Two Years Cold-Morgan Harrington Murder: Two Women, Two Locations, Too Long
Girl In The Hayfield
Morgan Dana Harrington was the ingenue of artist and adjunct professor at Virginia Tech, Jane Lillian Vance.
She was scheduled to travel with her to Nepal in the Spring of 2010 while continuing to pursue her Education degree in her third year as a Hokie.
Morgan would not make that trip, and Vance would complete her latest work in her former students honor, last week.
With her Mother Gil’s help, albeit posthumously, Morgan is indeed educating children; the underprivileged children of Zambia. In April, 2010, Gil Harrington carried some of her beloved daughter’s ashes during the Orphan Medical Network International (OMNI) pilgrimage to Zambia. After raising donations for the Morgan Harrington Educational Wing, Morgan’s ashes were mixed with the concrete foundation of the school bearing her name.
At 5’6” , with breck-girl locks and eyes like briolette faceted tourmaline’s, Morgan was a stunning beauty.
Behind her neon smile was the burgeoning sophistication of a girl beyond her years and peers.
This gilded lily stood out.
On the grounds of the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia while attending a Metallica concert with her friends, unfortunately, she also caught the eye of a dangerous predator. The cost of admission to the events that followed, would be her life.
Devoid of her ticket to return inside the presumed safety of the venue and old friends, Morgan scored the unwilling and unalterable ticket to the cross-hairs of a Medium Build, 6’ African American sexual sadist who has likely spent the last four years honing his skills.
“Sketch” was interrupted by a passerby during a vicious beating and sexual assault in Fairfax on September 24, 2005. His DNA is linked to both victims.
Lights, Cameras, 400 Blue Phones
According to JPJ and UVA security guidelines, all hired security must be law enforcement.
In addition to the regularly scheduled patrol assignments of UVA PD, events such as the Metallica concert required additional security posts which were hired via a security request when the date was booked. Although additional UVA officers were working the night of October 17, there has never been a statement regarding any observations from that evening on their behalf by Melissa Fielding, Investigative Lieutenant.
However, in a private meeting that included UVA PD staff, shortly after Morgan’s disappearance, an attendee speaking to www.blinkoncrime.com on the condition of anonymity, told me he heard Fielding tell someone openly that Harrington’s car never left Harrisonburg, or JMU, and that it was a different friends car that was driven to the arena and hers had been accounted for.
In response to another UVA PD staffer loudly offering that he heard that Morgan was behaving “obnoxiously” during the trip to JPJ, which resulted in a tiff between the friends and the reason she ultimately left the concert, Fielding snapped “That was still no reason to leave her.”
When pressed as to why she thought they still believed Morgan’s car was not a factor when Lt Rader of the Virginia State Police (VSP) and Dr. Harrington, Morgan’s Father, both confirmed her car was the vehicle the foursome traveled in, she repeated that information was incorrect with no further explanation. While VSP was leading the investigation at this point, it certainly still begs the question as to why the original agency tasked with her disappearance, and still assisting, would have such important misinformation circulating in an active investigation and ongoing search.
According to the Office of the Executive Vice President of UVA, UVAPD security personnel are also responsible for surveillance on grounds. The central monitoring area, which is linked to the security cameras in several lots and public areas, is located in the central parking garage. There is no information available on the storage medium of recorded footage from the cameras, and requests for information were deferred to VSP.
The University of Virginia uses technology to improve security on Grounds. University Police install video cameras in several parking lots and public areas. Additional cameras may be installed in the future. Security cameras will be connected to a central control room operated by the Police Department in the new Central Grounds Parking Garage. The purpose for using the cameras is to reduce incidents of crime while limiting the need to expand the Police Department.
VSP is not discussing the specificity of what they have or do not have regarding footage supplied by JPJ/UVA.
With the exception of course that out of everything that has “been supplied to them”, there are no images of Morgan whatsoever.
Stationed inside the arena, is UVA PD security, non-police event security run by RMC Events, security staff employed directly by Metallica, UVA facilities management personnel, and contracted vendors to both JPJ and UVA. Firemarshall, zoning, and University guidelines also require EMT attendance.
Invisible As The Web In a Spiders Belly- Marge Piercy
Morgan asked her friend and roommate Amy Melvin to accompany her to the restroom at approximately 8:20PM.
Because of an earlier spat and lingering tension, Amy declined and Morgan left her seat alone.
Earlier, Morgan attempted to diffuse the matter upon entrance to John Paul Jones Arena in a conciliatory gesture, by purchasing a Metallica T-shirt for Amy. Amy reciprocated.
When Morgan climbed between the seats to make her way to the restroom, it was the last time Amy Melvin, Sarah Snead and Dan Cassagne would see their friend alive.
Morgan’s friends treating her like a vexatious afterthought did not aid the situation in the least.
A fellow Metallica fan sitting in the general area of Morgan and her friends, whose name is being intentionally withheld as a potential witness in this case, both observed and interacted with her until she left her seat; he assumed, for a drink.
He said during the Lamb of God set, Morgan changed her seat in the middle, and characterized her as very friendly, but “erratic” and repeatedly asked he and his companions for a sip of their non-alcoholic beverages.
In his opinion, Morgan exhibited signs of being under some sort of influence, was definitely overheated and parched.
A few minutes later, another witness claimed to be online with Morgan at the concession stand where she purchased a soda.
Shortly after this exchange, Morgan is seen dabbing a wound on her chin in the ladies room. Witnesses in a different area of seating believe they saw a woman matching Morgan’s description fall on the steps to the immediate right of their seats, and was not carrying a drink at the time.
After Amy and Sarah left their seats to look for Morgan when she failed to return, Sarah phoned Morgan on her cell at 8:48PM .
Morgan was clearly upset as she told Sarah she was refused any option of re-entry by security, but did not reveal why she went outside the arena in the first place.
This account conflicts with that provided by lead investigator, Agent Dino Cappuzzo, of the Virginia State Police, who commented during last years walk through on Anchorage Farm that a ticket-taker informed Morgan she would need to repurchase a ticket in order to return to the concert after she indicated that her ticket was “in pieces at the bottom of her purse.”
Morgan had the means to purchase another ticket. What she did not have, was her red digital Kodak camera she was digging for when she first exited the arena, and not a shred of her Metallica ticket has ever been found.
Concession Confessions- The Deadly Kind
Think a concession connection is far-fetched? Tell that to Inna Budnytska.
Michael Lee Jones, former concession employee for Centerplate and then Ovations, used his position as a traveling contract food service employee to prey on his victims. Mr. Jones worked at a ball field in Norfolk, VA for 12 years.
While it is assumed any other reported assaults with a DNA sample he was involved with would come to light, 84% of stranger rapes go unreported statistically speaking, there are likely unreported assaults.
Jones has no known direct connection to Morgan’s case, but the parallel of access to grounds in some of his crimes and therefore victims at the venue he was working, is investigative 101.
Without the tenacity of retired Long Island cop turned- investigator Ken Brennan, and the equal ability to be open to civilian assistance by Miami Detective Allen Foote, Jones would be free right now.
Mike Jones would not have been caught in this case, or the other cases, and would likely have raped and assaulted other victims.
Unlike Inna’s case, without the benefit of video in Morgan Harrington’s disappearance, witness accounts of her time and movement throughout the JPJ arena and subsequent grounds make witness interviews invaluable.
It is abundantly clear that VSP, profiling experts and analysis of the topography of the700 acre Anchorage Farm indicate whoever is responsible for placing Morgan there, was intimately familiar with the property.
In fact, Lt. Joseph Rader, believes her recovery location as chosen by her killer, is the “most important aspect of this investigation… People of North Garden, this will mean something to you.” ”
People in the Anchorage Farm area, you know what goes on there, you know the history,” said Rader. “You know who comes in and out of the vicinity and you might not realize it but you probably have some information for us that you don’t even think is important.”
In an earlier article, published shortly after Harrington’s remains were found, we reported the most recent activity of the land and it’s owners David and Nancy Bass. During the time of Morgan’s disappearance, the farm house, or the home on the Va historical register occupied at the time by the Bass’s daughter Jenny, was undergoing renovations to its hvac.
A carpenter working for Mr. Bass during the Summer of 2009 recalled stopping a black male driving a black jeep on the back of the Bass property and was told he was David Bass’s brother.
While the farm’s renovations, rezoning and subsequent withdrawal from a previous taxation commitment was compelling reading, it did not produce any leads and The Bass family did not recognize the image of sketch when shown in July 2010. Perhaps the historic property needed more history.
Time For Loud- Not Enshroud
If Anchorage Farm holds the key to revealing Morgan’s killer or killers, what other secrets does it hold?
Plenty, and they lead right back to a time in Virginia history that rips the scab off of a fairly fresh wound for many generations, and back to The University of Virginia.
In the 1740’s, Albemarle county, which was formed from Goochland and Louisa counties, was a vast frontier largely owned by Peter Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s father, and Col. Charles Lewis, brother of Robert, grandfather of Meriwether Lewis.
Courtesy of Legends Of Lewis
The men opened two plantations near each other, and produced three generations of one or more first cousin marriages between the two families.
Both families amassed great wealth over the years through slaves and land, but as the eighteenth century drew to a close, through a series of farming failures and poor plantation oversight, the Lewis family fell on extremely hard times.
Charles Lewis sold everything he had with the exception of the North Garden property which he gave to sons Randolph, Lilburne and Isham.
The Lewis plantation later named Anchorage Farm by the White family, would remain with Lewis family members through 1846.
In 1808, with looming debt, resentful neighbors and and little cash to parleigh into prospects, Lilburne and Randolph decided to immigrate to Kentucky, the popular new destination for those in crisis, leaving Isham, and a few aunts to toil what is now known as Anchorage Farm.
With remaining slaves in tow, the Lewis family traveled by barge to their new home “ Rocky Hill”.
Three family members would die in the first eighteen months, and the worst was yet to come.
In the Fall of 1808, Isham Lewis traveled to Rocky Hill to pay his respects to his recently deceased older brother Randolf, announcing his plans for an indefinite stay.
Isham was widely known for his less than gentlemanly status and his reunion with brother Lilburne, who by this time had spiraled into a deep depression treated with ardent spirits.
Thomas Jefferson’s nephews Isham and Lilburne forged the unholy alliance that would eliminate the possibility of a Lewis dynasty in Kentucky, forever.
The fuse igniting the transformation of Rocky Hill to Rocky Horror was lit.
A teenage slave named George, who traveled with the Lewis family from Albemarle three years earlier, ran off for a few days in December allegedly due to Lilburne’s treatment of him.
Fueling the alcoholism and depression, Lilburne’s new wife Letitia Griffin Lewis was pregnant with James Griffin Lewis, the couple’s first child together.
On December 15, 1811 George was asked by Lilburne to fetch a pitcher of water believed to belong to his beloved Mother Lucy. He broke it and returned to the plantation, met by the homicidal rage of the Lewis brothers while all the slaves were made to bear witness, lest they had any ideas such behaviors would be tolerated.
Lilburne and Isham drug young George to the main house, gathered all the slaves to watch, and Lilburne buried an axe in George’s neck to the horror of all.
He ordered another slave to dismember him and threatened all that If anyone had any similar notions to his, they would receive a duplicate fate.
Fate, in fact, would make an appearance shortly in the form of an earthquake, which made George’s remains accessible to the family dog, ultimately discovered by a neighbor and reported to police.
Isham and Lilburne were indicted and freed on bond. The brothers formed a suicide pact and headed for the Rocky Hill cemetery where Lilburne ended up shooting himself in the chest while showing Isham how to release the flint lock.
Isham fled only to be captured a few days later and jailed for assisting in his brothers suicide.
Letitia, now a widow, fled Kentucky in fear with her newborn son.
Mysteriously, Isham garnered his freedom anyway, through an assisted jail-break.
He disappeared, was believed to live under an alias, marry and was allegedly killed in the battle of New Orleans in 1815.
His remains were never positively identified.
Brother to Dragons, indeed.
In his eventual biography of Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson eluded to the explorer and Governor of Louisiana’s familial afflictions with mental illness following his suicide. A memoir of an escaped slave, written by Francis Frederick, is believed to depict the treatment of the slaves owned by Thomas Jefferson Randolph, with whom Thomas Jefferson and family resided and attended the adjacent school as a child.
In this period, Virginia was the largest destination for slaves from the Bight of Biafra on the West side of the African coast, and the natives spoke patois.
The extended Lewis family owned plantations on Buck Island, Red Hill Depot, and Monteagle, which is believed to be the former name of the Lewis Plantation.
Committed at a time and place where it was illegal to murder a slave, George’s story is definitely an anomaly due to the horrific murder becoming known publicly.
Thomas Jefferson is believed to have owned about 200 slaves; a combination of in inheritance from his Father Peter, his wife’s very prominent family the Rudolphs, and through sale.
His father Peter and he were also very close to the William Cabell family of Tuckahoe, one of the largest slave owners in Albemarle, and relatives of Samuel Cabell, murdered for “taking up” with a former slave and living openly with her and their children.
Could the current Albemarle descendants from either side of the family tree shed any light on family legends that might lead sketch to dump Morgan Harrington’s remains on the former Lewis plantation? Have they even been asked?
There is no shortage of information today about slave masters and plantation owners producing offspring of mixed race.
In the case of Morgan Harrington’s murder, there is a forensic DNA link to an African American male, also linked to a brutal rape and assault years earlier, who by VSP’s own confirmation, possesses the navigational prowess of an individual who was comfortable traversing an area of the farm unreachable by vehicle as much as 1000 feet away, in the dark. He is local, period.
Is the paradox of Morgan’s recovery in the hollows of a historic slave plantation while her legacy enriches the lives of African children that will gain educational opportunities previously not possible, in her honor, be enough to stimulate the concscious of someone who has the answers?
To be continued: Morgan Harrington Murder Part II: Two Years Cold- Two Women, Two Locations, Too Long.
*Investigative Analysis of Morgan’s last known activity in the lot of JPJ and Copely Bridge
*Independent investigation of adherence to UVA/JPJ background policy for employees and contractors
*Investigative Analysis of new evidence
Contributing Editors: Jason Mateos, Jacqueline Beaufort, Madeline Tanner, Klaasend
Image Credits: Harrington Family, As Credited.
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Re Judis earlier post of Dec 10th. Brilliant post Judi, have to repost it as somehow I missed it until today ten days later, somehow it slipped through the cracks. To me it says how I have been feeling about this epidemic of violence. It is just keeps getting worse. Everyday there is another baby killed, ripped out of it mothers stomach, husbands killing wives and children, mothers killing their children and themselves, random shootings. It is horrific . Thank God for Blink who is true victims advocate and for people like the Harringtons’ who have stepped up to save the next girl.
Thank you Judi I could not have said it better myself.
Judi says:
December 10, 2011 at 6:19 am
As we all Christmas shop for our loved ones and prepare for holiday festivities, laughing and spending time with the people we cherish, I can’t help but think about those who have lost someone to violence. The holidays just makes the void and the pain that much more prominent. When does it end? It doesn’t. It’s not getting any better, it’s getting worse. Violent crimes are getting more and more frequent. There’s no end in sight to it. Sometimes justice is served, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes there’s closure for the families, sometimes there’s not. The suffering never goes away, the void never goes away. Yet, the people who have caused it, who thought they had the right to take someone else’s life, are probably out having grand old time. I pray for the families of the victims. May the Lord give them the strength they need to make it thru.
followed by a “Hispanic looking male” …. then we have sketch dna.
hmm
diana h. says:
December 19, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Questioner…
The limo driver said that after the BBPs left the parking lot, Morgan walked toward the Copely Rd bridge and that she was followed by a “hispanic looking” male as she left the lot going toward the bridge.
This is all according to the limo driver’s employer. I don’t think we’ve ever seen the words of the limo driver himself in print anywhere. I believe that VSP has interviewed the limo driver though.
diana h.
———————–
I remember this and thank you for reminding me because I attempt to keep everything locked up inside my memory, and it doesn’t always work lol.
Now, why does the limo drivers account of when he saw Morgan interacting with the BBPlayers and them driving away and her immediately going to the bridge, not also include her stop at the portapotties? AND if he was close enough to see a male hispanic walking behind Morgan then he HAD to be close enough to see her go to the portapotties. It was dark and he could clearly see a “Hispanic”? Makes me wonder, honestly it does.
So sad — it was a charlottesville family that was killed today in the airplane crash in New Jersey. Just before Christmas too.
Adding a few more things, one, is if the limo driver was still there and saw Morgan going onto the bridge, why didn’t he also see her drop her purse and leave it? Did she go onto the bridge twice? What time did the limo driver leave the area?
Sadly, another young lady missing from plain site on a college campus – I am sure you all have heard the news about missing 19 year old Aisha Khan. She called and texted family members that some drunk/high guy was harrassing her and she slapped him. Her sister drove to where she said she was and found only her books and cell phone. I pray she is found, and found alive.
I’ve been thinking about what we as a society are going to do about this. It is unrealistic to think we are going to catch them all and put them behind bars forever. Police don’t even catch a fraction of them and when they do, they often get released back into society sooner or later, only to offend again. This drives me nuts because they are not curable and they should never be released back into society. Anways….
The only way to combat this is to arm our children with knowledge, alertness, self defense, and additional security and security cameras at our schools and college campuses.
I think there should be working security cameras at all colleges that at least have all of the parking lots, buildings entrances, and all social areas on camera. A predator probably views a college campus similar to how a little kid sees a candy store. There are just too many young, vulnerable women around a college campus.
Every high school should make it mandatory for girls to take a self defense and awareness class. They need to know how to recognize danger and they need to know how to take your thumb and yank someone’s eye balls out if that is what it takes to save their life.
I think all females should carry keychain mace. They even sell ones that dye the offender with a dye they can’t wash off so police can identify them.
I try to spread word of the emergency panic button app to all my kids’ female friends. I think it is a potentially life saving app.
Speaking of my kids, I have two sons who are both adults now, one staying on a college campus. We put them in boxing school when they were younger and both particpated in different sports. We taught them to never start anything with anyone but always defend yourself. I tell them about things I see in the news and cases I follow. I tell them about how to be alert, travel in groups, etc. We speak to our kids about where danger can lurk, which is pretty much anywhere. We have tried to arm them with knowledge and know how best we can.
The Limo drivers account -the father/daughter account -the BBP accounts- the door attendents accounts, kickees account, the bookkeppers accounts, the curtsy duos account- the independant accounts- ect all Of it it only bolsters the fact that the timeline does not fit the timeline- it doesnt- it can not-
Morgan can not have been with the BBP and not with them,,, the limo driver could not have seen what he saw and have there been enough time for kickee to witness what he witnessed and for the bookkeeper to see Morgan in the lot with the same group of 4- and then account for the convergence of the other players later, after the book-keeper departs from the scene- nor could the BBP have left by 9:20 simultaneously at the same time curtsy duo sees Morgan near the porta potties and NOT on the bridge- and yet still at the same time that the father/daughter were said to have encountered Morgan on the bridge…
The Father upon return, did not see Morgan on the bridge- where was limo driver- was he waiting for a BBP? Why didnt he see Morgan leave her bag and cell phone? why didnt he see Morgan curtsy or at least the approuch of the curtsy duo??-
It has been said that all witnesses had left the lots by 9:20- yet their timelines can not back this up- it seems they overlap- and IF they overlap- then perhaps Morgan didnt disappear at that time from that bridge…perhaps she ventured back onto the lots- or to the FOAN lot- later to return to the area- and was accosted then… thereby accounting for her cell phone, the umbrella, and her purse in the lot-
I do not know-
But taking everyones statements into account- it is clear that the timeline does not fit the timeline…
Blink I am eagerly awaiting a new piece that will contain your thoughts on the bridge and the tracks ect-
Perhaps it can help to shed some light on what may have happened.
Keep up all the good work guys-
Wishing you all Peace & Happy Holidays as well as a very healthy and Happy New Year-
To The Harringtons- my condolences, & continued prayers for Peace and justice. …and to Aisha Khan and her family and friends – I pray she is soon Home- safe and sound.
AJMO
Blessed holidays for everyone. May we all find some comfort when there is suffering.
Thank God for the ones that care, that still reach out and help and still can look with gentle eyes in a dark world.
Mom3.0 says:
December 21, 2011 at 11:56 pm
…But taking everyones statements into account- it is clear that the timeline does not fit the timeline…
__________________________
nice to see you Mom3.0. your ability to see the big picture with all the details intact is exceptional and has always been very helpful to me, as that can be a struggle for me in this case at times.
not only does the timeline not match the timeline, someone or many someones had to see sketch given any of the timelines we have been offered to choose from.
so i am still left wondering about the sketch. same old questions, why wasn’t it used by LE as a tool and shown to some of the last known witnesses to see Morgan (and is that still true)? if LE felt there was a problem with the sketch, why not bring that to the attention of the public?
given all the evidence we know about in this case, and there is a shit ton of it (pardon my french) that sketch should be the brightest spot and best shot at solving this case. a picture of what one of the perps looked like 4 years prior fell into their laps. even if the perp has changed his appearance or the accuracy of the sketch is off, it is solid gold imo b/c you have something that demands the public’s attention and you can use it as the basis for developing a suspect for all to see.
sadly, the only way i can describe how LE used this gift is that they buried it. why? after 2 years, they clearly are not protecting the integrity of the case.
i personally believe more than a few in LE know who committed this crime. i also seriously doubt that concern over the case being successfully prosecutable is an obstacle.
the only logical conclusion i can come up with at this point is that sketch knows something. something that is preventing LE from taking him down. he has people on the inside scared. i think placing Morgan on AF may have been his insurance policy.
i’ve said it before and i will continue to say it until it happens: this investigation needs an investigation. why not start with LE suicides, surprising retirements and firings, they are red flags. there is a thin blue line at work. someone can be a hero and come clean. 2012 is a brand new year.
season’s greetings blinkers! keep up the great work.
dt
mom3.0, there are issues with the timeline from the info we have been given (primarily the phone though no one has described what it really means for a phone to power down or what would cause it), but you exaggerate it by misstating some of that info.
For one, we don’t have any limo driver statement from the police. What we do have from the hook and an internet posting though does not indicate he saw her in the RV lot at all. He allegedly saw her walking through the arena lot with some of the players. This is consistent with the info we have been given. I don’t think he was near that lot so would not have seen her leaving the lot or any of the curtsy interaction (at the back of the lot). He won’t have been waiting to give a player a ride (they are really just college kids). Both the limo driver and kickee accounts were well before she got to the lot and don’t negatively impact the timeline at all.
There is no indication that the other players converged in the lot after the bookkeeper saw her with the 4 players around a car. They easily could have been around or getting in their own cars at the time. It appears the last player was out of the lot by “about” or “around” (can’t remember the word used) 9:20 but she could easily have been near the port-a-potties at the back of the lot having the interaction with the two curtsy witnesses at that time. Witness accounts can (and should in the real world) overlap without being wrong.
It is definitely possible she came back to or towards the lot after the father/daughter saw her hitchhiking on the bridge. We don’t know when the other two independent witnesses saw her hitchhiking on the bridge and I would guess the police can’t pin that down to an exact time either or they would have reported that in the walkthrough. She could have got in a car before the dad came back 10 or so minutes later or she may have been attacked and taken or may have walked somewhere else (including back to the lot).
Hello dee tee-
Nice to see you too-
Dee Tee- I do not know why LE wanted to keep the sketch out of the limelight-
*If* the DNA was found on the shirt only, and not on Morgan herself- then I can understand LEs initial reluctance to release the Sketch…
I keep thinking about Rader and Cappuzzo words during The Disappeared show- -(pp) Sketch encountered Morgan in Charlottesville– is this wording specific because the “tie-in” they have to Sketch is only on the shirt?
IDK- it is not clear to me now if there was forensic evidence at the farm or on the remains…
Blink or anyone can you clear this up? Is there evidence with Morgan that connects her and the Farm to Sketch?
Regardless of whether or not this was LE’s reasoning for not wanting to release the Sketch, it seems even if they can not contact him to the Farm and directly to Morgan- releasing the Sketch could have helped to bring him in for questioning- as if his DNA was found only the shirt which was displayed on a bush- it seems they would be looking to apprehend a known brutal rapist- who had some type of contact that seemed to end with Him being in control of a missing/deceased girls clothing-
I remember in one of the first press conferences Rader made reference to having some “physical” evidence- ie blood or other- after it became known that Morgans shirt had been found- I often wondered if this meant her shirt had the perps blood on it- or possibly hers….
The handling of the Sketch release and the seeming “downplay” of his involvement afterward has me perplexed too- and all I can do is speculate and ponder which after 2 years amounts to nothing more than hotair-
Still I try- it seems to me that an important piece of the puzzle seems to be missing and for the life of me I can not understand why LE seems to be content to let whole sections of Morgans timeline or possible evidence be placed into the not so important category
For instance:
First we heard that Morgans time inside the arena was not important- with out a definite timeline without a definite perp- How could they say this? For all they know Morgan was targeted inside the arena and clandestinely followed throughout the lots-
We were told the purse and the phone were not that important- that there were no signs of foul play-
A young womans purse- her ids -her lifeline were found strewn throughout the lot- How is that not a sign of foul play?
Especially when you take into account that Morgans phone was sans battery …
Especially when the phone powered down at 9:30- long after Morgan was supposedly on the bridge and gone- How can it not point toward foul play when she wasnt in the area to drop hr purse and lose the battery?
We were told that the shirt was not Morgans- Gellar said as much to Blink- I understand the need to keep information close to the vest- and I understand LE lies sometimes inorder to progress a case- but What did this lie accomplish?
Especially since the shirt find was so poorly handled and it was obvious to anyone around that area that LE or whomever recovered the shirt felt they KNEW it was Morgans and their questioning of the residents only underscored this knowledge…
With the Colby scandal- and AF being known as the boom boom place for LEO …. could LE be working in a constant state of protection mode?
Perhaps the problem is everyone has been in protection mode-
It is only natural to want to protect you and yours- it is so often times needed- and it should be encouraged
My only concern is that everyone being on red-alert/in full protection mode… could have inadvertently or not compromised the investigation or the case as people in protection mode are guarded and not necessarily completely forthcoming which can prove detrimental to certain aspects of a case.
I mean if someone is weary and mindful if they are in protection mode will they be willing to ask/answer every question and investigate every avenue- or will they hold back in certain instances because they are trying to protect?
I dont know…
AJMO
Hello Redly-
Nice to see you here and still so willing to set me straight- LOL
Thank you sincerely.
Before I start I want to make clear that I dont know what happened- you could be right therefore my thoughts could be wrong- we just cant know but we can help eachother to walk thru what we do know or what we think we know- perhaps we will figure it out together
I dont think I am exaggerating – and if I did mistate something- that was not my intention- perhaps where you see a misstatement I am simply pointing out that there a few known facts- and most is open to speculation and interpretation
A missing girls cell phone was found- sans battery but IIRC the cover was intact or lying nearby- The phone powered off after it is said ALL witnesses were gone- after it is said Morgan was on the bridge and gone-
How can LE assume that this is just simply a case of Morgan leaving behind her cell phone How can they report so soon after her disappearance that her phone and her belongings do not point to foul play?
How can they report almost immediately that Morgan was HH & left from the bridge when noone was there to witness this?.. especially when her phone sans battery and her ids and her purse were IN the Lot?
Redly again- I do not know what happened- it is possible that LE has it right- but it is also possible that a different scenario took place- Morgan may have returned to the lot after the F/D sighting she may have went to FOAN- She may have went back to the Potties- any girl knows when nature calls it calls loudly…
WE dont know..
Morgan may have innocently left her belongings behind before HH on the bridge- and IF she did then it seems someone had to have come along and removed the battery from her phone- perhaps it was just an innocent bystander- perhaps they took the battery because they needed it IDK- BUT- at 9:30 the phone was nada- and if this is true then it seeems someone was in the area- someone who-if the F/D are correct that Morgan was facing them – then this innocent bystander would likely have viewed cars coming into the lot- perhaps they watched Morgan enter a vehicle or perhaps they saw her talking to someone-
The truth is Redly that we do not know what happened and its also the truth that LE doesnt know what happened either- and the complete truth is that in the beginning, they had NO Clue as to what happened or where or why-
So , why did they report so much as fact- even before they knew it to be fact?
Youre right we dont have the limo drivers statement/S to police- but much like MV and Leslie and the bookkeeper and kickee and the ticket takers ect- we know what was said- I agree we may not know everything but anyone reading and researching can piece together the timeline- the non-existent timeline- which Rader himself alluded to when he said we have no timeline…
The timeline we do have Redly does not and can not be THE timeline- although I agree kickees account does not need to effect the limoD account- it does however effect the ticket takers accounts and all the other door accounts- it may also effect the friends phone call account- which we know happened at 8:48 as Morgan said she couldnt re-enter…it also effects polices assertions that Morgan tried multiple times to re-enter
Kickee stated that he heard a commotion at the front door and he said this was Morgan being denied re-entery- if this was her denial- which TT said she was warned and immediately wanted back in after rummaging thru her purse and she stated her ticket was torn…then how could Morgan have spoke with her friends at 8:48 as kickee says his encounter was moments after the commotion at 9:00 and bookkeepers encounters were at 9:05 and subsequently at 9:18 IIRC…
The 4 BBP were seen walking in front of a car with Morgan playfully shaking her leg and all were laughing seeming to collaborate kickees encounter- the other BBP came from the front- How can bookkeeper have seen the SAME 4 players with Morgan in the lots and state they were ALONE and seemingly getting ready to party and the Limo driver state that he saw Morgan but made no mention of the players and state that she was moving toward the bridge? and being followed by a “Hispanic” looking man?
When did the convergence of BBP happen, when did the denial of a ride happen…when did the multiple attempts at reentry at differnt doors happen? when did all the offers of tickets and sightings of morgan happen from other witnesses? Why the whole with not with? Because of Morgans behaviors, she seemed to be with them up until then right??
When did all leave by 9:20 as police said ALL witnesses were gone from the lots by 9:20- when did curtsy duo encounter occur and how can it ALL have occurred WITH Morgan being on the bridge at 9:20 inorder for F/D to encounter her in enough time to account for the 9:23 door clock-in? and still we have the phone at 9:30?
Redly -JFTR the bookkeeper specifically said Morgan and the 4 were alone in the lot there was never any mention of others getting into their cars and Morgan seemed happy and wanting to party…why would she have been happy and chummy if she had just been told by all the BBP that she wasnt getting a ride with them? Why would the bookkeeper state that THEY seemed to be partying – not they seemed to be giving Morgan the brush off- it seems to me through common sense that Bookkeeper saw the 4 players and Morgan waiting on the others to converge- not anything less or more than that- at that moment Morgan STILL thought she was safe and getting a ride to her destination she still thought the BBP were going to help her- and it seems to me the 4 thought so too- until the convergence and Morgans behaviors scared the others and them away- all before 9:20
I know I cant account for the discrepancies in the timeline Redly but it seems to me, LE cant either- and yet they seem content to leave it as it is -even though most of these encounters couldnt have happened without these witnesses seeing oneanother and being able to formulate a much more conducive timeline….IMO
I agree that their needs to be overlap such as with kickee and the TT and with Kickee and the BK and with bookkeeper and the players- BUT the accounts that should overlap dont- such as the limo driver and the BBP and the walking with not with- and the convergence and the leaving and curtsy duo and the F/d- and the players leaving… curtsy duo said Morgan was alone- no one around they didnt say she was alone yet cars were rapidly exiting all around her…
F/d and the other 2 independent bridge witnesses- it is said that by the time Father returned to the bridge Morgan was gone- disappeared- this was by 9:36 IIRC so we can deduce that the other 2 independent witnesses encountered Morgan on the bridge either before the second passby OR at the same time as the firstpass- it could be that they were following behind and crossed the bridge shortly after F/D… police say none saw Morgan enter any vehicles nor did they see her conversing with anyone- therefore they can not be sure what time she disappeared- or from where… perhaps in the rain Father just missed seeing her- perhaps she changed sides- who knows?
Thanks for your willingness to rethink and rehash Redly- I hope my thoughts help to progress the conversation.
AJMO
Peace and Happy Holidays
http://news.yahoo.com/missing-kansas-student-aisha-khan-found-reunited-family-121242371.html
Aisha has been found alive and safe-
It seems she just walked away not telling her husband or family of her plans..
I am happy she is safe.
But at times like these it makes it easier for me to understand why LE in Morgans case may have been reluctant to say foul play was involved…
LEO sure do have tough jobs.
However- I do think nomatter what LE should always go forward under the assumption that foul play may be involved as wasting time and confirming it later may be the difference between life and death.
AJMO
Judi
I agre with your last post about training young people, beginning in late middle school or early high school, to protect themselves from a society that has become crude and dangerous.
I even suggested to Blink that she write a book covering the areas of concern. I have made an outline for such a book. If written,this is going to be a large book for there is so much for young people to learn about the dangers present and steps to be taken in order to keep them safe.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
“How can LE assume that this is just simply a case of Morgan leaving behind her cell phone How can they report so soon after her disappearance that her phone and her belongings do not point to foul play?”
– They didn’t assume this. They treated the case as a missing persons/possible abduction almost immediately. However, you have to understand how police talk. They said there was no sign of a struggle. Finding the phone and belongings do not point to foul play or a struggle. They also don’t point away from it. Evidence such as blood would have pointed to foul play.
“How can they report almost immediately that Morgan was HH & left from the bridge when noone was there to witness this?.. especially when her phone sans battery and her ids and her purse were IN the Lot?”
— I don’t think they did (though they did eventually have multiple witnesses to the hitchhiking)..
“So , why did they report so much as fact- even before they knew it to be fact?”
– I don’t think they did.
“The timeline we do have Redly does not and can not be THE timeline.”
– The parts of the most recent timeline that the police described can all be accurate IMO. The major problem again IMO is the phone.
“Kickee stated that he heard a commotion at the front door and he said this was Morgan being denied re-entery- if this was her denial- which TT said she was warned and immediately wanted back in after rummaging thru her purse and she stated her ticket was torn…then how could Morgan have spoke with her friends at 8:48 as kickee says his encounter was moments after the commotion at 9:00 and bookkeepers encounters were at 9:05 and subsequently at 9:18 IIRC…”
– Kickee didn’t say the encounter was after a commotion at 9:00. Hook said he was waiting for some friends to arrive around 9:00. It seems likely it was earlier than that given the bookeeper sighting at an “estimated” 9:05. But it could have happened before or after the call from the friends anyway. It doesn’t seem to matter much. The rummage through the purse stuff happened right after she left — closer to 8:20-8:30. The second bookeeper sighting was “estimated” at 9:15. There are problems with the Hook’s recitation of the bookkeeper sightings though. It seems unlikely she could tell if morgan was with the same four players in the two sightings. It is also hard to believe that all four of the players were white as she told the hook. Not clear to me what she means by the lot being empty except for morgan and the four boys the second time. She thought morgan was shaking her leg; they players described her as unsteady and leaning on cars — both could be descriptions of what they saw without context. You can’t expect witnesses to get everything right though. You just try to take what they think they saw and match it with what others think they saw and try to get a more complete story.
“How can bookkeeper have seen the SAME 4 players with Morgan in the lots and state they were ALONE and seemingly getting ready to party and the Limo driver state that he saw Morgan but made no mention of the players and state that she was moving toward the bridge? and being followed by a “Hispanic” looking man?”
– See above, but how would she know if they were getting ready to party when driving past the lot. Also, I don’t believe the limo driver said this. Can you show me anywhere were it says he did. My understand is that he observed her walking with players through the lot. I believe the Hispanic male and the moving towards the bridge is all made up (not by you).
“When did the convergence of BBP happen, when did the denial of a ride happen…when did the multiple attempts at reentry at differnt doors happen? when did all the offers of tickets and sightings of morgan happen from other witnesses?”
– Before 9:20. What offers of tickets? That is the first I have heard of that.
“Why the whole with not with?”
– presumably because she was not with them. they were heading to there cars to leave. she was following them and talking to them and asking them to take her somewhere. They didn’t agree to take her there and they didn’t call to have her arrested — which appear to be their two options.
“Morgan seemed happy and wanting to party…why would she have been happy and chummy if she had just been told by all the BBP that she wasnt getting a ride with them? Why would the bookkeeper state that THEY seemed to be partying – not they seemed to be giving Morgan the brush off-”
– the bookkeeper didn’t say any of this. She said she assumed they were going to party before going back to the concert. Seems like a fair thing to assume though it apparently was wrong.
“-even though most of these encounters couldnt have happened without these witnesses seeing oneanother and being able to formulate a much more conducive timeline….IMO”
– all of the witnesses you would expect to see other witnesses did. Specifically the limo driver and the bookkeeper saw her with players. You can’t tell me you expect the players to be able to say they saw the bookkeeper drive past.
“I agree that their needs to be overlap such as with kickee and the TT and with Kickee and the BK and with bookkeeper and the players- BUT the accounts that should overlap dont- such as the limo driver and the BBP and the walking with not with- and the convergence and the leaving and curtsy duo and the F/d- and the players leaving… curtsy duo said Morgan was alone- no one around they didnt say she was alone yet cars were rapidly exiting all around her…”
– They do though. The limo driver was the one (of two) who saw her walking with the players. How does that not overlap with the players sighting? The curtsey duo may or may not have said she was alone. The hook reported that the curtsy was unusual for a women alon on a dark night. They may or may not have said something about vehicles leaving the lot — but I doubt that they talked about cars rapidly exiting all around her. No one has ever suggested that happened. That is what I mean by exaggeration.
“Thanks for your willingness to rethink and rehash Redly- I hope my thoughts help to progress the conversation.”
Of course. Hopefully these discussions do prompt critical thought. They cannot hurt.
Redly-
Respectfully , I flatly disagree with you that LE immediately assumed this was a missing persons case. In fact, both Rader and Cappuzzo have stated publicly they felt that there was NO EVIDENCE of foul play for the first 48 hours. Waiting 48 hours to identify alleged “foul play” is a lifetime in an investigation.
B
It is really sad that this case hasn’t solved yet as well as scary for those in the UVa vicinity. Blink do you think that the FBI or a private investigator should be called in to investigate. What if Sketch has been brought forward to throw this case off track. So many roadblocks, no video footage, a t shirt draped across a bush far from the location of Morgan. Perhaps dna should be collected from all the employees of the security firm and vendors and bbplayers, employees and hunters at AF, also uva police, and others. Blink do you think Morgan left the arena to take photos of Metallica pre-their concert. I wonder every day what really happened to Morgan. did the autopsy report reveal the cause of death, how long she had been in the AF field. We deserve more information from LE. How much LE manpower has been devoted to this case and what is the current status?
Blink,
She was reported missing the afternoon of October 18. On October 19, VSP and the Harringtons held a press conference. The article published on the 19th (the day after she was first reported missing) said as follows:
“The search for Morgan Harrington is a missing persons investigation, which means police believe there’s still a chance she’s alive. Search helicopters and canines have been heavily searching the UVa area in hopes of finding some clues about what happened to her in Charlottesville.”
There was no evidence of foul play until they found her shirt but they were treating her as a missing person and actively searching for her almost immediately. Regardless, I don’t think it mattered to her fate.
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/64718837.html
correct, a missing person case under their definition does not escalate appropriately. My issue is that she was without communication, ID or finances, and the circumstances of her disappearance were known via the friends- foul play was assumed, well, should have been.
B
In redly’s defense, which he does not need from me: Foul play and missing person are two different animals. Obviously there was a person missing – no one could dispute that. But whether or not she had willingly left the area was something that could not be and has not to this point been legally proven, at least to our knowledge, no matter our passionate feelings to the contrary. I agree with Blink and others who assert the need to legislate formal instructions for handling adult (or near adult) missing persons cases and as Mom said above–assume the worst. What has prohibited that in the past has been our insistence on personal freedom and right to privacy, which is hard to argue with. Catch-22?
I also agree with redly that the Hispanic male supposedly seen by the limo driver is an unsubstantiated rumor. The original post from the limo driver’s employer on a UVa athletic website did not mention a Hispanic man. I’m not sure where that came from.
While I have the floor, I’d like to apologize to UVa and VTech fans for knowing absolutely nothing about ACC football. The game this season between UVa and VTech could have gone either way, with a win by either one sending them to the ACC championship. The UVa coach, Mike London, won the ACC coach of the year. If you follow ACC, especially UVa or VTech football, AND if you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Otherwise, forgive me for wasting time AND space.
Me again- I agree with Blink- LE did not seem to think foul play was involved at first-
Almost immediately she was HH
http://www.wric.com/global/story.asp?s=11500074
During the course of the investigation, police have been able to establish a timeline of Miss Harrington’s movements once she ended up outside of the arena at approximately 8:30 p.m. After talking to her friends on her cell phone, she then walked through the parking lot of University Hall and was also seen in the Lannigan Field athlete parking lot, which is also used for RV parking. At around 9:30 p.m., she was seen walking on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road.
Based on **independent witness accounts**, investigators **are confident** that Miss Harrington **was hitchhiking for a ride **while on the Copeley Road bridge. If anyone recalls seeing a young woman hitchhiking that night on or near the Copeley Road bridge, then they are asked to please contact police by phone or email. Anyone who might remember seeing a vehicle randomly stopped in the roadway on Copeley Road bridge that night is also asked to contact investigators. Investigators are also hoping to hear from anyone who might have loaned their cell phone to a young woman fitting Miss Harrington’s description to make a call that night.
Witness accounts–
Maggie Voth(UVA) wrote
at ***3:16pm on October 19th, 2009***
I saw her *at 930* **too**, she was on the bridge on alderman trying to hitchhike and was alone
Leslie Carlson(JMU) wrote
at 12:14am on October 21st, 2009
Police reports say that she was separated from friends shortly before 9pm and that she was going outside and was thought to be returning shortly. I arrived at the JPJ around 9pm and witnessed a girl who fits her description **leaving the arena.** I am not positive I can recall what she was wearing, just that I remember black and high heels. The girl that I saw was **extremely intoxicated and by herself.** I also **witnessed her drop her purse several times**, and police reports say it was found along with her cell phone outside the JPJ. I do not want to make assumptions on the very little evidence I have, but if one of her friends that was with her that night sees this and is willing to discuss if alcohol was involved, my report may be helpful. **I do not know where she headed after leaving the arena**, however. ***Just that she had a spat with the female security guard working the door.*** I will call the police hotline and tell them what I know in the morning.
So where does the security guy, that wishes he could have helped her, come in? Hes a guy not a girl…and what about the Limio driver? and what about the time periods when Morgan first exited..at 8:30 or 8:20 …. Which Leslies statement seems to record- or does it? as Leslie should have seen Morgan rummaging thru her purse and she should have seen her immediate attempt at re-entry- and what of Morgans “multiple attempts” mentioned early on?
yet only a “second” and almost immediate attempt at reentry at the main doors is accounted for as in the Hes Still here article.. “Morgan left the Arena a second time”
snipped: ** by me
The Arena’s no re-entry policy has been a source of controversy, and Cappuzzo at last addressed questions
**about the moment Morgan left the Arena.***
While some have speculated that she was lured outside, Cappuzzo revealed that a ticket taker warned Morgan about the Arena’s no re-entry policy
**as she prepared to exit through the main doors facing Copeley Road.**
Morgan acknowledged the warning, Cappuzzo says, then left anyway, **where she was seen emptying the contents of her purse in an apparently unsuccessful effort to find her red Kodak digital camera,**
which has never been recovered.
**Standing in front of the Arena, witnesses also reported seeing her drop her phone, then retrieve it.**
**When she tried to reenter through the main entrance of the Arena,** says Cappuzzo, the ticket taker asked for her ticket.
“She said, ‘It’s in pieces in my purse,’” says Cappuzzo, who says the ticket taker stopped her when it appeared she planned to dump the contents of her purse **again**. Told s**he’d need to purchase another ticket if she wanted to return,**
**Morgan left the Arena a second time and remained in the immediate area for as long as 10 or 15 minutes…**
yet leslie says she was there close to 9pm- which would have been after the phone call from friends and after this second attempt yet Morgan was said to remain in the area for 10 to 15 minutes Although Kickee account says- it was moments after this commotion that his encounter with Morgan took place
Leslie makes no mention of Morgan dropping a phone or of her moments later encountering kickee and the 4 BBP
It has been reported Morgan was told to buy another ticket if she wanted to reenter- yet leslie says she was “extremely intoxicated”
and had a “spat” with the door person- a female-
Doesnt seem likely this person would nicely be told to purchase another ticket- and if she was so extremely intioxicated- and she was wobbily and she was hurt and bleeding- and she was leaning on cars- and her behavior was unusual erratic and even hostile- WHY wasnt she sent to a drunk tank -and why did security deny her shelter and aid?
Snipped from Hook article-
Outside the Arena, another concertgoer says, he was on the southeast side of the building waiting for late-arriving friends to meet him **around 9pm** when he heard a “commotion” at an entrance.
“It was some shouting,” says the 44-year-old man who’d traveled from Fredericksburg to Charlottesville and who asked not to be identified because of the high profile nature of the case. **Moments after the shouting stopped**, he says that a young woman with long blond hair and dressed all in black— including, he says, a black Pantera t-shirt like the one Morgan was reportedly wearing— approached him, put her arm out, bent, as though to walk arm in arm with him, and said, “Let’s go.”
“It seemed somewhat aggressive,” he says.
Waiting for his friends and concerned that her behavior seemed “unusual,” he says, he declined and turned to walk away. The young woman responded, he says, by cursing at him and kicking him.
“It wasn’t that hard,” he says of the kick, but it was disturbing enough that **he immediately called his girlfriend** to relate the encounter.
The concertgoer, who now believes the commotion he heard was **Morgan being denied re-entry to the Arena,** says he reported the encounter to police on Monday, October 19, when he learned of the disappearance.
Police **have confirmed** that Morgan ended up outside the Arena sometime **around 8:20pm** and made multiple attempts to re-enter.
enter BK-
**Minutes after** the concertgoer’s encounter, another witness says, a woman resembling Morgan was walking across the street with several companions.
“It was right **about 9pm** when we were driving down Massie Road with JPJ to left,” says a Richmond bookkeeper/musician whose late arrival prevented her from hearing opening acts Gojira and Lamb of God— but got her there in time to spot a “wobbly” blonde woman step in front of the car.
**With** the blonde were four young, white men— a conspicuous group, says the witness, because of the direction they were headed: away from the Arena.
The men, says the witness, were allegedly laughing.
“I thought, ‘That girl should have no business going off with those guys, walking into **an empty parking lot** when the concert is getting ready to start.”
The blonde, however, did not allegedly seem distressed and even, seemingly as a joke, shook one leg at the men, also clad in black. The witness **estimates the time at 9:05pm** since she placed a phone call to a friend **a minute later while still on Massie Road.**
Snipped
It wasn’t the last time the Richmond woman saw the young blonde. After she, her husband, and friend parked near U-Hall, she says, she saw **the same group of five gathered around a vehicle in the RV Lot,** or Lannigan Field overflow parking lot— the spot where Morgan’s purse and phone were found and one of the last places police have officially placed her.
**“I figured, ‘They’re going to party before they go into JPJ,” says the woman, who estimates the RV Lot sighting as 9:15pm.**
snipped:
By 9:20pm— about 10 minutes before she was last seen on the bridge— according to the police timeline, Morgan was spotted in the RV Lot, directly across Copeley Road from the U-Hall lot and adjacent to the UVA track.
This article says 14 members interacted with Morgan. The bookkeeper says that she saw the group, the *same* group together at about *9:15*, she did not mention 14 of them, she mentioned only the original group of 5- in an **empty lot** alone-
So in the next 5 minutes ten more BBP come into the picture, and when this happens, the original 4 AND the 10 have limited interaction with Morgan & decline to give Morgan a ride, due to her scary behavior- to which she *immediately* is alone, then encounters curtsy couple and by 9:20 ( would be 5min later by bookkeepers account)is on the bridge HH…. But wait Morgan was at the bridge even earlier it would seem…
Read on
snipped from Hook article:
Details revealed
During a recent tour tracing Morgan’s last known steps, Virginia State Police Special Agent Dino Cappuzzo shared the story of that father and daughter– and revealed that **it was their witness testimony that permitted police to pinpoint the time Morgan was likely abducted.**
The father, whose identity has not been revealed, dropped his daughter off at her dorm, Cappuzzo says,** a few minutes after the bridge crossing. Cappuzzo says, **a few minutes after** the bridge crossing. Her electronic key was logged** at 9:23pm **by her dorm’s security system.
On his way back to his hotel, the father stopped at the 7-11 convenience store on Ivy Road, says Cappuzzo. There, another time-stamp— this one in the form of a register receipt— provided police with another objective time mark **around 9:30pm.** When the father left the 7-11 and returned over the bridge **no more than a minute or two later,** Cappuzzo says, he remembered the young woman standing with short sleeves and no umbrella in the chilly drizzle. **She was gone.**
**Within approximately 10 minutes**
**of those **two** bridge crossings,**
2 other unrelated witnesses reported to police that they’d seen a blond woman hitchhiking there. Cappuzzo says all witnesses’ stories have been thoroughly vetted by police, and none are considered suspects.
–**Within ten minutes of BOTH bridge sightings**- so it seems that one of the witnesses place Morgan HH on the bridge BEFORE the f/d FIRST passing-
which seems very strange (timeline doesnt fit the timeline) as Morgan was still in the lots up to 9:20 with the BBP and had not encountered the curtsy duo yet…
Snipped from same article-
Although that man-(*kickee)- cleared as a suspect, says Cappuzzo, declined to walk away with Morgan, it wasn’t long before she found a group of men to join. According to Cappuzzo, **sometime around 9pm,** two separate groups of students— whom the Hook has previously reported to be members of the men’s basketball team— left John Paul Jones Arena. **One group left through a side door, another through the main front doors.** Morgan began walking with the side-door group as they traversed Massie Road and walked through the parking lots on the west side of U-Hall, on their way to the RV lot, where student-athletes park when the Arena is busy.
The male students told police Morgan was unsteady on her feet, says Cappuzzo. “They described her as having to support herself on vehicles as she was walking,” he says. In the parking lot about halfway between U-Hall and the RV lot, she dropped her phone. The back piece of it would be recovered three days later, says Cappuzzo, but the battery has never been found.
A full 10 days after her disappearance, Cappuzzo says, a bloodhound was brought in to follow Morgan’s path. The bloodhound, says Cappuzzo, followed the exact path the witnesses described– across Copeley Road and up the grassy slope into the RV lot.
**That’s where the two groups of male students converged,** and although Harrington requested a ride from them– to where, Cappuzzo would not reveal– the students declined. Cappuzzo says the 14 men who saw her there have all been interviewed multiple times and their alibis have been thoroughly checked. “They had another event to attend that night,” says Cappuzzo.
****After**** the students departed,
**Morgan walked along the fence that separates the lot from the UVA track, according to Cappuzzo, who says her trail was picked up by the bloodhound, which stopped near a small line of portable toilets at the lot’s rear. **
Cappuzzo says two non-student witnesses driving down a road that leads from the baseball stadium to the RV lot reported seeing Morgan in that area– and recalled yet another unusual behavior for a young woman **alone** on a dark rainy night.
“She curtsied,” says Cappuzzo, but she didn’t attempt to flag them down….
How does the timeline fit the timeline?
Cont part 2
AJMO
Blink- if this ends up a double post can you delete the copies?
Trying to repost- if not i will break up the links…
**sometime around 9pm,** two separate groups of students— whom the Hook has previously reported to be members of the men’s basketball team— left John Paul Jones Arena. **One group left through a side door, another through the main front doors.**
Leslie does not mention this sighting of the BBP leaving the main entrance either- yet her time period is essentially the same…
Timelines reported- Do they account for the witness accounts and the discrepancies?
See here:
http://www.nbc29.com/link/414506/map-uva-jpj-area-morgan-harrington-timeline
and
http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=1991704080566501&act=post&pid=12032810093707903
snipped ** by me
Between 8:20pm and 9:30pm, someone matching the description of Harrington was seen at several locations near the John Paul Jones Arena (JPJ).
Rader said that they believe that between 8:30pm and 8:48pm Harrington interacted and conversed with people outside of the arena.
At 8:48pm it is confirmed that Harrington had a conversation with a friend. As reported before, Harrington stated she would try to find a ride home from friends in Charlottesville.
Between 8:48pm and 9pm, there are witnesses who can place Harrington outside JPJ.
Between 9pm and 9:10pm, Harrington or someone matching Harrington’s description was seen walking, with a black purse, through the University Hall parking lot. Rader said it did not appear she was walking with someone.
Between 9:10pm and 9:20om, Harrington or someone matching Harrington’s description was seen at the Lannigan Field, close to the track, where her purse was found in the grassy area of the parking lot.
It is believed that Harrington or someone matching her description was seen at the intersection of Ivy and Copley roads.
cont
AJMO
Part 2 cont
Timelines reported
snipped ** by me-
The timeline investigators have been able to come up with, put Harrington outside the arena around 8:30p.m.. Her friends say that she left their group inside the arena to go to the bathroom, then somehow got locked outside and was not allowed re-entry (standard policy at concerts). She called her friends to say that she would find a ride home, and hasn’t been heard from since. Her purse, and cell phone that was missing the battery were found the next day near the UVA athletic field, which is near where she was last spotted by another person heading into the concert.
**According to published reports, she was seen with a group of four young white men heading away from the arena into an empty parking lot.** Others reportedly spotted her around 9:20p.m. hitchhiking on the Copeley Road bridge. A newspaper delivery woman claims that she saw Harrington at 3:45am Sunday morning near a “party area” on campus, and that the young woman was wearing the exact outfit described by police that she was seen the night she vanished.
Police have not been able to confirm the sighting or any of the others that have been called in, there have been over 400.
another timeline
snipped ** by me
8:30 p.m. Outside John Paul Jones Arena
8:48 p.m. Friend called Morgan’s cell phone
**9:00 p.m. Seen in University Hall parking lot adjacent to JPJ
**9:10 p.m. Near Davenport Field RV Park and UVa. Track
**9:20 p.m. On Copeley Bridge near intersection with Ivy Road
Rader said, “We know we don’t have all the information there is in Charlottesville about this case.” Rader urged anyone who saw anything outside the Metallica concert between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. to call police.
It’s not what happened inside the John Paul Jones Arena, it’s what happened outside that investigators are concentrating on.
**At around 8:30 pm, witnesses saw someone matching Morgan Harrington’s description at the ticket counter outside JPJ trying to get back in the concert after she ended up outside.**
About fifteen minutes later at** 8:48 pm,**a friend of Morgan’s inside the concert called her on her cell phone asking if she was OK. Morgan apparently told her friend not to worry. She was going to get a ride from friends in Charlottesville.
**At around 9:00 pm, witnesses saw Morgan Harrington walking and carrying her black purse with backpack straps in the parking lot outside University Hall.**
**Ten minutes later, Morgan made her way to the RV parking area near the UVa track.**
The night of October 17th, the area would have been filled with RV’s for the concert.
****Witnesses saw Morgan there around 9:10 pm, but they say ten minutes later they drove off, leaving her in the parking area alone.****
The morning after the concert, a passerby found Morgan’s purse on the ground.
The last known sighting of Morgan Harrington was on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road at 9:30 pm.
Police believe people driving or walking along the bridge **must have seen Morgan after 9:30.** They believe she may have gone in a car.
“Perhaps you saw someone stop a vehicle to discuss something with this young lady. That would be important. Perhaps you saw this lady get into a vehicle. That would be important,” said Lt. Rader.
This new time line explains why police spent so much time in the Copeley Road area looking for clues.
**Now, they’re revealing where she was, with the hope that someone will know where she is.**
Harrington’s parents did not appear the news conference, but have said **they believe** she was taken by a stranger, and that foul play was involved….
AJMO
Thank you mom3.0 excellent provocative posts you too Redly and Deetee …Amy I loved your last compassionate post as well.
I just keep coming back here everyday, hoping for justice for Morgan.
I so appreciate all of you who hold a torch for Morgan, her family and all who have suffered the loss of a loved one in such a devastating and incomprehensible way.
Good to see you Texas Grandfather.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
Love Hummingbird.
Redly, IRT your comments:
“I agree that their needs to be overlap such as with kickee and the TT and with Kickee and the BK and with bookkeeper and the players- BUT the accounts that should overlap dont- such as the limo driver and the BBP and the walking with not with- and the convergence and the leaving and curtsy duo and the F/d- and the players leaving… curtsy duo said Morgan was alone- no one around they didnt say she was alone yet cars were rapidly exiting all around her…”
– They do though. The limo driver was the one (of two) who saw her walking with the players. How does that not overlap with the players sighting?
Redly- there are several different accounts of what the limo driver saw- it seems to me that in ach we have details that would effect the timeline
Here is everything I could recover aboutthe limo account-
Earlier post snipped:** by me
Blink, you wrote on Scared Monkeys that the limo driver had seen Morgan interacting with the BB players- snipped
“WRT the UVA basketball players questions, I can confirm that LE HAS interviewed the men that interacted with Morgan at 9:20PM the evening she went missing.
**They were identified by a limo driver who witnessed the interaction and called LE when reading Morgan’s coverage, and was parked in Lannigan lot.**
**He has been interviewed more than once, and this information has been confirmed to me privately from UVA and LE.**
They refuse to identify the individuals who “interacted” with Morgan at this time, or release the nature of those interviews.”
Next
Snipped from WebS.
“I was out and about in Charlottesville last night…and Morgan came up quite a few times with locals at bars, etc…and I truly believe that she WAS seen outside of the arena.
**Our driver was outside of the arena that night…and yes, this was reported to LE.** He/She is truly a wonderful person and never leaves my side on nights out.
**He/she said they saw Morgan (WITH tights on) **walking in the parking lot** WITHOUT her purse, and WITHOUT looking intoxicated.**
** He/She also said they saw a hispanic male about 3 car lengths behind her walking.**
Usually, he/she would have stopped a girl walking alone and offer assistance, and he/she feels awful they didn’t, but it was a concert and there were a lot of people around. It’s part of this person’s job to observe and be ready when needed….so, I believe this.
Hispanic male has come up twice now…
I just read a feature story on Morgan in the local ‘The Hook’ and there WAS **another report** of MH arguing with an Hispanic male…I don’t know if it’s true, but now that I’ve heard this sighting personally from a very credible source, I believe it. And now I’m wondering if the sighting of MH arguing with an hispanic male is indeed true.
Maybe she was going to Starbucks to get warm and wait…it could have been something as innocent as that. That would be my first thought if I was alone at night and had to wait…well, I’d call a car service, but I relieze that’s not an option for everyone =p”
Then this a
Originally Posted by part time prof View Post
This is all from memory, but I don’t recall associating anything other than [white] male “who it seemed knew the woman he was arguing with” (paraphrase) from the grandmother’s account,
**but the limo driver (who is known by a poster on here, iirc) is who stated seeing someone fitting MH’s description being followed two, then one, car lengths behind her by a Hispanic male, **near the UHall/R.V. parking lots or the bridge **(I don’t recall specifics).**
#You are correct. That poster is me. Driver is also ex LE and was looking around that night for the safety of his/her clients. I don’t even have to open a door from somewhere and he/she is out of the car escorting me. I was/am a little too timid to reveal more, as I was contacted by some PI, but this was reported in full to LE. So, the driver was/is trained to be observant and he did see her.
and this snipped from thesabre.com
Subject: Can’t confirm the claims of the website…
Posted by: Hoo-80 on Thu Nov 12 2009 5:38:46 PM
Message:
but I can confirm this much. I have an employee that was parked
outside the JPJ all evening waiting for passengers. He saw a girl that
matched the description of Morgan, down to what she was wearing. He
also saw her interact outside the arena with ** 3 **“very tall” black men, and
saw them walking together towards U-Hall. They passed right in front of
his vehicle. My employee has spoken to the police 3 times since that
evening about what he saw. This certainly doesn’t prove anything at all
relative to any UVA basketball players, but unfortunately it does give the
story some credibility. When my emplouee told me the story, my fisrt
thought was please,please,please, don’t let any basketball players be
involved in this.
you went on to write:
The curtsey duo may or may not have said she was alone.
Redly,LE says the curtsy duo encounter happened AFTER the BBP departure at 9:20-
You:
The hook reported that the curtsy was unusual for a women alon on a dark night. They may or may not have said something about vehicles leaving the lot —
See here: ** by me
snipped from Blinks earlier article
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/11/12/morgan-harrington-case-uva-basketball-players-last-to-speak-to-missing-vt-student/
Lead Investigator, Lt Joe Radar refers to the players as “people the VSP have identified” in his press conference on October 28, 2009.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to blinkoncrime, two separate sources, one within UVA and the other within the investigation, have verified that Morgan Harrington “interacted” with the individuals for approximately 10 minutes in the Lannigan Field Area, where Morgan’s purse was recovered the following morning.
***According to Lt Radar, the basketball players, whom they were able to identify and speak with, left the area at 9:20PM in seperate vehicles, stating Morgan was still there when they departed.***
and finally you:
but I doubt that they talked about cars rapidly exiting all around her. No one has ever suggested that happened. That is what I mean by exaggeration.
Redly- they did not talk about anyone exiting other than to say all were gone by 9:20- my choice of adjectives was to underscore the point that since the BBP had to leave in separate vehicles and had to leave by or AT 9:20– then it would seem with deductive reasoning that this would have had to occur ‘rapidly’ inorder for no BBP to be in the lots and for noone to report seeing the caravan of cars leaving all i would assume away frm the bridge as F/D ect made no mention of this traffic… and it had to have happened quickly for it to be said by LE that curtsy duo entered the picture
* after their departure* – remember curtsy duo had to watch the strange curtsy and they never said they saw her move toward the bridge nor did she flag them down for a ride- yet Morgan Harrington HAD to be on that bridge by 9:20 or even earlier if the 10 minute window is accurate of the independent HH witnesses and for F/D to clock-in by 9:23 door stamp-
I hope my earlier posts helped you to understand where I am coming from and why.
Thanks again Redly- I do hope our posts help.
AJMO
This of course is all just my opinion, but I think Morgan had a definite destination in mind when she left the arena. That’s the reason I believe LE stated that nothing inside the arena had bearing on what happened to her outside. I think it’s very possible she wanted to return almost immediately, not to stay, but to look for her camera. It seems to be a known fact, she did at least go into a bathroom because someone saw her applying a paper towel to the cut on her chin. If she actually used the bathroom, she could have very easily left the camera on the hook inside the stall door, on the paper dispenser, or on a sink counter. The camera could have been found by another concert goer, taken several states away, with it’s significance never known. Or, it’s possible the person who found the camera, after learning that it belonged to a missing person, just didn’t want to admit that he or she had not bothered to turn it into lost and found.
I think the Richmond CPA reported as accurately as she remembered her sighting of Morgan crossing Massie Road with BIB, now known to be 4 white members of the men’s basketball team. Her time is probably almost spot on because she made a phone call immediately thereafter. The circuit she and her husband made looking for a parking space would have taken no more than 5, maybe 10 minutes at the most. About the same amount of time it would have taken Morgan and the basketball players, whether together or walking separately, to travel across the U-Hall parking lots to the RV lot and then to been seen together in the lot. If I remember correctly, the limo driver either saw Morgan with the players or walking in the same vicinity as the players. When he learned of the disappearance, I seem to remember it was reported he said he hoped the players were not involved. I do not remember that there was ever any news report about a Hispanic person being seen following her. Maybe there was and I’ve forgotten, but I really do not remember ever reading that piece of information from a news source. I don’t know where the limo driver was parked, but it’s always been my impression he saw Morgan either with or close to the players in the U-Hall lot. If so, then I do not believe he would have seen any activity in the RV lot and I don’t think it’s ever been reported that he saw her or the players in the lot. The CPA and her husband, as they continued to look for a parking space came back into the arena parking area on Copeley Road, saw Morgan with the same 4 young men gathered near a car in the parking lot. I agree with Redly, I think the report was that she thought maybe they were going to party, not that they were partying. All members of the basketball team converged on the lot. LE knows that Morgan asked one or some members of the team for a ride to an undisclosed location. Now, this is my opinion of what happened, none of the players were able or willing to give her a ride. LE has reported that they had another event to attend. The statement was not events, but event, so it’s probable that they all did go to the event, and at least for the time of the event, all of their actions were verified. Morgan was seen in the same lot by the people we now refer to as curtsy duo, near where her purse and cell phone were discovered the next morning. She was seen on the bridge by the father/daughter duo and other independent witnesses. Now, to me independent means not connected to each other, father/daughter, CPA, limo driver, basketball team, and not connected to the curtsy duo. People inside and outside the arena said they offered Morgan help and she refused. This tells me that she had at least brief conversations with multiple people before and after she fell, before she left the arena and after she left, before she connected with the basketball players during her travel across the parking lots. I think what she said and how she communicated with each of these witnesses helped LE formulate a picture of her condition both inside and outside the arena, thus why they were able to say she became increasingly desperate as the evening progressed.I’ve deliberately left out any reference to time. If no attempt is made to fit Morgan’s actions within a specific timeline from when she left the arena until the last known sighting near 9:30, then one witness account after another supports LE’s report of her movements, crossing Massie Road, through the U-hall parking lot, into the RV lot, and then onto the bridge. What is not known, since no witnesses have come forward with information after she was seen on the bridge, is whether or not Morgan disappeared from the bridge, or whether she did return to the parking lot. I’m also not completely convinced that she didn’t walk farther along Copeley Road and was picked up close to the intersection with Copeley and Ivy, or toward the Foods of All Nations shopping center. I also do not believe that anyone can say with certainty that Morgan didn’t stand on the bridge with her thumb stuck out, and got in the first car that stopped, the car that very possibly became the vehicle where she died or that transported her to the place where she died. Those who say she would not hitchhike are saying it with the perception of a rational young woman of today. Either from the fall or other reasons, I’m not sure at 9:30 on that Saturday night, Morgan’s mental state had any resemblance to the rational young woman who left home that Saturday morning. By saying that she maybe wasn’t acting rationally is no attempt to place any blame on her, but I think it would explain why maybe she would not have recognized what just hours before she would have seen as a dangerous situation, accepting a ride with a stranger.
respectfully MsL, and I know you know this case pretty well, I find you often take a few liberties with stating things as fact, I say this constructively.
As an example, You said:
That’s the reason I believe LE stated that nothing inside the arena had bearing on what happened to her outside.
At no time, and in no interview or pressconf has LE said nothing inside the arena had no bearing on what happened to Morgan outside. I can tell you as a fact, that to this day, no person knows for sure WHY Morgan ended up outside, so it would be impossible to make such a statement. It is known, although not made public, the circumstances to which she was denied re-access.
To a large degree, this is exactly why the Harrington’s have pending litigation, which I support fully.
The purse and contents were not found anywhere near the porto loos where Morgan encountered the men in the ATV on the track.
However, to your credit, you make a strong point that LE formed an opinion of Morgan’s condition by speaking to a multitude of witnesses that encountered her both in the arena, and outside, in various parts of the timeline. I totally agree with this.
But since the very LAST people KNOWN to come in direct contact with Morgan are the employees in the ATV, who Le has specifically stated she did not “flag them down for help”- does it make any sense to you that Morgan was increasing in desperation by refusing help consistently and then hitchhiking facing the wrong way on the bridge immediately thereafter?
And this is a general comment- LE knows as a certainty, what time Morgan’s phone had the power source removed from it’s conduit, period. They cannot say the means to which that occurs, but that phone and it’s properties with an appropriate subpoena will absolutely tell the investigator when a power source is removed, and it is different than that of a source losing power and fading pings.
That is one of the biggest reasons it has not been released, imo, it absolutely discredits parts of the investigative theory. That is a problem.
Bad guy (s) rapist and killer out there, no room for “right”.
B
Additionally, with regard to LE’s comment that there was no sign of a struggle, I think it was stated that there was no damage to her purse, there were no torn straps. Had there been a ripped strap, then it would have aroused immediate suspicion of a struggle. The fact that the back of her cell phone was missing was not immediate evidence, and even today, is not evidence of a struggle. Her parents said the back was known to become detached. I’m not sure, but wasn’t the back found in the U-Hall lot? I think I remember a statement that she did drop her phone in the lot.
I do think that more consideration should be given to family and friends when the determination is made whether or not a disappearance is suspicious or a possible runaway. I know LE has certain protocol they follow when deciding whether or not to launch an immediate missing person’s search, but the people who know the missing the best are not detectives who have never met her or him, but the people who love and deal with the missing everyday. Now, it’s my opinion even if helicopters, search dogs and 100′s of people had taken to the vicinity within an hour of Dr. Harrington learning that his daughter had not returned home, Morgan would not have been helped. I think, and really hope, that Morgan did not live long after her kidnapping. If Sketch was the killer, I think based on Fairfax, his attack was quick. Even if she did wander for sometime before encountering her killer, even if she was the young woman on the lawn, I think whatever happened to her occured before her parents’ nightmare started. That’s my prayer for her and her family. I really want think that she was disabled quickly and never fully realized what was happening to her.
Mom3.0,
thanks for all the info. I will just add to it that my opinion is that the hispanic male part of the various hearsay reports of the limo driver’s account is made up message board fodder. I think he saw her in the area between jpj and u-hall. I also don”t think he was parked in the lannigan lot. I don’t know this but I suspect he was on massie between uhall and jpj as that is where I have seen taxis/limos park. I may be wrong about this but lannigan would make no sense. Also, we don’t know what the curtsey duo told LE other than the curtsey part. The timing is very tight, but it is doable (there are dorms that are quite close), especially if about 9:20 actually means 9:17 etc. The only two fixed times seem to be 9:23 and then the 7-11 stamp (and maybe the phone powering down time — which, again, seems to me to be the most problematic issue with the timeline).
Mom3… You are the best.
Thank you for finding everything about the l.d and the mention of the hispanic male.
Lost ALL of my Morgan info when my computer crashed some months ago, so was going by memory. Was having a hard time trying to cite or substantiate the l.d.’s mention of the h. m. though.
BTW, I hadn’t remembered that the l.d is said to be former L.E.
Thanks so much Mom3. Hugs and more hugs to you!
diana h.
Wow Mom3.0 thank you for bringing all that stuff about the Hispanic male. I never saw any of that and never gave that any thought at all. I wonder if Kickee is Hispanic/Latino? My theory is that Granny saw the Kickee incident. I know the stories don’t match but what else is new in this case?
For some reason I’m reminded of the odd incident at Boyd’s Tavern the convenience store…if that was true it was eerie. And as far as I know LE never ruled out the Orange sighting. For some reason I just don’t think the police are speculating when they say they believe Morgan got in a car on the bridge…I think they know she did…
Because of the timeline discrepancy, I now believe the phone and purse were returned to the Lannigan Field/RV lot after the fact. In fact, I just had a lightbulb moment: The necklace had possibly been *in the purse* but not found with it…If he had already placed Morgan at AF, then took the pocketbook and phone back to the lot, he may have looked inside and thought hmmmm, this is a pretty cool necklace, I think I’ll at least keep this for my trouble…If he had knowledge of Morgan’s interacting with the basketball players in the lot, which I have no doubt that he did, what better way to throw the trail in that direction. He’s certainly not immune to that kind of behavior, i.e. the shirt.
do we know if any of the basketball players had apartments in the area the shirts was found? I’m not speculating the bball players our responsible. Maybe the perp placed the shirt next to some of the bball players house to further incriminate them. This would tell us how close he is to the community. Just a thought
Sketch… could be hispanic or a hispanic looking black male.
Anyways.. There is cover up in this case in my opinion. I have never seen so much given and so little found.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Thoughts of Morgan.
Prayers to the Harringtons.
Peace
You are welcome Redly, tango, diana h, Hummingbird and all.
Glad to be of help.
its refreshing to see so many thinking and posting.
here are just some thoughts- IRT missing person/foul play
I do not have the quotes handy but LE in the beginning came out and said there was no indication of foul play.
As for whether or not LE treated this as a missing persons case-
I think initially “they” didnt handle this case like a missing persons case-
At first this “case” was in the hands of UVA- this happened because UVA found the purse and the cell ect- they treated as a lost purse situation-
From the very beginning this “case” was plagued by confusion and mismanagement- the right hand didnt know what the left hand was doing and neither hand knew of the information the feet had and which foot was walking blindly and which foot was leading…
I remember a very informative post by “Veracity” early on this poster laid it all out in a very thought provoking post on just how well this “missing” persons case was being handled and who may have been handling it-or not
Heres the post with Blinks response as well as Observers-
Veracity says:
November 27, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Blink- I don’t know if this is where I should post this. In my mind, it is part of the FACT-FICTION problems with Morgan’s case. I hope you will allow it, and investigate it and help to sift to clear the way for this case to advanced.
CONTACT INFORMATION for any investigation is KEY to HOW and even IF TIPS/LEADS occur right?
Others and I have mentioned how odd it was for UVA to LEAD a missing person case for a moment. There remains an outstanding question as to IF UVA POLICE are CO-LEADING the Harrington case at this time. There is also the question if they did hand the case off, when this occured and to whom and where they handed it? On the UVA POLICE website there is a link to a MISSING PERSON FLYER for Morgan Harrington. That was the initial flyer. It contains only one CONTACT NUMBER – UVA Campus Police – 434-924-7166. It has never been updated. This number was also provided during the initial press conference. It along with UVA police email were the only peeps we heard from Lt. Fielding the PATROL LIEUTENANT with UVA CAMPUS POLICE or any UVA representative, aside from the Athletic department efforts involving their b-ball players.
Lt Rader initially provided HIS number 434-352-3435 during the same news conference. Made me sick when he stated, he “checks the number throughout the day”. He gave out a number for a missing person case which was not manned 24/7! He expected people to call and leave messages! Amazing. (think about what sort of lack of urgency that single statement conveyed to the community at large!)
Point 1 – his office is located in Appomattox, three counties away. THERE WAS NEVER A TASK FORCE WITH A CENTRAL COMMAND POST SET UP in the IMMEDIATE AREA OF HER DISAPPEARANCE was there? Even though the VSP has an office in Charlottesville.
Point 2- media actually received a DIFFERENT NUMBER on the press release that day than Lt Rader’s didn’t they? The number they received was 434-352-3457. This number to the best of my knowledge belongs to a Capt. Whitehurst also out of Appomattox whose areas include FRAUD and GANGS. Of note his work with fraud has a TOLL FREE NUMBER (even though there are zoned officers in each region working on the FRAUD TASK FORCE for the state). There was never a state VSP manned toll free number for Morgan. The two numbers provided were both for VSP Region 3. Morgan’s residences and her movements that night included Regions 2 and 6 didn’t they? Yet there was never any contact information specific for those field offices were there? Why? For folks in those areas the call would have been long distance, right? Is that best practices? I think not. I am now wondering what the Virginia State Police missing person policies and plan are in addition to what UVA does with found purses and notification by a loved one someone who was recently on their property is now missing.
Point 3- During the last week of October it was either Lt. Rader or Corrine Geller who stood and explained there was a NEW NUMBER for a “TASK FORCE” working to find Morgan. They listed a variety of regional law enforcement agencies who helped with a specific search grid effort but never identified any specific officers within any departments,did they? They did give a NEW number (804) 263-5547 for this “task force” right? Anyone with tips was to use that number! This number actually belongs to the VSP public relations office, doesn’t it? I hoped it had been reassigned and the VSP site would reflect this but as late as today, still shows as Corrine Geller’s contact number, NOT a NUMBER ASSOCIATED WITH MORGAN’s CASE even on their own missing person link for Morgan or anywhere else on their site! Ms. Geller’s number is in REGION 1. This was the region where UVA’s hired third party JPJ security and one of the bands had ties, but it was even further away from the actual Harrington case location wasn’t it? And it remained a NON TOLL FREE NUMBER.
Point 4- The VSP updated their flyer (bulletin) on their website (pursuant to fed. Statute 42 U.S.C. § 5779) and when they did this they included the 1-800-843-5678 number. It belongs to the Center for Missing Children. At the very bottom is their 434-352-3457 number. There is no location or officer specifics though. In fact there has never been a location within Charlottesville or anywhere else in the state for anyone who had a tip to meet with someone. I find that very odd. They have not updated the information to include the CRIMESTOPPER NUMBER 434-977-4000, the reward, or their NEW “task” force number (804-263-5547). All important information isn’t it? Just a few days ago I contacted The Richmond Times Dispatch who ran an article that was written by Strong, the crime reporter for the Daily Progress (the irony of the NAME of that paper and their apathy continues to astound me!), this reporter sent off an article WITHOUT THE CRIMESTOPPER INFORMATION, WITHOUT THE 800 CENTER FOR MISSING PERSON NUMBER, and WITHOUT THE NUMBER THE VSP published and is maintaining on their own site – 434-352-3457, instead he USED CORRINE Geller’s number, 804-263-5547.
Point 5- If you go the State of Virginia website you will find two links involving Missing persons. Amber Alert – if you click you will find there are no active cases at this time and Silver – if you click there are no active cases either. You will NOT FIND ANYTHING ABOUT MORGAN on the state site. If you go the VSP site, you have to click on the missing CHILDREN link to get her information to show. Anyone see a disconnect here? I hope Virginians, especially those in the legislature, are really paying attention! This needs to be fixed ASAP.
I am very curious how and who was and is responsible for making sure tips/leads are properly received and handled. I took part in a case several years ago where state officials tested the contact information grid and found deficiencies and the system in that state changed for the better. This was not rocket science.
There should have been a very specific playbook. This was a multi-jurisdictional case from day one- as any campus disappearance usually is. It required a TOLL FREE number and it required a COMMAND CENTER in Charlottesville, didn’t it? Maybe Blink you could figure out the confusion that continues to circle the contact numbers for Morgan’s case?
Veracity- I cant disagree that this is at issue. For anyone to say that does not present a perception of disorganization, well, I would find such a remark disingenuous.
Who is in charge of this investigation, what is the status, and what are the updates? This needs to be addressed yesterday.
Observer- are you able to weigh in on this?
B
Observer says:
November 28, 2009 at 10:27 pm
B: There are numerous and varied concerns–along with some excellent observations–raised in Veracity’s #165 post. The primary focus of concern is on the management, communication, and exchange/flow of information from LE during MP cases. Given his/her demonstrated passion for effecting remediation in these areas, the issues are perhaps most appropriately addressed by Veracity’s direct contact with VSP and/or UVAPD to discuss these concerns.
To your questions, B, re: “Who is in charge of this investigation, what is the status, and what are the updates?”
VSP is in charge of this investigation.
I am not in a position to comment on the status of the investigation, nor any related updates. I again defer to VSP
——-
also-
as to whether “foul play” was suspected or if they thought Morgan just walked off for awhile perhaps not “endangered” missing just kind of missing possibly on holiday- much like the probable situation with Aisha- I think Capusso summed it best speaking about VSP becoming involved in the case 3 DAYS LATER-
(which seems to be related to UVA basing their actions or thoughts on the friends beliefs…)
snipped from show:
VSP enters case on third day
Cappuso says:
“initially the investigation was focused on a missing person but there was no indication that there was any foul play after those first few days, after she was reported missing… according to her friends, they indicted that it was not unusual for her to go off on her own and spend sometime with another friend and to leave and show back up the next day.”
AJMO
I could not have ever laid that information out in a more useful way than Mom3.0 has.
This is, in reality, a case study for mandatory mp protocol, period. It is my personal belief that what happened to Morgan occurred very quickly, and frankly, would not have saved her life, but it absolutely would have aided in finding her remains sooner, no doubt in my mind.
I know that I have had that conversation with her family, and that is also their belief. Had Morgan been allowed re-admittance, she would be alive today, I do not think you will find anyone who does not agree with that.
I am very sensitive to the lamentations of every family who loses someone to such circumstances- I don’t know if I can claim this as one of my jerseyisms, but “coulda shoulda woulda” has been part of my vocab forever and it says it all. It is incumbant upon us to learn from these tragedies and do what we can to prevent them from happening again.
I have profiled at length another case that is a prime example of how freaking solvable these cases can be, as in, this food service worker was right under everyone’s damn nose and he ends up getting caught because of a civil suit. There is something wrong with that. This guy had multiple victims that WERE LIVING and could identify him, and he is ultimately put in prison by one that could not.
There were signs this guy was up to no good that went un-reported to maintain contracts with the venues of his employer.
People, forget just Morgan and victims like her for one minute. This kind of predator has direct access to our kids on campus. In many cases, at the most vulnerable stages of their lives away from our watchful eyes, the possibility of someone with bad intent is watching them, and waiting for an opportunity.
And as many Moms on here have pointed out, our attempts to influence our children in the safety area can be met by wails of “your just trying to control me while I am away from home, I can take care of myself”.
One woman wrote me privately and told me her daughter used her atm card with a cab service or she would not have known her daughter was taking cab rides alone at night leaving her friends.
I do not know what else to say, we have to assume they do not listen to us, and work at the Higher Learner Institution level without their knowledge, lol.
Again I say, he is out there. Saving the Next girl is priority.
B
thanks, Mom3.0. amazing!
I am sorry but does no one see the lack of logic in this statement:
“This number was also provided during the initial press conference. It along with UVA police email were the only peeps we heard from . . . Lt Rader initially provided HIS number 434-352-3435 during the same news conference.”
Regardless, I think this discussion is very useful, but the article I linked above, the original part of which was published the day after morgan was reported missing and was thus based on actual information (it also contains the no evidence of foul play language you were looking for mom3.0), shows that many of the “veracity” claims are not accurate. VSP was leading the case and LE had already been searching with dogs et al less than 24 hours after she was reported missing. Unfortunately, the missing report itself was 14 hours after the fact because the friends went to bed instead of telling anyone she was missing and the harringtons did not know where their daughter was.
Of course UVA police treated it as a missing purse when they found the purse. They called dr. harrington and then he made calls and found out morgan was missing. When he did, they contacted VSP. Criticizing them for not assuming foul play/missing person when finding the purse in a concert parking lot is not just unfair but unrealistic. Do you really want the police to start doing that each time someone turns in a wallet or purse.
As a brief aside, someone posted earlier about the girl who disappeared from a Kansas City campus (near me in fact). Turns out she had done a runner and even went so far as to leave a phony message about an altercation on her sister’s answering machine to make it look like she had been taken. The police were searching high and low for her, using dogs, helicopters and dozens upon dozens of officers at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars only to finally discover she was in hiding somewhere. The family graciously donated the reward money that had been set up for her to the police to offset some of the costs but it doesn’t cover them all. Perhaps more seriously, while these dozens of officers were off the streets looking for this idiot, a woman was carjacked in our same county at a traffic light by a target in a nice area of town and they found her later having been repeatedly raped. Probably would have happened even if the normal police presence had been out there but maybe not. The police do have to make decisions about resources that impact us all. By the way, despite the scary phone call about the altercation with a man just before disappearing, and despite finding her phone and backpack etc., the police repeatedly said they were treating aisha khan’s case as a missing persons case and did not have evidence of foul play — because that is what they always, always say in these instances were they don’t find blood, have a witness of a crime etc. — ALWAYS — though that did not mean they searched less hard or did not treat it seriously.
Finally, Merry Christmas to most and Happy Holidays to all.
redly, I say with respect and affection- on occasion, you have got to learn to concede a point.
As an example, UVA PD DID not call Dan Harrington. A property person did, whereby he began calling Morgan’s friends, who did not answer immediately. It was after he called back upon speaking to the friends finally a mp report was filed with the UVA PD.
In fact, it should be noted that even after the mp report was filed, the connection was not immediately made to the finding of the purse, which added to the issues in the first 24 hours.
At NO TIME, did the Harrington’s “call in” VSP. The initial investigator btw, was promoted out of the case immediately after Morgan was located.
They knew Morgan was refused re-entry to the arena.
They knew she had a disagreement with her friends, and shortly thereafter that she was witnessed to be “in a compromised or impared state.”
They knew she was without ID, money, and a phone.
They knew she left her car, and her coat.
Within 12 hours they knew her phone was not powered on, at a minimum.
They thought enough to head to the next Metallica concert in NC.
They knew from her parents this was extremely a-typical behavior for Morgan.
For the above reasons, and obviously the outcome, I completely disagree that this case should not have been treated as a mp case immediately.
Also, the canine used by VSP on campus in Morgan’s case was NOT utilized until 10 days later, and I would be discussing case sensitive information if I expanded on that point, but take my word for it, that “scent” result is completely unuseable and VSP absolutely knows that. I invite anyone how cares to disagree with me on that point, to seek confirmation themselves.
Moreover, once it was learned that the arena’s surveillance and cameras were GROSSLY inadequate for a venue that size, it becomes incumbant upon LE because of the limitations on immediate resources to track a person to escalate the investigation.
Do people fake a disappearance? Of course. A standard protocol for a mp case is what I am asking for, period, which imo, will never eradicate a “faker” but it will absolutely lessen that possibility when a matrix is designed similar to points in an amber or silver alert.
There is no perfect solution, there is no way to bring Morgan back, I know.
The fact that we all care enough to continue the dialogue is important.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours redly, and all blinkers and your fams.
God Bless.
B
I want to make a comment to something Blink said above, i.e. that I know Morgan’s case pretty well. That’s not true. Wish I did, but like everyone posting here, I know only what I read and what I hear. I think I have a pretty good memory, but I try to preface everything I say with if I remember correctly, or I believe, because I do not keep notes. As my youngest use to say, sometimes I misremember. Now as to what I read or hear on the news, I prefer to rely on comments from LE interviews/statements or a reporter who quotes official comments. I think The Hook does a good job of expanding on story lines while local news outlets give only a few seconds or a few lines. I don’t always believe that even The Hook stories are without error. I try to never use posted comments or supposed witness comments as justification for what I write unless I have read that LE backed up the story. I stand by what I said above, I am almost certain (not certain, but almost) that I remember it being reported that investigators said they did not think anything that happened inside the arena had a bearing (or maybe the more accurate word was important) to Morgan’s disappearance. I “misremember” why the comment was made. Maybe as an explanation as to why they were asking for people to come forward with information or sightings of Morgan after she left the arena and had made little or no comment about events prior to and during the concert. Here I go again, if I remember correctly the comment came very early on in the investigation.
I don’t think the case remains unsolved because of LE incompetence,certainly not on the part of VSP. I’ve said before, and I’ll said it again, seems to me the events of that night would be a nightmare for investigators. Victim taken with no witnesses known, no vehicle description, no evidence at the possible crime scene other than her own possessions. Unless she was killed at Anchorage Farm, crime scene still unknown. Her possessions moved and handled by multiple people, treated as lost and found items hours before the disappearance became known. Close to 10,000 people leaving a concert and walking across parking lots within yards of the possible crime scene and some maybe parked within feet of the crime scene. Arena and parking lots possibly cleaned before disappearance became known. Potential witnesses scattered to multiple states before the disappearance known. Disappearance reported upwards to 15 hours after actual kidnapping with no possibility of interviewing witnesses until their recollection of events were maybe not quite accurate, such as, what time did they actually see Morgan in the lots or on the bridge. Remains, when discovered, had been exposed to October and early November heat, rain and wind storms, snow measured in feet and bitter cold. Only known evidence to connect the possible killer to Morgan, a DNA hit on an unsolved, vicious sexual assault case from 2005, with no match-up in the database. The best hope for identification, familial DNA testing approved, but as of yet, either not completed or completed with no matching results.
I don’t believe this case is unsolvable. Someday, somewhere, something will tie this killer to his crime and he will pay. We have to all pray, it will happen before he finds another Morgan.
Not a pleasant topic for holiday wishes, but I do want to say Merry Christmas to all and the Happiest of New Years with good health and peace. I hope the Harringtons and all other families who have been touched by violence get justice in the New Year.
MsL,
There is a story on ‘nbc29.com’ where Lt. Rader is quoted as saying they were concentrating on what happened to Morgan outside the arena, not inside the arena, so as to establish a timeline.
Another curious quotes comes to mind, although I do not have the direct sources in front of me, is where different members of the VSP say that there is no image of Morgan in the ‘tapes that have been provided to them [VSP]‘ or words to that effect.
Which leads one to wonder if Morgan had been roughed up or abused by security while inside the arena and the tapes are being withheld or were destroyed.
Godspeed to the Harringtons.
Mom3.0 thank you for all you do.
I’m going to stay here until he/they are caught.
VSP must treat this as “urgent”.
I was working in NOVA when this horrific act happened.I returned to PGH on the weekends and only heard about Morgan’s abduction a week later on CNN.Due to bad weather I was in PGH for the latter part of Jan to mid FEB,and learned of the discovery of her remains via CNN again.I returned to PGH in May of 2010,as our job in Tysons Corner,VA had concluded.Due to the job ending I had forgot about this case.Then a few months ago I watched Morgan’s episode of Disappeared on the I.D channel.Ever since seeing this episode I am consumed by this case.It litterally makes me ILL to think that the person who did this is still at large..Seriously either LE is still keeping things under wraps,or LE in VA is really weak.I pray that the sick SOB who did this is caught soon.The Harrington’s are in my prayers during this holiday season as they are often.If I could solve this case myself I gladly would,bc the fact that the perp is still roaming that incredible state turns my stomach…
From the ‘nbc29.com’ website. Story is “Police Develop Timeline For Harrington Disappearance”. Date of story is October 29, 2009, revised November 11, 2009:
“And now police are putting together a timeline tracking Harrington’s whereabouts.
Lieutenant Joe Rader is with the Virginia State Police. “So we can concentrate on not what happened inside the arena but what happened outside the arena.”"
correct, 12 days later they were quite clear they had a picture of what happened inside, but not at all once she was outside. 100 people were interviewed in the first week (estimated) alone.
However, while I understood the reference, in no way does that signify that LE does not think what happened inside the arena had nothing to do with what happened outside, or ultimately- wouldn’t one have to know exactly what happened for anyone to draw such a conclusion? Of course.
B
I found I had a lot of catch up reading to do here on BLINK ! It’s so good to see all the new posts.Early on I was encouraged that VSP would solve this case..that was Early on .Learning about more cases in the vicinity of the North Garden area , such as Colby Eppard’s case , The Sheriff who committed suicide ,LE that was given early retirement , placed on leave , let go or moved to other depts because of incidents around Red Hill Road area, the house fire in a rental home across the highway from Anchorage Farms , the house where the roommates argued & a band needing a place to practice had set up for regular band jams. Oh .. But LE Insists that none of these incidents has anything at all to do with Morgan’s case. None of these cases is related in any way whatsoever ? I still am not buying it . All of the above mentioned curiosities are far removed from JPJ arena .
As far as JPJ goes I’ll say that very part of the investigation seems to almost mirror Natalee Holloway’s case with missing video tapes & the security company in Aruba. Another similarity , in Natalee’s case 1 young man & his 2 sidekicks had a plan to get a young woman that night for themselves , it was premeditated. Natalee Holloway died from what I read appeared to be an overdose/toxicity or side effect of GHB , the very same type of side effect that was so common & causing patients to have sudden death & resulted in laws being passed to make GHB illegal in our country .
I believe that Morgan’s abduction was also premeditated, planned out ahead of time & then followed through. All of that began long before the concert . IMO not 1 person was watching a young woman as an innocent target, it was a group and for some reason I am just dumbstuck & stuck on the number 3 as the number of the main instigators /perps. of this horrible crime. I feel like I am rambling & so I will stop here & return in a bit to add more.
My heart still breaks for the Harrington’s & always will . I can only imagine & imagine very well the total hurt & devastation & pain that becomes interwoven into a piece of a heart that now has a huge & gaping hole . *2 ~ 4 ~ 1*
Off Topic …
I did leave out that I hope you all had a nice Holiday , a Merry Christmas . It’s all about Love of God & family , being compassionate & showing respect to all . That’s my belief & I am dumbfounded when I am not met with the same .
A good friend in her 40′s has been in the hospital Intensive Care Unit before Christmas Eve fighting for her life. She has liver damage & was unresponsive for days , but on Christmas Eve day , opened her eyes & looked at family with nothing but a blank stare , no responses. On Christmas eve night , her doc came by & when asked if she knew who this was , she turned her head & said “yes” & said his 1st & last name . When asked if she knew who her husband was , she said “yes” & uttered his name. That is a huge step forward & I’m still praying for her to improve. No more since then. You never know in life what will happen .. none of us , from one day to the next . I feel very close to her , as she is my friend who drove me to the doc & had me admitted to the hospital where/ when I died , & came back , but remained unresponsive for days hearing them tell the family there was nothing more they could do , it was up to me. She’s now there in that same place & I pray she will return in full again .
Life is short … tell those you love how you feel . Tell those you appreciate how you feel .
On that note , I will say I love all of you dearly who are still here fighting for justice for Morgan .Blink as the captain of this ship , I admire & love you & your dedication that you have for so many others ! 2~ 4 ~ 1
If any of you have a family member you love , or feel love for , tell them. Don’t leave this earth with another having open wounds from bitterness & angry words tossed about too freely . Try to live with Peace , without anger , without hatred as the driving force .I just cannot understand those who allow for hatred & anger to drive them .
Thinking of Morgan and her family this Christmas.
Praying that justice will be done for Morgan and that the next girl will be saved.
Peace to one and all.
“correct, 12 days later they were quite clear they had a picture of what happened inside, but not at all once she was outside. 100 people were interviewed in the first week (estimated) alone.”
I don’t think they have a very clear picture at all of what happened inside, or if they do they are suppressing it. If you take the quote “So we can concentrate on not what happened inside the arena but what happened outside the arena” by the VSP and combine it with the VSP’s unbelievable comments about the inside security videos and their non-comments about the outside security videos their story just isn’t credible. The VSP may not technically be lying but it amounts to the same thing.
If they have that limited a point of view why even be concerned with anything except the “timeline” after Morgan was seen on the bridge by the father and daughter driving by?
The question on the table is “Was Morgan roughed-up or abused by RMH Security at the JPJ Arena?” The question is unanswered. We do know RMH Security failed miserably to protect Morgan.
I would not categorize VSP as suppressing much of what they know went on inside the arena, or what they think they know based on the investigation. I know that nobody that is a JPJ/UVA supporter wants to hear this, but I absolutely believe there is/was a pressure on VSP to maintain a distance in events or factual evidence that have the potential for civil litigation.
I remember specifically the pressconf Lt. Rader (r) gave where he continually referred to UVA as a “university”. To their defense, I do know that Lt. Rader and SA Cappuzzo have had limited training in working the public, and I can’t fault them for that. I give them credit for getting this case where a multitude of errors had already occurred, and trying to roll that ball uphill to the best of their ability.
This is one of the major problems when you have a security team that are UVA PD, and they are also the first responders.
As far as your comments re the security footage, outside/inside or non-existent- I completely agree and have said so from day one.
I believe that will be a major item in the civil litigation, in that, I do not believe their is no footage of what is believed to be Morgan Harrington, or that there never was.
We will learn how this ties into “concern for what happened outside the arean”, imo.
B
what is the opinion today of all her friends who were there at the concert that night. ??
any of them speaking up ??
Edward- none of them have ever spoken publicly with the exception of a very brief response by Sarah Snead which was edited. There is no doubt however, that they will be deposed in the civil suit.
I am on record with my opinion on the friends behavior that night, and it is what it is.
That said, I do not believe that they had anything to do with what happened to Morgan, nor did they wish her any harm; they loved her very much. There is a lot going on in the dynamic of these young women individually and as a group, obviously.
I think as parents we need to do a better job dispelling the myth of the omnipitence of youth, although as we all said in the beginning, anyone of us could have suffered a similar fate based on our own foolish choices at that age.
B
Thanks Blink..
Just considering a what if scenario ..That possibly Sketch was inside the venue that evening and stalked his victim. May have talked to her and possibly gave her something like a drink. The friends may have witnessed this.
We will have to wait and see what happens in the trial I suppose.
Does anyone know who the limo driver was waiting for?
What does RMH (security) stand for? Is that the local Ron Howard that we’ve discussed here before? If so, I guess I missed that it was his security company actually working this event.
Has anyone been following the Greene County Sheriff’s Office story? I noticed that Major Randall Snead was dismissed by Sheriff-elect Smith along with others based on what has been loosely been described as a lack of “professionalism” as the reason for some of the dismissals. Snead was not excluded with respect to that.
I am very interested to see what comes of this. I will always associate that man withencroaching multiple jurisdictions in the Colby Eppard debacle.
link please?
B
http://www.newsplex.com/mobi?storyid=136237148
The above is a follow-up story to what l referenced regarding the Greene County Sheriff’s Dept. I didn’t see the original any longer on the mobile site. I’ll search later.
Good Gravy. That is a chitstorm and a half. I cannot say that I am surprised given what has gone on in my short coverage of the region since 2009.
When Sheriff Morris committed suicide, I read a great deal of his former quotes and comments, as I did a former LEO Steve Shifflett. I guess it should be said I am surprised it took this long.
I truly feel for the citizens of this community, that said, in LE, if you cannot trust your staff, there is no choice but to remove it, and I sincerely hope that letter was not designed to incite some sort of sabotage. I encourage citizens supporting the new Sheriff to attend the Board meeting.
B
The security company for the JPJ Arena is RMC Events. Go to ‘rmcevents.com’. Think they are based in Richmond, VA.
‘RMH Security’ is the in-house security for the Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, which is totally unrelated.
H&H is a minor security operation in Charlottesville which has the owner with the shady past and also is not, as far as I know, associated with RMC Events.
I hope everyone had a nice christmass.
2 things I noted in recent discussions:
-The parents opinion of what is normal for Morgan and the friends opinion differ greatly. I think this is not so strange tho but it begs the question if it was really not unusual for her to walk off and not show up for a day or more? Also it seems the lack of alarm and the advantage of sketch? was due to not assuming foul play from the start.
-also mom wrote something about Morgan ‘ rummaging’ in her bag and indicating that was the moment she realized she wanted to return. I think it was even earlier, searching for the ticket came after. Also I think Red asked about what ticket was offered? Well in a press statement LE said that multiple people offered assistance including buying a new ticket. Morgan refused maybe because it would not have helped?
so why is that?
did staff make it clear to her she ejected and not ever to come back?