 9:30.
Does this evidence–as provided by police–seem suspicious to you at all, MsL?
So we know the time frame in which Morgan was going back to the RV lot, lost her items (including umbrella) and was taken?
9:27-9:29 she gave up HH returned there maybe to get into a car with someone she previously interacted with.
someone who was with/one of/stalking/or hanging around the BBP and kept hanging around in the RV lot. It is likely the BBP saw someone who was interested in the interaction they had. Sketch?
Hence the items found there
Its just a timing, but I do think she went back to the RV lot (volunteerly?) if the witnesses are correct.
Stumbling, losing items randomly without caring about them, a random killer, leaving your car and friends behind, all that seems not just irrational but unlikely. THe umbrella could be used as a weapon so would be taken first, its location could tell us more about the chain of events.
Could the tshirt be evidence that needed to be displayed? The way it was found suggests a planned event rather than a search resulting in the most distinguishing and widely known item in a murder investigation. The Pantera shirt at the Metallica concert was public knowledge. A shoe, or glasses (or umbrella) would not raise that much alarm. Did it succeed , whatever the intention was?
for example: did the tshirt magically made ‘ sketch’ appear? I suspect not (sketch dna was at AF?) yet this would be a possible motive.
Any random finder would not just throw something important like that away or display it, at the time everyone knew about it even across continents. No way someone would not recognize that as evidence. Ask the person who found it displayed, he was in shock.
IF the other items (at JPJ) are related (meaning someone found the shirt after the concert close to where Morgan s other multitude of belongings were found) that indicates even further that the RV lot was a crime scene.
To establish this the finder should come forward, but maybe the person who put it on display is the killer.
MsL : one piece of evidence would be if there is soil from RV lot on the tshirt found in the student area. That would mean a struggle in the RV lot and planted evidence.
not much to go on.. I think we only know 1 % of it and it still doesnt make sense after all this time.
There are so many good reasons not to release information yet if we think about stopping a killer, there are none.
Georgie says:
August 9, 2011 at 7:31 pm
A few weeks (ok, maybe months) ago, when we were discussing the local security/bailbondsman/process server, I figured that with all the credentials his two companies touted, he and his employees must have taken some courses on some of this stuff. On the Accelerated Bail Bonds website, there is a “DCJS” ID #, so I went to the DCJS website. Yes indeedy, there are courses offered for most of the services the company offers. I wanted to see if there were any training facilities in Fairfax, VA…holy cow, there’s several. So there is a possibility that someone from a local security company went to Fairfax in 2005 for some schooling.
https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/ps/directory/schoolSearchAction.com
There are at least four different training facilities in Fairfax, Va.
From the Charlottesville Security website: What is the difference between armed and unarmed security guards? What additional credentials must an armed officer carry? In the state of Virginia, a guard with access to a firearm is classified as an “armed guard”. He must take additional classes in firearm training and training in proper arrest procedure and laws which govern arrest. They are granted limited powers to detain suspects and effect arrest under specific circumstances.
http://www.charlottesvillesecurity.com
Also, on that website, a link to the C-ville Mixed Martial Arts Institute, as well as Buffalo Wild Wings listed as a contact/business relationship.
____________________________
@Georgie
not only that, but if you check some of the “Contacts and Business Relationships” listed on the Contacts and FAQ page, you will note that some of them are located in the immediate Fairfax area. Cyron & Miller LLP are in Arlington for example.
I’ve never heard it said whether or
Sorry, new puppy hit the keyboard. Won’t be able to finish my thoughts right now. She demands more attention than a baby.
Pup’s asleep so maybe I can finish this time. I’ve never heard it stated at what time the curtsy duo saw Morgan. If it was after or near 9:30, I think that would lean toward the fact that she returned to the lot after being seen by the father/daughter duo and other witnesses. If it was between 9:20 (when the ballplayers left) and 9:30, then I would lean more toward the fact that she left the lot, headed toward the bridge and was taken from that location. Since the Harringtons believe that the plaque on the bridge marks the last known spot Morgan was seen alive, it would seem likely that the curtsy duo saw her before the witnesses who reported seeing her hitchhiking at 9:30.
Olivia says:
August 9, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Olivia: Well, the local serial rapist did not have a sketch posted around town–so there was no way for people to know what he looked like. I guess they knew he was black but there was not a real description beyond that. Didn’t he wear a mask or something? I’m not so sure what his wife and friends may have thought or worried about privately. Why are you sure? His children were in lower elementary school.
MsL, what do you make of the timeline problem? The police timeline, the “official” minute-by-minute story pieced together for the public based on eyewitness accounts of Morgan’s whereabouts during the last half hour does not hang together. She was seen by basketball players hitching at 9:20. Then Dad and Daughter saw her hitchhiking at 9:23. Yet somehow the duo who witnessed her curtsy over by the potties saw her do that AFTER the BB players left and BEFORE Dad saw her. Dad went to the dorms and returned to 7-11 for a quick purchase, and then came over the bridge again at 9:31-9:33, and she was gone. BUT was she somehow hitching on the bridge and curtsying by the potties/fence at the same time? I mean, it’s possible that she hitched when the BB players saw her as they left, then ran to the potties, curtsied for the duo, the duo drove off, and then she ran back to the bridge by 9:23 for Dad to see her. If the Bb players left at 9:15 (this is probably the earliest they could have left), that would have given her 8 minutes to get from the bridge to the johns and back again. But her scent trail, according to police, was fence to potties to bridge, period. No back and forth. The story just seems, well, “off.” (I may have forgotten a few exact times but I think I have it roughly.) And of course, the phone battery was out by 9:30.
___________________________________________
Me: There were sketches of the serial rapist based on multiple victim descriptions — they didn’t look much like him IMO.
The timeline “problems” IMO are largely caused by people misstating the few known facts or making assumptions that may or may not be true.
Using familial dna, investigators could significantly narrow the suspect pool in their search for sketch. for the reward $, sketch’s family members would help le.
CentVA Native Away and deetee…so there are definitely ties to Fairfax regarding the security company. I’m trying to connect C-ville, Fairfax, and Anchorage Farm, because those three places are the cornerstones of this case. The bugaboo, for me at least, is that dang AF…..the fact that Morgan was placed there, and in a gully, where she could only be seen from higher ground, is such a big piece of the puzzle. I keep coming back to who would feel comfortable taking her there? And she wasn’t just “dumped” (sorry) there, she was taken to an area difficult to get to, and the perp KNEW she couldn’t be seen easily, and must have also known when that field would be plowed/mowed.
Another thing I wanted to mention: I watched the documentary “There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane” the other night (so disturbing), the mom in N.Y who killed herself and seven other people when she drove drunk and high the wrong way on a highway. Toxicology reports found .19% alcohol level and a high level of THC. A forensic toxicologist who specialized in drug and alcohol findings said that when you drink a substantial amount of alcohol and then smoke marijuana, it’s not like 1+1=2 anymore. The alcohol and pot react together and they both metabolize differently when taken together, and can possibly put the person in a “stupor” of sorts. I’m wondering if Morgan was just drinking during the concert, and either on her way to the bathroom, or outside, someone offered her some weed, and she had this type of reaction? It could explain the rapid deterioration of her condition.
If Morgan experienced a bad reaction to some sort of drug/alcohol she was given in the RV lot, would the guy(s) responsible pull a “Pulp Fiction” and take her to the guy they got the drugs from? Is this “Sketch”, and he said he’d “take care of her”? If so, there are people out there who know who he is, but they’re most likely scared shitless of him. Perhaps he planted the shirt at 15th and Grady to warn them to keep quiet.
I don’t keep notes, but I don’t recall that the basketball players saw Morgan hitchhiking. It seems from LE statements that she did ask one or more for a ride to an undisclosed destination. Maybe that could be considered hitchhiking, but to me the term hitchhiking means on the road with thumb out in the classic pose. As for the time of 9:23, if I remember correctly, that was the time of the daughter’s dorm stamp. I think most of the times are more estimates than actual fact. LE is certainly more aware than we are of who provided exact times and who made what I call guestimates. LE stated that some of the witnesses providing information were not wearing watches so I think they are very aware that some of the times could vary by several minutes. Is it certain that the basketball players left exactly at 9:20? Could that time have been more an estimate based on the time they left the arena? The times that are almost certain would be when Morgan talked to Sarah, when Kickee called his girlfriend (if true,)the time the Richmond concert goer called her friend almost immediately after seeing Morgan, and when Morgan’s phone powered down. The cell phone calls can be and I am sure were confirmed. There’s a part of me that believes her battery could have fallen into the porta-potty. Dr. and Mrs. Harrington said that her battery had a tendency to fall out of the phone. The dorm record is probably close to accurate, as is the father’s time stamp on his register receipt. As for the other people who saw or talked to Morgan that night, they had no reason to believe that the exact time could be crucial to solving a crime.
The Hook article, with the information about the curtsy duo, did not state what time they saw Morgan, only that it was after the players had left. If the basketball players left between 9:15 and 9:20, she could have walked to the bridge, been seen by the father/daughter duo(and other witnesses) and returned to the lot, to be seen by the curtsy duo. A little more tricky with regard to time would be if she was seen by the curtsy duo after the players left but before she was seen on the bridge. Maybe not impossible, after all, we don’t know how close the players were parked to the porta-potty area.
IF the sketch of Sketch is less than accurate, it’s possible even his own family members are not aware they are looking at a family member. I’ve posted before, what I see is the picture of a very generic looking person I take to be an African American. Also, no matter how evil, the old saying that blood is thicker than water could be rephrased that blood is stronger than cash. I doubt that the belief ever was that familial DNA would identify him by a family member providing a voluntary sample. I think the hope was more that a sibling or parent will have a DNA sample in the database. Either someone knows who this man is and doesn’t have the decency to come forward, or no one has yet made the connection to a family member, friend or neighbor. It’s possible the best hope for an arrest is if the latter is true rather than the first.
F.W.I.W. I also do not remember ever reading that the basketball players saw Morgan hitchhiking, but that she did ask one of them for a ride to a location that has not been disclosed to us.
Thank you everyone for continuing to show up here on BOC for Morgan and all victims.
Blink big hug to you I need to “rock out ” to something today to get my house cleaned lol!!
Alabama mom I am very glad you are feeling better and have come back to BOC.
J4M
The police say the dogs followed Morgan’s scent from the fence to the potties to the bridge. Of course, she MIGHT well have returned to the rv lot or tried to walk by it to go back to JPJA, but the police do not suggest that this “return” trail is a possibility. So how do the 15 minutes, 9:15 to 9:30, add up in terms of her movements and when she was observed? That’s what I want to know.
Two possible scenarios:
BB players left 9:15-9:20. MH went to potties. Curtsied for the duo. They left, presumably. She went to the bridge and was seen by Dad. These events happened rather quickly if witness accounts/time estimates are fairly close to being accurate. Then she was picked up, also very quickly, because Dad didn’t see her at 9:32. So BG was likely waiting for his moment, hiding in the bushes near the bridge, as he did in Fairfax.
BB players left 9:15-9:20. MH went to bridge. HHed for a few minutes and was seen by Dad. Went back to the potties, curtsied for the duo, walked along the fence, and then was taken. This scenario leaves time following Dad’s sighting for her to be seen by curtsy duo and to be picked up by BG. But it is not favored by police.
Other ideas?
I just think the BG probably was observing her, possibly following her, and waiting, rather than randomly driving along and spotting her. Given the time-frame.
Without knowing the time of the curtsy duo sighting, it would seem that Morgan going to the bridge and then returning to the lot would be most likely. The only reason I doubt this scenario is, like Olivia said, LE does not seem to believe that is what happened. Even though the Hook article did not note a time, LE undoubtedly has a good idea as to when the sighting occurred and it does seem they believe it was prior to the bridge sightings.
I don’t know anything about bloodhounds other than they must be remarkable animals. Just my opinion, but I am sure the bloodhound, and through him/her, his handler would be able to determine whether or not Morgan had retraced her steps from the bridge to the parking lot.
@Georgie
there is a business associate of the c-ville security outfit in question that iirc has parents that live within “spitting distance” of AF. someone, anyone and everyone, please correct me if i am wrong, as this is one piece that i have not confirmed on my own, as i read it here, possibly even posted by B herself.
fwiw, said business associate is none other than the bail bondsmen that helped form the partnership in the *OCTOBER 19, 2009* press release.
let me know if you need help connecting these two associates to members of LE, including an officer involved in the Eppard case. btw, the Eppard case was investigated by the VSP lead in the Morgan’s case too. just sayin’.
One guess:
Players are leaving in various cars 9:15-9:20. As they are leaving she is already in back of lot towards the portapotty area and is heading towards the potties. She isn’t standing there watching them leave or waiting for them to be gone before heading to the potty. Couple of baseball facilities folks checking out the field in advance of the upcoming games drive past in a golf cart. She curtsies. She decides the potties are gross and she will just get into town and pee in a bar/restaurant. She goes to bridge where dad/daughter and two other independent drivers see her hitching. She is walking towards town. Sketch drives by and, not believing his luck, pulls over and agrees to take her into town. She hops in. Dad recrosses the bridge several minutes after 9:30 and she is already gone.
The timing is tight but most everything is tight after the fact.