JLM Charged in Morgan Harrington murder

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IIRC Cassandra Morton's skull was found far from her body. . .too far to be just animals. We don't know yet if JM is responsible for Casandra, but I do remember reading that there were some similarities between. CM's and MH's crime scenes. That would be the kind of detail that LE would keep close to the vest. But at this point we really don't know. I think when and if these cases go to trial, there are going to be many many things we will learn.

The curiosity drives me nuts, but sometimes I think there are probably details I'm glad I don't know. :(

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk 2
 
mirv22 said:
Because it is unique and may be essential to be withheld for trial purposes?



Yes, right along the lines of what I was thinking too, danzn16.
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All media reports the the following in both MH and HG discovery: "a skull and bones were found" not a skull and some bones, not a skull and vertebrae, not some bones. Skull and Bones = ??
 
jamicat said:
I don't know what that means. Gil Harrington has said that her daugther was a fighter and that she knows Morgan fought to the end. She also says she knows her daughter was raped. And yet her death came quickly? I guess that means that they don't think she was tortured to death bit by bit, but in a sense, the fight and the rape were all part of her death, IMO and she suffered greatly, it was not an quick death in that regard. After all of the suffering, maybe he snapped her neck or strangled her, or stabbed her and that one act may have resulted in a quick death,but from the way he hurt the Fairfax victim and from what we heard in terms of hurting the Liberty U woman who reported she was raped by JM, I don't think the process was quick for MH.

In the case of Hannah, there is hope that it was, since it is possible she was drugged enough that she was not aware of what was happening to her. With MH, it doesn't so appear.
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I've always assumed that "Morgan died quickly" meant that she wasn't kept alive for hours & hours or days and tortured. From the serial sexual assault murders I'm familiar with from WS, I'd say it's likely the whole attack-rape-murder happened in under an hour from the time he began attacking her (not necessarily from when he picked her up, but from when he attacked). Most of the time it seems that the manner of death in these abduction cases where the victim is raped & murdered is strangulation/suffocation and/or blunt force trauma/beatings. I think serial rapists/murderers get off not just on the rape but the beating, strangling, etc they do while raping, if that make sense.

My guess is that Morgan's hyoid bone was broken, indicating strangulation. Her remains had been out for a while and my guess is her skull disarriculated from her body. I'm not sure about Hannah's but I wouldn't be surprised to find our her COD is either strangulation or blunt force trauma. I *think* the skull will be one of the first body parts to disarticulate from the rest of the remains, particularly if there was trauma to the neck (I seem to remember reading that on a forensics anthropology website, but I can't find a link, so don't take it as gospel).

Beheading someone without a guillotine or sharp axe, etc is relatively difficult (and messy), as is gutting someone. They take some time and patience for the killer. I doubt JLM had the patience or wanted to deal with the mess. I tend to think he raped while beating/strangling until the victim died. From what we know about the attack where the victim survived, this seems like his MO.

Rest in peace, Morgan.
 
ILOKAL said:
Last night I was doing some reading on Morgan's disappearance and no, she did not drive to the concert. She left her car at a friend's house and drove with friends to the concert.
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Depends on when your source is dated. The most recent and authoritative info I have seen says that her car was there all along. She could have just waited until the show ended! There are so many little mysteries and holes in the MH story, I would think JM scratches the surface but doesn't answer nearly enough IMO.

Why, many have asked, wouldn't Morgan have gone to her own car– which Cappuzzo says was parked in the lot between Emmett Street and U-Hall? As previously reported, one of the three friends who accompanied Morgan on their trip from Harrisonburg to Charlottesville was serving as designated driver that night, and as a result was holding on to her keys.

http://www.readthehook.com/88650/hes-still-here-and-other-revelations-harrington-case
 
What does everyone thing happened to MH that night?

I asked the same question about Hannah. LE has kept a lot of MH's particulars under wraps, and it's been a while, so it's a bit more difficult to come up with a theory.

My guess is that MH was looking for a ride "home". Apparently, she so told her friends that via text or phone call. Like Hannah who was in touch with friends for a while as she walked to that mall, so was MH when she got "locked out" of the concert arena. From what I have read, her friends lawyered up, so how much info they shared of the text messages and conversations remain unknown, maybe even to LE. But she was seen hitch hiking even, and witnesses have out and out said she was on something, drink or drugs.

So a cab rolls up and asks if she needs a ride. JM, perhaps, at her service. A calm honeyed voice saying he'd take her where ever. They can settle the tab later or maybe there is no tab, he says he's heading that way anyways. JM has been known to offer "freebie" taxi rides.

She'd likely go in the back She had hit her head, was taking some "stuff", was tired, upset, under the influence. Maybe she dozed off as the ride headed on, maybe she engaged in small talk with JM. I'm not sure how the cell phone, her purse and other things found in the arena area related here, as it would have been most risky to attack MH right there, take her phone, remove the battery, and pitch it with her purse. She may have just dropped those items herself unbeknownst to her. Some phones,, you drop, the battery goes one way the rest of the phone the other-I have such a cell phone.

When, where , how, MH would realize that they are not heading to where she wanted to go I don't think anyone would know for sure. Maybe now that LE has the cab they can see if she was in the back seat or front from DNA and if there are any signs of fight in the cab. I don't think so. I think he pulled off the road, maybe saying something about a problem with the car. Got out, maybe she jumped out to see too, or he just opened the car door and pulled her out before she realized there was a problem Or maybe she got out and ran and he caught her. Wouldn't have taken much to punch her and get her subdued and walk her to wherever to rape her, and kiill her Given what happened to the Fairfax victim, he could have strangled her while raping her Without interruption, finishing her off was not so difficult. No mention of marks on JM's face during that time. No one saying he showed up one day looking like he'd been in a cat fight. So there likely wasn't a whole lot done to him. He's just too big and strong for drugged up young women to give much resistance.

My guess is that he took the shirt and pitched it somewhere and someone else found it and displayed it. Doesn't sound like the sort of thing he'd take the time and care to do. I also think that his DNA is on that shirt, maybe on some thing with MH, or MH as well, with some reconstitution. Would be difficult, IMO without some significant DNA from JM on her person to get him for a murder charge here. Unless LE has some really good stuff. Reconstructing that evening in terms of JM's movements will likely be difficult If MH's DNA could be found in that cab, it would be great. Also JM's on her shirt (where I am betting it is) would also make for a strong progressions in that case. She was in Charlottesville for a very short time, and for her to have been in his cab, and have his DNA on her shirt is strong circumstantial evidence, unlke for Hannah whom we would expect to have some DNA in JM's car and possibly certain dna of JM on her pants. We all know they were together and that Hannah was willingly with her. MH spent most of her time in the area getting killed and being dead, so that a DNA link to JM is going to have a lot more impact, IMO.
 
Great post jamicat and exactly how the crime plays out in my head too. Poor Morgan! :(
 
I was just mapping 15th and Grady where they found Morgans shirt, I know the image is old, jeepers guys, I am new here so be gentle. :) I just thought it was interesting that an ambulance was in the pic.

Must be a busy point of interest. Just my thoughts.

Glad the link worked, thanks to the other ws member who shared that tool!
 
HauntsForHope said:
Was this item ever located?

http://s250.photobucket.com/user/LavandaDolce/media/MorganDanaHarringtonNecklace.jpg.html

View attachment 62279
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According to the FBI not as of June 13th 2012.

"Harrington was dressed that night in a black T-shirt with the word “Pantera” spelled out in tan letters and was wearing a distinctive Swarovski crystal necklace made of large crystal chain links, which investigators have yet to recover. Harrington’s “Pantera” T-shirt was found on November 11, 2009, in front of a row of apartments along 15th Street, NW near Grady Avenue in Charlottesville. Harrington’s skeletal remains were later discovered on January 26, 2010, in a remote field on an Albemarle County, Virginia farm along Route 29. A camera that Harrington had in her possession that night has never been recovered."



http://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/pre...dia-campaign-in-morgan-harrington-murder-case
 
Parents: Morgan Harrington likely died quickly
http://ww2.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/234568

Such is the slender solace offered by Tuesday's discovery. State police said Wednesday the medical examiner's office in Richmond had used dental records to confirm that the decomposed body found on a sprawling Albemarle County farm 10 miles south of Charlottesville were all that remain of the pretty, blond Virginia Tech student.

While police said nothing more -- except to note that investigators are still trying to determine the cause and time of death -- Gil and Dan Harrington said they gather from conversations with investigators that their fears of captivity were never reality, that their daughter was killed the night she disappeared from a rock concert in Charlottesville, that the time she spent with her killer was, mercifully, short.

"We are very happy to know that Morgan very likely did not live through the time of the concert," said Gil Harrington, who with her husband spoke with reporters in Charlottesville while their son Alex stood by their side. "She was a long time in that field. I'm happy to know she was not alive long enduring unspeakable things."

Do you think MH's parents say things that fit the image of how they hoped things happened, rather than being based on information from investigators? I'm starting to think that might be the way it is...
 
jamicat said:
What does everyone thing happened to MH that night?

I asked the same question about Hannah. LE has kept a lot of MH's particulars under wraps, and it's been a while, so it's a bit more difficult to come up with a theory.

My guess is that MH was looking for a ride "home". Apparently, she so told her friends that via text or phone call. Like Hannah who was in touch with friends for a while as she walked to that mall, so was MH when she got "locked out" of the concert arena. From what I have read, her friends lawyered up, so how much info they shared of the text messages and conversations remain unknown, maybe even to LE. But she was seen hitch hiking even, and witnesses have out and out said she was on something, drink or drugs.

So a cab rolls up and asks if she needs a ride. JM, perhaps, at her service. A calm honeyed voice saying he'd take her where ever. They can settle the tab later or maybe there is no tab, he says he's heading that way anyways. JM has been known to offer "freebie" taxi rides.

She'd likely go in the back She had hit her head, was taking some "stuff", was tired, upset, under the influence. Maybe she dozed off as the ride headed on, maybe she engaged in small talk with JM. I'm not sure how the cell phone, her purse and other things found in the arena area related here, as it would have been most risky to attack MH right there, take her phone, remove the battery, and pitch it with her purse. She may have just dropped those items herself unbeknownst to her. Some phones,, you drop, the battery goes one way the rest of the phone the other-I have such a cell phone.

When, where , how, MH would realize that they are not heading to where she wanted to go I don't think anyone would know for sure. Maybe now that LE has the cab they can see if she was in the back seat or front from DNA and if there are any signs of fight in the cab. I don't think so. I think he pulled off the road, maybe saying something about a problem with the car. Got out, maybe she jumped out to see too, or he just opened the car door and pulled her out before she realized there was a problem Or maybe she got out and ran and he caught her. Wouldn't have taken much to punch her and get her subdued and walk her to wherever to rape her, and kiill her Given what happened to the Fairfax victim, he could have strangled her while raping her Without interruption, finishing her off was not so difficult. No mention of marks on JM's face during that time. No one saying he showed up one day looking like he'd been in a cat fight. So there likely wasn't a whole lot done to him. He's just too big and strong for drugged up young women to give much resistance.

My guess is that he took the shirt and pitched it somewhere and someone else found it and displayed it. Doesn't sound like the sort of thing he'd take the time and care to do. I also think that his DNA is on that shirt, maybe on some thing with MH, or MH as well, with some reconstitution. Would be difficult, IMO without some significant DNA from JM on her person to get him for a murder charge here. Unless LE has some really good stuff. Reconstructing that evening in terms of JM's movements will likely be difficult If MH's DNA could be found in that cab, it would be great. Also JM's on her shirt (where I am betting it is) would also make for a strong progressions in that case. She was in Charlottesville for a very short time, and for her to have been in his cab, and have his DNA on her shirt is strong circumstantial evidence, unlke for Hannah whom we would expect to have some DNA in JM's car and possibly certain dna of JM on her pants. We all know they were together and that Hannah was willingly with her. MH spent most of her time in the area getting killed and being dead, so that a DNA link to JM is going to have a lot more impact, IMO.
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Your post just made me think of something...ok so say she did have her purse with her, her parents said it was a backpack like purse, and she would have likely had it on her back ( some reports, of her claim she didn't have a purse but her parents say they just might not have noticed it if it was on her back and blended with her shirt, I believe they where both black.) Anyway...so if you have a backpack on, and you go to sit down in a car, your gonna take off your backpack right....so if its off, its got to be next to her or on the ground. So with it not being attached to her any longer...if she either went running from the taxi or was yanked from the taxi its conceivable her purse remained in the car.

I can see JM being to be smart enough to know he can't touch the bags....but would he be considering carpet fibers? Like the ones from the cab they seized? "Forensic Link".... Suppose after JM had left MH at Anchorage Farm, he was driving back to Cville and realized her purse was there...he picked up an intoxicated girl the night of a Metallica concert wearing a Pantera shirt, asking for a ride back to perhaps Blacksburg? Roanoke?...(AF would have been on route)....I think he could have fairly easily established she wasn't local, and she was there for a concert....so a logical place to leave her purse....parking lot of the concert! Maybe just maybe when the cops found her purse, they identified fibers...but they didn't know what too...yet it was on file...then when they seize the taxi...bam match.

This would be one explanation why we have not seen files charged in the Morgan case, because while they might be able to prove she was in his cab, via the fibers, and that she was with him...DNA on shirt....they do not have enough yet to file murder or abduction charges.

On a side note, jmo on the phone...I think in this case its "possible" she had lost it before she had gotten in his cab. I think otherwise its "possible" she would have been calling someone while waiting on the bridge informing them she was going to take a cab home. She had first tried to get a ride somewhere from a group of Basketball players, they denied her because she was a stranger and because of her state. One of them witness her drop her phone, and saw the back come off. In her state, and trying to follow the boys, she might not have realized the back had popped off, and just reached for the main part of the phone, the battery might have still been attached, as some can fit pretty tight in there...but if she had dropped it again..walking on pavement it could have popped it out, perhaps sent it in a sewer or in in a pile of leaves....I'm not sure. But I can see how her cell would be the one thing shed be carrying while wearing her purse/backpack on her back. If she's trying to get a ride home she's not going to be returning her cell to her purse every time...and if she was in a heavily altered state for whatever reason...I can see her dropping her phone, while walking multiple times...so JM might not have needed to worry about that at all...he might have just gotten really lucky! She might have even said "I lost my cell phone"

Holycow! This guy doesn't go hunting, he waits for girls to fall in his lap! I think that's his type, plain and simple. He waits till he crosses paths with a vulnerable victim, when there right there in front of him, that's when he decides, he doesn't make them vulnerable, he just looks for the ones that already are! Not only is he a very very sick man but he's lazy! JMO of cours!
 
As far as what happened to her on that farm...here is my best guess....I think they were going down 29 south, just like she had asked him to, whether that be to school or home...but no one knows that she's on her way, because she's lost her phone and can't tell them. Perhaps they make small talk, because he is trying to drop her guard and make her feel safe. I think "caregiver" "protector" is one of his main MO's, that way it decreases his chances of anyone being alarmed at and remembering them together....he can "blend in" while committing his abductions. Or perhaps she falls asleep. But I think when they got to the side/utility road along Anchorage Farm, and he turned down it, the turn probably alerted her, because even in that state she knew they should be going straight for a good hr, and it had been less then 30min. I think as she opened her eyes, she knew she was in trouble. I think she jump from the moving car and starting running in that field, just running to get away....leaving her purse behind....I think he stopped the car and started chasing her, I think she hurt herself jumping from the car (explanation for breaking ribs, which are surprisingly easy to break!), or she could also have fallen, and sustained further injuries as she tried to run and get away. But obviously and sadly he caught up. I'm really torn on which order I believe he murdered and raped in...but I kinda of think...he killed first (ewwwww)(but better for the girls)...perhaps when he caught her, he was so angry she ran, he like other posters have suggested snapped her neck, are her actual death was quick (I meant quick not painless!)...then i believe he rapped her....dragged her to a more concealed place ....(though i believe she had run most of the way to where her body was found).... Then took his "souvenirs" and left.

Adding: perhaps when MH got in the cab, JM did his sweet talking, ill take care of you and get you home safe, you just rest your pretty little eyes routine...to gain her trust...then she nods off...

Hmmm.....HG....similar? But maybe Hannah was more "out of it"...maybe she passed out quicker, and slept harder, so he was able to keep driving for a while without her being aware of what was going on. and he was able to get her "inside" the cottage...as some rumors seem to suggest she may have been in there...or perhaps she ran from him, and tried to hide in there...all just speculation.
 
I wonder if any forensic testing results on JM's taxi that was seized are back yet. And if any results on that will be made public or will it be kept close to the vest until charges in the MH case are made? I'm probably getting ahead of procedure, but really curious.
 
Dear Morgan,
We know now that we will survive, but still have to figure out how to actually live and flourish post you. The means is literally at hand. I got your gold signet ring back from the Virginia State Police recently.
We all have the same ring and choose to wear this family emblem frequently. I am finding myself changed by wearing your ring. My
visceral response to it has surprised me a bit. It/you elevates me
through out my day.
I see the flash of gold on my hand as I rinse out a tea cup and I pray “Please Morgan, help me see things more clearly.” I smile to realize that I now pray to you rather than for you, knowing you are beyond all pain and harm, – angelic now.
Reading in my spot on the couch I turn a page and feel the unaccustomed weight of your ring. I am reminded to give thanks for this day, for the sweet light pressure of Kirby’s doggy chin on my leg. Blessing.
Wearing your ring, the one you were wearing when you were beaten, and your heart stopped beating, is my sacred honor and duty. The beauty of it, the pain of it continues to open me and whisper its teaching. I promise to listen so carefully and to stop grasping worry and fear and constructing barriers to wisdom. Hoping that acceptance and understanding will arrive eventually, I hear, learn, and choose to let the negative slip aside and instead allow growth to have its way – untethered.
Always and always,
241
Mama
 
Thank you Heroine for sharing this. I actually went to the find Morgan site today and read this. Morgan and her dear family have been on my mind a lot lately, but especially today. It's my deepest hope that charges will soon be made on her case and that justice can begin for Morgan. I think of the Harrington and Graham families both and my heart is always with them. Gil's writings are always so heartfelt. She is such an inspiration, even during their unimaginable pain and loss. Thank you dear Gil.
 
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