JLM: Morgan Harrington/Fairfax Rape Victim - *Forensic Link* to MH #2

[waltzingmatilda]

Thanks to whoever posted this yesterday! There are some great pics of the area where Morgan was last seen, Copeley Bridge, AF, and the location of the Fairfax rape. I am re-posting becasue I need to close out this tab.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/june/help-FBI-catch-morgan-harrington-killer/photo-gallery/#

 

[wall0214]

I have to wonder if his IQ was tested as a child, or after he was arrested ... because if it was after he was arrested, I wouldn't trust it. I don't think it's that difficult for someone to appear stupid on an IQ test if that's what they want people to think.

I've always been of the mindset that if you have the mental capacity to commit a crime (especially repeatedly), you can suffer the consequences of prison (or worse). Obviously, there would be exceptions to that - say a large mentally handicapped boy hugged and infant to death...
In the case of JM - granted, these days graduating high school and attending college mean little - he was an exceptional athlete, so he probably got pushed through the system by his athletic merit, but it's frustrating nonetheless when people bring up IQ - all indications are that this man was a serial rapist/murderer - I would be absolutely sickened if he got off on some technicality like not being competent to stand trial...

 

[wall0214]

What other cases are police looking at right now? It was posted upthread that police were looking into a connection between Morgan and Hannah and Heidi Childs, but I haven't seen a link. Is there a link? When I look on google, I see speculation, but not a report quoting police where they are looking into a connection between Morgan and Heidi, or Heidi and Hannah. Is there an article and I'm not seeing it? ... it's possible. I'd like to read about the connection if it's there.

I think a lot of people are now thinking that Jesse must be responsible for all the murders in the area, but we know there's DNA from Heidi's case and we know that it has not yet been connected to Morgan. I think it's quite likely that someone else is responsible for Heidi, but that doesn't mean that Jesse had an accomplice and was also responsible for Heidi. It means that there's DNA in Heidi's case, and it was not connected to the DNA in Morgan's case.

I have become increasingly frustrated with local and national media and their irresponsible manner of reporting. There are constant references to "other missing girls in the area," but what most of them are failing to report is 1. Alexis Murphy's murderer has been convicted and sentenced - there was strong physical evidence in Randy Taylor's trailer that implicated him. 2. Samantha Clarke - Taylor called her 5 times the night she disappeared. The police bungled that investigation and I don't think anyone's luck is that bad that they just happen to be charged with murder and are linked to the disappearance of another young girl. 3. Dashad "Sage" Smith was supposed to meet Erik McFadden for a date, but according to McFadden, Sage never showed. The police identified McFadden as a POI in the case and when they wanted to bring him back in for additional questioning, they found that McFadden had skipped town and hasn't been located since.

 

[I Must Break You]

I'm not sure why this guys IQ even comes into the discussion. He is obviously not smart, I would say probably not even street wise. JM has been linked to 3 major crimes and looking at the particulars of each I don't see some criminal mastermind, in fact I see quite the opposite. The Fairfax assault he pulled a girl off the street, got interrupted by a neighbor and left DNA. With Morgan he again left DNA and with HG he picks his victim out in public in front of lots of witnesses and cameras. The fact this man has gotten away with these, and probably others, I doubt has much to do with intelligence and more to do with luck, and the fact it's quite hard for LE to find an assailant who is a complete stranger to his victims.

 

[otto]

Sorry that I did not follow the MH story, but can someone tell me why she left the arena to go to the bathroom? Are there not bathrooms inside the arena?? JMO

She left the arena to smoke.

 

[wall0214]

I keep seeing references to Morgan being intoxicated and that JM may have preyed on Hannah and Morgan because they were clearly incapacitated, but I read yesterday that Morgan in fact was not intoxicated, but may have been acting strangely because she got a concussion when she fell. Any insight on this - I can't find where toxicology reports or cause of death were ever released in Morgan's case.

 

[wall0214]

I'm not sure why this guys IQ even comes into the discussion. He is obviously not smart, I would say probably not even street wise. JM has been linked to 3 major crimes and looking at the particulars of each I don't see some criminal mastermind, in fact I see quite the opposite. The Fairfax assault he pulled a girl off the street, got interrupted by a neighbor and left DNA. With Morgan he again left DNA and with HG he picks his victim out in public in front of lots of witnesses and cameras. The fact this man has gotten away with these, and probably others, I doubt has much to do with intelligence and more to do with luck, and the fact it's quite hard for LE to find an assailant who is a complete stranger to his victims.

Unfortunately, it will come into play if he goes to trial. I don't know off hand what the threshold is, but if a defendant's IQ is below a certain point, he could be deemed not competent to stand trial.

 

[otto]

I have become increasingly frustrated with local and national media and their irresponsible manner of reporting. There are constant references to "other missing girls in the area," but what most of them are failing to report is 1. Alexis Murphy's murderer has been convicted and sentenced - there was strong physical evidence in Randy Taylor's trailer that implicated him. 2. Samantha Clarke - Taylor called her 5 times the night she disappeared. The police bungled that investigation and I don't think anyone's luck is that bad that they just happen to be charged with murder and are linked to the disappearance of another young girl. 3. Dashad "Sage" Smith was supposed to meet Erik McFadden for a date, but according to McFadden, Sage never showed. The police identified McFadden as a POI in the case and when they wanted to bring him back in for additional questioning, they found that McFadden had skipped town and hasn't been located since.

Thanks. It seems that when someone like Jesse is connected to a missing woman and a murdered woman, the talking heads go a bit nuts and omit the facts in order to link him to all missing women cases. All it does is muddy the water, get a few headlines, and then the people that muddied the water find some other story to sensationalize.

The fact that Jamisha Gilbert is mentioned in stories along side Morgan Harrington perfectly demonstrates that. Jamisha's disappearance was a serious mystery until her body was found, and then it was clear that she was simply incapacitated (drugs), had been in a vehicle accident, wandered away, became disoriented, and died of hypothermia.

 

[galaxygal]

I don't think they'll be able to play the low IQ card. This guy lived independently, had jobs, friends, volunteer coached a pee wee football team.

 

[Quill]

Unfortunately, it will come into play if he goes to trial. I don't know off hand what the threshold is, but if a defendant's IQ is below a certain point, he could be deemed not competent to stand trial.

He was smart enough to successfully navigate himself halfway across the country on the interstate highway system through three or four states, plus find shelter and food. Sounds competent to me.

 

[galaxygal]

What other cases are police looking at right now?

"In addition, authorities said they are studying other unsolved homicide and missing person cases in Virginia: In Campbell County, the sheriff's office is investigating a possible link to the case of Cassandra Morton, whose body was found in a wooded area near Lynchburg in November 2009; in Orange, police are checking for possible ties to the missing person case of Samantha Ann Clarke, who was last seen September 13, 2010; and in Montgomery County, the sheriff's office is looking for possible links to the unsolved 2009 shooting deaths of two Virginia Tech students, Heidi Childs and David Metzler."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/30/justice/virginia-missing-women/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Also, the VSP press release is indented in the article and can also be downloaded as a word file.

I wonder why they suspect a link to the shooting deaths of Heidi Childs and David Metzler. It doesn't seem to fit his MO

 

[Hank Scorpio]

<BBM for Focus>
."

Convicted serial killer Gary Michael Hilton has pleaded guilty to two more murders in North Carolina(federal).
As part of the plea deal, Hilton will spend life in prison with no chance of parole.
Hilton pleaded guilty today to killing John and Irene Bryant in 2007.
Prosecutors say Hilton camped out waiting for victims before he encountered the elderly couple hiking in the Pisgah National Forest.

Hilton is already serving a life sentence in Georgia for kidnapping and killing a hiker there and he is on death row in Florida for the kidnapping and murder of Crawfordville Sunday school teacher Cheryl Dunlap.

I followed that story pretty close, and I THINK the issue there was the plea deal was for life with the state of Georgia provided he gave them info about the Bryants. However, Florida did no such thing with Cheryl Dunlap case and gave him the DP.
Hilton appealed the Florida DP verdict, but it was upheld and he is still currently on death row there.

I may be off on some of that, as it was almost 8 years ago at this point.

 

[cubbeegirl]

He was smart enough to successfully navigate himself halfway across the country on the interstate highway system through three or four states, plus find shelter and food. Sounds competent to me.

Exactly ! Smart enough to carry off a couple of rapes... abductions and murders (possibly )... so I would say he is smart enough to know and suffer the consequences...JMO

 

[otto]

I keep seeing references to Morgan being intoxicated and that JM may have preyed on Hannah and Morgan because they were clearly incapacitated, but I read yesterday that Morgan in fact was not intoxicated, but may have been acting strangely because she got a concussion when she fell. Any insight on this - I can't find where toxicology reports or cause of death were ever released in Morgan's case.

It's fairly common for people to overlook/omit drug and alcohol abuse in a missing woman at the time of her disappearance. Morgan was partying hard with her friends prior to the concert and witness statements confirmed that she was out of it. She may have been so out of it that she tripped and cut her chin, but it was the alcohol that came first, not the cut on her chin. We know that Hannah was too drunk as she weaved down the street, but in a couple of years, it might be suggested that she was perfectly fine until she met Jesse. It's not uncommon for the drug/alcohol info to be omitted over time simply because no one wants the victim to be perceived as anything but perfect.

Morgan was found four months after she was murdered, so she was mostly (not entirely) skeletonized. Other than broken bones, I don't think anyone knows how she died. She was partying with her friends and they are the witnesses to her state of mind ... no toxicology needed.

 

[cubbeegirl]

I wonder why they suspect a link to the shooting deaths of Heidi Childs and David Metzler. It doesn't seem to fit his MO

I need to read more about Childs and Metzler.. its been awhile and my brain is foggy... were they together for sure or is it possible that David came upon the act and lost his life trying to help Childs? Forgive me for asking as I truly dont know alot about that case... and am late for work and am on websleuths and am afraid to start reading for fear of being REALLY late !

 

[I Must Break You]

Unfortunately, it will come into play if he goes to trial. I don't know off hand what the threshold is, but if a defendant's IQ is below a certain point, he could be deemed not competent to stand trial.

Yes it could be, but that obviously won't be the case here. JM is clearly not intelligent, maybe a bit below average. But with his job and multiple years in college there is absolutely no way he will be able to be declared not competent.

 

[otto]

Yes it could be, but that obviously won't be the case here. JM is clearly not intelligent, maybe a bit below average. But with his job and multiple years in college there is absolutely no way he will be able to be declared not competent.

He strikes me as a rather average - above average man. He was a second year university student, successfully held a job as a cab driver for 3 years, successfully held a job in the hospital and was recently promoted. He knows how to do the right thing when he wants to.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

It's fairly common for people to overlook/omit drug and alcohol abuse in a missing woman at the time of her disappearance. Morgan was partying hard with her friends prior to the concert and witness statements confirmed that she was out of it. She may have been so out of it that she tripped and cut her chin, but it was the alcohol that came first, not the cut on her chin. We know that Hannah was too drunk as she weaved down the street, but in a couple of years, it might be suggested that she was perfectly fine until she met Jesse. It's not uncommon for the drug/alcohol info to be omitted over time simply because no one wants the victim to be perceived as anything but perfect.

Morgan was found four months after she was murdered, so she was mostly (not entirely) skeletonized. Other than broken bones, I don't think anyone knows how she died. She was partying with her friends and they are the witnesses to her state of mind ... no toxicology needed.

Since the Harringtons have the full autopsy report on Morgan I do wonder if the ME stated that Morgan died from blunt force trauma.

That can be ruled in if her skull showed massive fractures even though she was skeletonized when found.

 

[franco]

Unfortunately, it will come into play if he goes to trial. I don't know off hand what the threshold is, but if a defendant's IQ is below a certain point, he could be deemed not competent to stand trial.

An 80 iq s still average but on the low side. It would have to fall below 65 to be incompetent

 

[Deba]

He strikes me as a rather average - above average man. He was a second year university student, successfully held a job as a cab driver for 3 years, successfully held a job in the hospital and was recently promoted. He knows how to do the right thing when he wants to.

I agree with your post. I would add though he was into his third year of university, albeit of short duration.