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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Dr. Pepper glad you made it out- prayers for all affected by the hurricanes-
Thanks to Dr Harrington for sharing those thoughts with us. cont prayers to you and yours.
On thing missing, among many, is a ringing endorsement of the VPS’s methods by, the people who matter the most.
I would like to see the Harringtons meet up with Heidi’s and David’s parents and escalate both cases to a higher level. With Heidi’s father being a member of the VSP, perhaps they can get some real answers for a change.
Yikes where did everyone go? George is still here- Hi george.
Since everyone seems to be sitting in contemplative silence… I will share some pretty spectacular pictures that I came across- on Flicker-
They were taken in Virginia in Charlottesville they are of several different places- and taken on several different days In 2009 October- some even on the 16th, 18th ect- some in the cemetery- just down the street – others throughout the area and elsewhere.
I myself find these photos hauntingly beautiful and melancholy- The photographer is rather gifted- and seems to capture so much to think of the sky as beautiful as it was- the leaves so colorful- the area so beautiful- and at the same time other areas stark and forgotten, to think for much of these photos Morgan was alive and looking forward to the concert- then next she was gone- but the beauty of the areas remained and life went on for others- as it will–
Anyway- I just wanted to share as a retrospect of the time and the place..
Be sure to click thru the entire set as the dates are mixed up.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliarowe/4048965996/in/photostream/
Those are beautiful photos, Mom 3.0! Thanks for sharing them. So sad to think that they were taken by one young woman in Charlottesville a few days after the brutal murder of another young woman. So much hope and wonder is evident in the pictures.
If I had the time right now, I would go back and read through all of the posts on BOC. We’ve always said that the answer likely lies somewhere on this board.
Someone also said that LE reads here.
I don’t know if that is true but I hope it is. A while back, someone said that they emailed Rader and he personally responded. That gave me comfort to some degree. But that was probably a year ago.
I would myself write him but as I am not a resident of his state, I may seem kind of psychotic.
Mom3.0 thanks for the photos. Hard to believe we are coming up on the second year since Morgan went missing. Seems like all we are doing is watching the same facts swirl around in a whirlpool and trying to make some connection between them as they randomly rearrange themselves as they go around.
For some reason a drug connection keeps running through the back of my mind in both the Morgan and Childs/Metzler cases.
My gut instinct says that Heidi and David just saw something they shouldn’t have and were silenced for it. Morgan is more of an enigma. If she was involved I think it was a very minor connection. I do have a feeling that whoever did either crime was very, very, heavily into drugs.
Mom3,0 what beautiful photos thanks for sharing:-)
Hi Mom, George and Olivia. I’m still here every day. I wish we had more to talk about…instead we wait. and wait. and wait. I’m not going anywhere.
We have discussed that Morgan’s attacker may have been in the military. The recent story of the Fort Lee army officer John Egland got my attention because of his picture. I think he resembles Sketch. We have also discussed that some of the confusion about sketch may be because he is described as African American yet his DNA is not. John Egland returned from tour in Iraq September 2009. Will John Egland’s DNA be looked at in order to see if he had been involved in any other criminal activity? Here is a story on John and a picture.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20098791-504083.html
Ode, he was on his tour at the time of Morgan’s murder, and sketch’s DNA must reflect him to be of African American descent, or it could not be entered into CODIS. It must be a full profile, which would contain those alleles.
That said, I think we all believe their is something amiss with the sketch per se, although I do not know what, exactly.
B
Mom 3.0 –
Your words are so true. We do sit in contemplative silence.
I check here almost every day. I always have the same thought. Someone involved in this investigation is keeping silent on one or many facts that could potentially blow this case wide open. I don’t really have anything to base this on other than a gut feeling. I just want to ask the VSP and UVA police, how’s playing it close to the vest workin’ out for ya?
I feel like we are all in a holding pattern, just waiting for this killer to strike again.
Nothing will ever bring sweet Morgan back, but it would surely help her parents, brother and countless others sleep just a little better at night knowing this freak of nature is no longer walking among us.
PamVA says:
August 31, 2011 at 9:03 am
Mom 3.0 –
Your words are so true. We do sit in contemplative silence.
I check here almost every day. I always have the same thought. Someone involved in this investigation is keeping silent on one or many facts that could potentially blow this case wide open. I don’t really have anything to base this on other than a gut feeling. I just want to ask the VSP and UVA police, how’s playing it close to the vest workin’ out for ya?
I feel like we are all in a holding pattern, just waiting for this killer to strike again.
Nothing will ever bring sweet Morgan back, but it would surely help her parents, brother and countless others sleep just a little better at night knowing this freak of nature is no longer walking among us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pam, I was just thinking about this yesterday. What would keep people who know something about this case from speaking with LE and possibly collecting $150K?
The only reasons I could come up with were:
1. very close familial ties
2. fear of prosecution
3. fear of retribution by person(s) involved
And yep, B, something’s just not right about “Sketch”.
I have to admit when I saw the captain’s photo I went “OMG!”
Mom, very haunting photos. I saw Morgan in them, embracing life, the changing seasons, the crisp air filling her lungs, the expectancy of the future.
Yes, haunting, indeed, and I’m still haunted by her.
Ode, he was on his tour at the time of Morgan’s murder, and sketch’s DNA must reflect him to be of African American descent, or it could not be entered into CODIS. It must be a full profile, which would contain those alleles.
****
I think he actually came home on September 16, 2009 a month before Morgan was murdered. I did not understand that it was confirmed that Sketch’s DNA was African American. If JE is in the military than I assume they have his DNA on file. Can LE access military personnel DNA.
*************
(snip) He was last deployed to Iraq in September 2008, but he came home for three months in February 2009 before returning to Iraq and staying until Sept. 16, 2009, said his attorney, Sharon Ten.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:49BAyd77JW8J:www2.timesdispatch.com/news/local-news/2011/aug/30/tdmet01-marital-strife-preceded-slayings-in-cheste-ar-1272728/+john+egland+september+16+2009&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
Ode- his crimes “die” with him, and to my knowledge he is not a current suspect in any, so I am not sure how would get a warrant to do that.
B
Mrs. Blink can you tell me how to send you a private e-mail? mike
I will e you this eve.
B
Ode — my understanding is that codis does not include the military dna records. I am not 100% on that, but believe it to be accurate. They could take his dna now of course and put it in codis as he committed crimes outside of the military, but I am not sure they will bother, unless they have a real reason to believe he may have been responsible for other crimes. This spree seems like more of a domestic dispute type incident spiraling way out of control.
http://www.newsplex.com/news/headlines/128701808.html
August 30, 2011
A University of Virginia law student accused of stalking and assaulting a female classmate has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Daniel Watkins was arrested and charged in May because of alleged threatening actions toward his ex-girlfriend, Blakely Griffith. An administrative protective order was granted through the Office of the Dean of Students in March after Blakely reported being assaulted and threatened by Watkins in February. She told police she had been assaulted by her ex in February and that he continued to intimidate and stalk her.
However, a judge disagreed, ruling Watkins was not stalking her, but rather was simply in public places with Griffith. The judge also ruled there was no evidence of a threat or harm in their encounters.
This was not the first time the second-year law student has ended up in the news. Watkins was at the center of national news reports in the fall of 2008 as an undergraduate student at Abilene Christian University in Texas. While he was student body president, Watkins, an African-American, reported finding a noose on his office chair. A police investigation ensued but no arrests were made.
Six months later, Watkins was ousted as student body president by the university’s student-government association. Twenty-five of 32 students who participated in the impeachment hearing voted in favor of the move.
Watkins told CBS19 he had no comment as he left Albemarle County General District Court on Tuesday, but he was all smiles as he walked away a free man.
——————————-
How will UVA respond? Remember, they are revamping their policy on sexual harassement.
I don’t believe it was a current or former member of the military, but, in the spirit of “what if” he would still need to have a knowledge of the roads around JPJ Arena, the layout of the run-down housing area near the “Corner” where the t-shirt was found, and a detailed knowledge of Anchorage Farm/Blandemar Farm area. How many people could qualify on all counts if you now include military service as well?
Untreated PTSD in Morgan’s assailant would expose the federal government to liability issues as well.
In Memory of Gini says:
September 1, 2011 at 6:39 am
http://www.newsplex.com/news/headlines/128701808.html
——————————-
How will UVA respond? Remember, they are revamping their policy on sexual harassement.
_____________________________________________________________
The case was thrown out of court after presentation of the evidence. There is nothing for the law school to do other than perhaps lift the administrative protective order. They changed the policy to adjust the burden of proof standard to make it easier to sanction the accused and to limit the accused’s right to legal representation. This resulted in them putting the administrative protective order in place here when the guy was apparently not guilty of any wrongdoing. The new policy follows the federal trend to be very pro-accusor. This can result in unfair results, as seems to have been the case here where this man was “outed” to the public as a violent stalker and had an administrative order placed against him (and had message boarders suggesting he may be a murderer/rapist also) based upon apparently inaccurate claims by an ex girlfriend. But I can understand why they want to be overly cautious to protect the alleged “victim.”
They are not going to further punish someone who was actually cleared in a court of law.
redly,
I agree. The university will need to lift the administrative protective order, if he has been ruled innocent. What grounds do they have to keep it in place.
However, I would pull my daughter out of that school immediately and make sure every one was warned of this man’s potential. His assault should have been reported when it happened and his alleged stalking documented by notes, video, photos.
Looking violence in the eye is the only way to stop it.
Rest in peace, Yeardly Love.
Word Girl. Apparently there was no assault, though it was reported. His alleged stalking was documented in testimony. He ran into his ex twice once in the law school parking lot and once at a university function. I think your comment about this man’s potential is a little (okay very) unfair to him. Also, everyone was alerted as the protective order was made public. Again, this was a little unfair in retrospect but it is what it is. This is a law school (one of the top ten in the nation), and these are adults.
Has anyone been thinking about the incident at Pantops with the “aggressive panhandling”/ robbery having a connection to Morgan’s case? I’m wondering if the same group had been around FOAN around 10/17/09 or if one of its members had been doing the same in Fairfax in 2005.
These guys, down and out, are professional con artists in my opinion and are likely engaging in such tactics to support a habit of some sort.
In the law school case, if there was no assault then the student making the charge is guilty of an honor code violation? just sayin….
Depends if she lied or not. People disagree about the meaning of the law all the time — hence the need for law schools. My guess, not knowing much about the actual facts, is that she felt she was assaulted, and the judge disagreed with her (and the prosecutor’s) application of the law to the facts.
Redly,
Thanks for your reply. This case may have deeper implications that appears on the surface. What if the Honor Committee determines that there WAS an assault and/or the law student acted in a threatening manner unbecoming a student at the University of Virginia? Does his conduct have to reach the criminal level before their are sanctions against a student by the University?
Or consider the case against George Huguely. What if his high-powered lawyer gets him off? Should the Faculty of the University of Virginia award him a degree and the Honor Committee have no say in the matter?
George — the Honor System only deals with issues relating to lying, cheating or stealing. They don’t have to rise to a criminal level and usually wouldn’t. Mostly they get cheating cases. It is student (not university) run, very specific in scope and has a single sanction. Things like assault, murder and really every other criminal act other than stealing and some forms of fraud would not be involved in that process at all. I believe those other issues could be handled under the university’s judiciary system. It sounds like the judiciary process (or perhaps some special sexual harassment committee) already sanctioned him by issuing the protective order. I assume they would withdraw it now, but don’t know that.
If hugely were to somehow get off, I suppose he would have to reapply to UVA and, if admitted, finish his classes to get a degree. I don’t see any of those things happening or think there is any chance he could get back into the school. I did have some friends who got mixed up in the fraternity drug busts back in 1990 who were allowed to come back and finish their degrees after they went through the legal process (even a couple who pled guilty).
Forgive me, but I had assumed you were the poster who posts under the name sean on many UVA related topics and who seems very familiar with the honor code.
Charlottesville is featured in the September issue of Southern Living as one of the “South’s Best College Towns” (p. 25).
Fixed my name. I’ve been having a slight identity crisis
Redly,
Thanks for your reply. No, I am not Sean and have never posted under any other name except my own.
I thought the “University’s Judiciary System” WAS the Honor Committee so I stand corrected.
It seems there should be a way to bounce certain students out for a year after they commit certain transgressions than may not rise to the level of a convicted criminal offense. George Hughley’s first assault against Miss Love comes to mind. If he had been suspended from the University for a year the end result could not have been any worse than what happened. He might have turned himself around when he found out his family’s money could not buy him a free ticket from responsibility.
The idea is to correct the unacceptable behavior in time before it becomes to late, not expel the student from the school for good.
George — yes, they are different. Judiciary is more of what you are thinking about and it does have a wide range of potential sanctions, including suspension. It covers your basic bad behavior. I am sure he could have been suspended for a while if she had made a complaint and he was found to have assaulted her. Honor is the different one with the single sanction and, as I mentioned, is limited to just lying, cheating and stealing. It is run by students (with a faculty advisor) and you accused is represented by law students and has a “jury” of fellow students. It has some further limitations — the offense has to meet a materiality test and I believe there is a geographical limitation also. Neither judiciary or honor requires a criminal proceeding — that would be separate and done by the city or state. A criminal proceeding could lead to judiciary/honor penalties as well of course.
Blink, as a reporter, do you ever call or write VSP and ask them if they are working hard on Morgan’s case?
I get updates from various sources, and I have no reason to believe they are any closer to solving this case than they were a year ago, sadly. I truly believe, and I have said this before, especially after what I just went through in the WM3 case, that the best way to progress this case is to have someone capable run against Lunsford, and stir up the whole Albemarle County PD issues.
B
Beautiful photos Mom3.0 thank you so much for sharing them with us my Misty Mountain friend!!
Hats off to all of you who care about Morgans’ fate and keep coming back.
Shot out to you dear Blink.
Hope everyone is having a restful or fun filled last weekend before Summers end
and Falls beginning.
LOVE to everyone. PEACE to the Harringtons.
JUSTICE for Morgan.
Upon reflection it may bring answers to concentrate on the things that were brought to the light by time not by will.
- obvious that an injury to the head (fall) could be possible cause for irrational behavior
- obvious that cold weather winds and rain were a condition of influence
- obvious that finding a tshirt of a missing person is reason to alert the neighbourhood
yet there is downplaying of the significance of any fact
Is the energy going into avoiding spotlights or into stark research?
Everyone wanted to help but Morgan accepted help from the wrong person, is that it?
Amy makes a good point. If it was true, as VSP says, that many people offered Morgan help, which she refused, then it seems that the logical conclusion is either: 1) she ultimately accepted help from someone she trusted or believed she could trust; or 2) she was the victim of an abduction by a stranger that somehow went unnoticed.
1) she chose people she trusted:
-friends (who she trusted with the car keys)and did not go outside
-tickettaker ( who did not let her back in)
-kickee (who s arm she grabbed) and did not help altho to be honest it was a far fetched plot by Morgan to try n sneak in with a total stranger (for some reason it wouldnt surprise me if he is some kind of authority figure)
-the BBP (superstars in the athlete microcosmos giving them gravity)
-a call to a exbf she trusted unconfirmed (?)
and this leads me to Sketch someone with a likewise trustworthy profession?
And I ask you how is this irrational? that part is not
You might have succeeded in creating a mist Sketch n Co but ultimately the Law will catch up with you.
I think many, like myself, are still here, but not posting as frequently. How could we not be? Morgan and her family have touched us and are somehow a permanent fixture in our lives….mine anyway.
I will always believe there is a connection to JPJ arena. While I used to think the connection was the arena itself, I now believe the connection was indirect. The cab company will not leave my mind and I always fall back to focusing on it.
Even under the influence, Morgan was smart. I’ll never believe she hitch-hiked or accepted a ride from a stranger. A car comes along, a “cab like” vehicle…perhaps one used routinely on campus…the car stops, she accepts a ride….to “where ever” we don’t know, although I believe it was probably to a friends residence. Once in the safety of the car, of course her guard was down..of course she felt safe….but sadly she wasn’t and probably didn’t even realize it until the driver was far away from where she intended to go.
I also believe this “cab company” is somehow being “protected”. I’ll never forget the chills that went down my spine when I saw the owners picture. I’ll never forget reading of his criminal record and how it somehow was “overlooked” when he obtained a license or “whatever”…my memory has faded on this….but he somehow opened his company when in reality “he shouldn’t have”. I will forever believe he/his company play a HUGE role in Morgan’s murder. That is until an arrest proves me wrong.
Love, thoughts, and prayer to the Harrington family. Hardly a day passes without a thought of you and Morgan. May the peace you need come from an arrest and conviction.
tarheellvr- you are referring to a security firm I believe, or HH Security, owned by Rod Howard.
The folks with the business development not permitted by licensure the Monday following Morgan’s disappearance, with an owner that had been arrested for rape, and pled down.
http://www.charlottesvillesecurity.com/
We covered it extensively, and he was of course an approved security vendor at JPJ, and worked security at the establishment visited by the friends post-concert.
I believe in my heart, and frankly it pisses me off, that her murderers will be apprehended when they re-offend and are caught. I have only seen updates by VSP that coincide with statute of limitation anniverseries.
B
OMG that picture of Rod Howard sitting in a security car that looks like a cop car, made me gasp!!
He looks just like “Sketch” to me, has a prior arrest on rape charges, works security at JPJ Arena and the establishment Morgans “friends” went to after the concert.Off duty police officers also moonlight as security for this company.Local police hooked up for on and off duty sex right around where Morgans body was found, and were reprimanded ,some suspended. The vehicle has the appearance of an apparently “safe” ride for a stranded female on a saturday night locked out of a concert venue.
Sadly I agree with Blink her murderers will be apprehended when they reoffend and are caught, and that if some strong contender wanted to run against Lunsford and stir up the whole Albemarle Police Dept issues.
Would someone like that have access to Sketch ‘ DNA or police files on assaults in the area?
thus providing him of involvement for a second or third time (he got of earlier on plea).
we now know for a fact that an arrested rapist worked JPJ security does he also have a past in LE?
He and his firm EMPLOY LE, current and past.
B
typo alert
*thus providing him with an alibi*
it should read
Still Blink, it seems unlikely because LE must have samples of his fingerprints, DNA etc etc from his previous arrest it would be easy to link a known person (of interest) to her murder by trace evidence he couldnt discard. Also if he got of easy on a previous assault/rape and he re offended that would mean he is foolish and impulsive and makes him obviously visible as a hateful being agressive even. Hobbies: guns, fighting, more guns, violence etc so obviously within the target sights of LE.
Still the killer could be from a circle involved in security or ‘ trusted services’ around JPJ that specific night.
Is that it then? military or security or police or a gangmember? The first groups woul be able to ‘ organize’ evidence and hide it , the second would be more likely to random kill without any thought like piranhas.
Its hard to imagine such a concert as a fun or ‘ cool ‘ event when it was the place where warlike acts were commited from the point of abandoning a friend to refusing a disoriented girl re entry up to refusing to give a ride to safety and eventually murder and rape.
I am sorry but I can t describe it with more sympathy for the people that night, the words of others tried to be balming but explain that to the Harringtons. No the world was cruel that night and no amount of poetry can hide that. In fact all those ‘ jurisdiction’ words only helped hide the killer. I better stop writing my thoughts on this but I hope the truth comes out it will take someone local and someone powerful.
They do not have his DNA, they do have prints, and outside DNA I don’t know what trace evidence there is.
This suspect knows how to disable his victim from behind causing immediate loss of conciousness, yes, that is military, LE, security 101 training
B
Another set of parents who are trying to alert students to consider their own (and their friends’) personal safety.
Sadly, their petite daughter is still missing. The “friends” who say her last clammed up and hired attorneys. Sigh.
http://www.wsbt.com/news/wxin-lauren-spierer-family-letter-safe-lauren-spierers-family-releases-letter-urging-students-to-be-safe-20110830,0,4309850.column
That case breaks my heart, unfortunately, this is a situation where LE knows exactly who is responsible for her disappearance, and imo, this young lady is going to be very difficult to find. Cruel.
B
What is worrying is that the VSP are in charge of the investigation. Changing the Albemarle County Sheriff will not be of much help if local organizations or persons have compromised the VSP and are causing them to back off the investigation.
What is equally disturbing is the lack of progress on the Childs/Metzler shootings. Since Heidi Childs was the daughter of a VSP detective you would think every possible effort would be made – yet the engagement of the public by LE is as dismal as Morgan’s case.
The sheriff did change last year, iirc. It should be noted that one of the detectives in this case, Dino Cappuzzo, before he was a detective and on patrol, had the AC beat.
B
“The sheriff did change last year, iirc. It should be noted that one of the detectives in this case, Dino Cappuzzo, before he was a detective and on patrol, had the AC beat.
B”
That IS disturbing and a potentially serious conflict of interest. No way he should be leading this investigation.
Blink says:
The sheriff did change last year, iirc. It should be noted that one of the detectives in this case, Dino Cappuzzo, before he was a detective and on patrol, had the AC beat.
B
______________________________
unbelievable. and unacceptable. i knew he “worked” the Eppard investigation, but this is just the icing on the cake.
i’m thinking of changing my handle to deetee deetee b/c i repeat myself so often around here:
this investigation needs to be investigated.
if there is any dereliction of duty, and i believe there may be, i hope the responsible parties can and will be held accountable.
Okay we seem to be at a real lull, so I’m gonna just throw out some random thoughts – permission to speak freely, etc, etc.
1. Where is the necklace? The police seemed to know it was missing before it was “missing”, i.e. not with the body. How did they know it was missing? IMO, there exist at least 2 pictures of Morgan from 10/17/2009: one with the necklace and one without. Based on an often repeated factoid regarding Dr. Harrington’s answer on another forum about ATM card use, I believe the picture without the necklace could have been at a nearby bank. I think it is entirely possible this crime began as a robbery and Morgan may have been forced to attempt to withdraw funds.
2. The shirt was a huge deal. There were early rumors but absolutely no official confirmation for a long time that the shirt was actually Morgan’s. When it was first reported that the day after Morgan’s body was found there was a contingent of law enforcement at that apartment complex there was great disbelief on this forum. Even the esteemed Observer was absolutely certain that this could not have been Morgan’s shirt and these were not representative of law enforcement techniques. Hopefully most of you remember all the forums (websleuths, BOC and findmorgan.com) going down around the same time and the rumor was that it had to do with the shirt. This is just a random theory with no basis in fact, but a poster here (John I think) said something about the basketball players ‘teasing’ Morgan and throwing her shirt around. I think it’s entirely possible that Morgan had bought another shirt and had it on and the players were having what they considered fairly harmless fun with a drunk girl. Then they find out the shirt they have is of a girl who ended up abducted and are scared s*#less. Hence, the shirt dump. Mr. Bass said something about black clothing, but that could have been just the skirt, or it could have been a black tarp, or it could have been the Metallica shirt she bought (speculating). It’s absolutely certain it was not the Pantera T-shirt that did/did not have faces (I can’t remember), that everyone was absolutely certain was not Morgan’s.
3. No photographic/videographic confirmation of Morgan’s existence in Charlottesville, VA on the evening of 10/17/2009. Remember this was the basis for a lot of people’s belief that Morgan never even made it to Charlottesville that night. I find it not only impossible to believe, but laughable.
4. Remember, just random thoughts, don’t judge: The purse was found by the lacrosse player. The phone was found later by a member of the UVaPD after it was determined Morgan was missing. The two items were apparently not close to each other. Why?
5. If one believes the official police timeline and what has been presented to the public thus far, either the basketball players are mistaken about times or the father/daughter duo are. Not necessarily any malicious intent. The dorm card swipe is pretty solid IMO. But you would also have to believe LE has verified through phone records the players’ times leaving the area. The confusion helps the players out because by leaving earlier they are less likely to be involved, since Morgan was seen according to LE around 9:30 on the bridge and just beyond, and her phone went dead at 9:30 (has this been formally verified?).
6. According to Skyler, there were numerous people in an adjacent parking lot to the arena working to make sure there were no unauthorized people parking there. A woman came to her car wearing khaki pants and a dark jacket, and with a walkie-talkie, but Skyler informed her she was just letting her boys off. For what company or agency did this woman and the other parking lot attendants work?
7. Speaking of Skyler, what was the rift that caused the split from BOC along with Observer and Suz? IMO it had to do with the secret facebook group that I inquired about but never joined. I don’t expect an answer here but I absolutely had to ask.
8. And since I’m feeling pretty froggy right now, I’ll ask this just to see what happens: What did the basketball players *say* that Morgan *said*? For God’s sake after 2 years certainly we can be let in on that little, pretty crucial really, piece of information.
These are just some of the things I sometimes ponder when I go to bed at night.
Here are a few more:
This is the first time I’ve ever followed a case so closely from beginning to end so I don’t know the norms. I question whether some posts attributed to “psychics” might actually be from people involved. For instance, I remember going back and reading an early post from someone (or maybe somebody brought the post forward) that stated something to the effect of “please search in a storage building in the North Garden area – I have reached this conclusion through ‘dowsing’”. And another one: “the numbers *7* and *30* are prominent and a restaurant with *hut* in the name”. We know now that Anchorage Farm is roughly 7 miles from Charlottesville, yet these posts were way before Morgan’s body was found. I know, I know, I need to post a link. I will attempt to, but I wanted to get this down before I go back and try to find all that. Hopefully somebody else will remember it too. Just to throw out this completely random thought, but isn’t there a Pizza Hut very close to the Copeley/Ivy intersection? I agree these could be absolutely ridiculous thoughts, but we really have nothing else to discuss right now do we?
These are just some things I think about sometimes. I can’t believe it’s been almost two years.
Mary- are you suggesting you have seen a picture of Morgan wearing that necklace?
No, I will tell you flat out it was over the FB. There were folks on there playing detective and creating fake profiles to approach witnesses in this case, and it was not just them. This case file is wrought with individuals who have VERIFIED previous and current hospitalizations, and one person, who one of the FM administrators ALSO spent hours corresponding with, committed suicide. These are untrained people contacting strangers and jeopardizing a criminal case and they were not thrilled with me putting a stop to it.
Some of these idiots, harrassed the Harrington’s, putting it mildly.
I have never, will never, would never, and would fire anyone that ever presented themselves fraudulently.
This is no game, and I will never have people potentially obstructing an investigation and putting themselves in jeopardy because of their real or perceived interjections in a case, and some of it was done fraudulently- I approached Skyler when I was alerted to this by the VSP, and that they had a mole, well, a few. The rest is history, to the extent I am going to discuss it publicly.
Honestly at this juncture, that mess is not even worthy of discussion and is my final say on the matter.
It alienated some of the best critical thinkers on the case because of the drama, sad.
B
Mary – thanks for laying some of your thoughts out there. The focus on the necklace has always puzzled me and your analysis/hypothesis could be correct. Maybe there is more to it than just Morgan had on this distictive necklace. I need to ponder this for a spell.
The t-shirt: between the handling of the shirt find and its disclosure and the release of sketch, I’m not sure which is more perplexing. I think that LE really botched the shirt find and the subsequent investigation….sigh.
Sketch: if Miss B can’t figure out the problem with its release, than I’m not sure any of us can….it is puzzling to say the least.
Blink – thanks for shedding some light on the mess that involved some of the former posters. Sad and troubling.
wondering what my part of the quilt will look like….2 4 1.
My instincts tell me there is an issue with the sketch, but I feel expanding on that will give a good defense attorney a strategy should an arrest be made, so ..
B
Thank you Blink for answering the question about the facebook group. I know I’ve given you a few gray hairs over these past 2 years with some of the faux pas I’ve made being a newbie. No, I haven’t seen a picture of Morgan wearing the necklace. That’s just me speculating on how and why it became an issue when it did. BTW, I like the quilt squares.
Thank you Blink for the clarification. Also, thanks for the link…which contains the pictures I was referring to.
Yes Hummingbird, the picture of him in the car….and the pictures of the cars themselves. Pictures #11 #14 and ESPECIALLY #106….as I said chills down my spine.
He does look so much like Sketch….so much in fact it’s just plain eerie.
More random comments. I just can’t get over the location of the body and the tie in to the spot/road where AC LE had their liasons. This makes me think that LE may be involved. or perhaps the security firm – very close resemblance to sketch. I also thought of the lacrosse connection and the brutal murder of yeardley by george hugley. Also didn’t some of the bbplayers have to leave the university late in the fall semester. I wonder if they were ever questioned. I dont visit this site everyday but I think about Morgan alot and do worry about our safety here in the UVa community.
I have never been so emotionally attached to a person I didn’t know as with Morgan. I, too, think of her every day. I can’t explain other than to say, she could have been my daughter.
I want the person(s) responsible for this to be arrested. ASAP
I feel helpless to do anything about it. I want LE to do their good work and solve this crime.
I think deetee has the best idea: Investigate the investigation! And not only Morgan’s investigation but the Childs/Metzler case as well, and an investigation into the Colby shooting report.
The Colby shooting report is especially troubling as Cappuzzo is reported to have stated that Colby got out of the stolen police car with a hand gun and assumed a “shooter’s stance”. O.K., where is the video still showing the brain-damaged kid in the shooter’s stance? No one wants to see a kid (or anybody) gunned down on video tape, but I would like to see the still of Colby in the stance with a gun before he was cut down. I don’t think I will ever see it because I don’t think it exists.
Honestly, given the massive amount of evidence and leads in Morgan’s case it should have had a backboard-shattering slam dunk resolution about a week after they found Morgan. Instead……nothing, just a very few constipated carefully controlled meetings with the press.
George- it has been a while since I reviewed that report, but are you sure that report said Eppard brandished a handgun? I am fairly certain it was the troopers shotgun, found underneath him.
Again I say, someone want to tell me why there was no remarks about his cell phone or how he became left handed all of a sudden? Wait, I mean ambidextrious, apparently.
B