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

[libby5264]

I cannot imagine them touching her bones, omigod...breaks my heart...I remember a while back someone even speculated she was dropped from a plane, he would need a baseball at or a big rock to do that,

What other means? Could he have done this bare handed? I can't believe how smug he was in court, imagine , he doesn't like his slab and sitting around in a paper dress...this is his only concern....himself.

Well, god will have him ultimately and that is some comfort. IMO

The image of the parents touching their baby's bones really got me.

 

[LarkBunting]

The owner of Anchorage Farm was checking his fence when he discovered MH's body. A farm has a fence to keep in cows. 2,000 pound cows would definitely break bones.

AF isn't a dairy farm. IIRC, there were no cows in that field or with access to that field.

 

[Quill]

The owner of Anchorage Farm was checking his fence when he discovered MH's body. A farm has a fence to keep in cows. 2,000 pound cows would definitely break bones.

But I had read where the field was high and let go to hay. Cows would not be on a field that was going to hay. Daughter of a cattle farmer, right here. Fences serve lots of purposes, including to keep people out. I read where they had trouble with trespassers hunting deer. Farmers often move cattle off the field in order to let the hay grow or just rotate to give the land rest. JMO and all that jazz.

 

[Mommyisabear]

The owner of Anchorage Farm was checking his fence when he discovered MH's body. A farm has a fence to keep in cows. 2,000 pound cows would definitely break bones.

As a cattle owner/rancher, I can say pretty confidently that cattle did not cause those broken bones. Cattle do not attack, and they do not trample dead bodies. In fact, they stay the heck away from anything deceased.
In my experience.

 

[HokieBird]

But I had read where the field was high and let go to hay. Cows would not be on a field that was going to hay. Daughter of a cattle farmer, right here. Fences serve lots of purposes, including to keep people out. I read where they had trouble with trespassers hunting deer. Farmers often move cattle off the field in order to let the hay grow or just rotate to give the land rest. JMO and all that jazz.

See this link

Note the line: "Bass told The Associated Press he was feeding his cattle at the time and saw the remains from his tractor. "

 

[HokieBird]

As a cattle owner/rancher, I can say pretty confidently that cattle did not cause those broken bones. Cattle do not attack, and they do not trample dead bodies. In fact, they stay the heck away from anything deceased.
In my experience.

I have cattle as well and have seen plenty of deer with trampled bones. Cattle are too dumb to avoid bones.

 

[Mimimak]

Would medical examiner be able to tell if bones were broken post mortem vs. while she was still alive?

 

[Quill]

See this link

Note the line: "Bass told The Associated Press he was feeding his cattle at the time and saw the remains from his tractor. "

Interesting. Lots of conflicting stories then. Checking fence, feeding cattle, etc. maybe they are all somewhat correct. We'll never know unless we talk to Bass, is my guess. But I will say that I think (JMO here) that bones broken from being stepped on would present very differently from bones that have been broken by an attacker in a beating. Cows lumber along. They don't cavort like horses do. I'm not saying they couldn't do damage, but I will say that I've seen them avoid carcasses on our place. Maybe it's just our cows. But I've never seen anyone keep cows on a hayfield. Lol.

 

[Mommyisabear]

I have cattle as well and have seen plenty of deer with trampled bones. Cattle are too dumb to avoid bones.

Bones, but a body? I thought her body was intact, just broken. If cattle trampled skeletal remains they would be spread out, I'd think. I don't know how advanced the decomposition was.

 

[liebling]

Just wondering...could MH have jumped out of a moving vehicle? I would imagine that would cause some significant breakage if the car was moving at a solid clip, right? I'm no medical expert, though.

 

[Pacific2011]

IIRC, Mr. Bass discovered MH's body when he was out checking the fences on the perimeter of his property after a winter storm, which could have caused some damage.

 

[2Hope4]

Wasn't Morgan found in Jan? If so, ain't no farmer in VA baling, cutting, or dealing with hay then! Only loading it on the tractor to feed in the fields, the huge round bales or huge square bales....but not a hay field needing cutting/baling etc that time of the year.

 

[Quill]

Wasn't Morgan found in Jan? If so, ain't no farmer in VA baling, cutting, or dealing with hay then! Only loading it on the tractor to feed in the fields, the huge round bales or huge square bales....but not a hay field needing cutting/baling etc that time of the year.

I never read anything about cutting or baling. It just called it a hayfield. In my world, that might include a pasture that was being allowed a break from having stock or crop on it.

 

[MidgeC]

Interesting. Lots of conflicting stories then. Checking fence, feeding cattle, etc. maybe they are all somewhat correct. We'll never know unless we talk to Bass, is my guess. But I will say that I think (JMO here) that bones broken from being stepped on would present very differently from bones that have been broken by an attacker in a beating. Cows lumber along. They don't cavort like horses do. I'm not saying they couldn't do damage, but I will say that I've seen them avoid carcasses on our place. Maybe it's just our cows. But I've never seen anyone keep cows on a hayfield. Lol.

The Harringtons are both medical professionals and were given the autopsy report by LE. It is probably safe to assume that if they say MH's bones were broken prior to her death, which they have described as brutal and sadistic, that is probably an accurate statement.

 

[AVIXEN]

You are so right, AVIXEN. Athena Jones does definitely say in her tv news clip that it was DNA that was matched. But since this is the first time that the forensic evidence has been identified as DNA, I find it suspicious that in the tv's text summary they never refer to it as DNA ~ only as "forensic link." Is there any chance that Athena Jones made the jump from forensic evidence to DNA without any supporting statements from the proper authorities? I :dunno: but I am withholding my assessment for right now.

No, they do print it too...

"NEW: DNA links Jesse Matthew to death of Virginia Tech student, source says"

It's just that it was confirmed unofficially from an LE source, and like Jamicat said, there are definitely different levels of DNA evidence. I just wanted to provide a link that shows a hardcore mainstream media outlet like CNN has an LE source that says the forensic link is DNA. No snark intended, really just to preserve the link on the forum for later

 

[MidgeC]

No, they do print it too...

"NEW: DNA links Jesse Matthew to death of Virginia Tech student, source says"

It's just that it was confirmed unofficially from an LE source, and like Jamicat said, there are definitely different levels of DNA evidence. I just wanted to provide a link that shows a hardcore mainstream media outlet like CNN has an LE source that says the forensic link is DNA. No snark intended, really just to preserve the link on the forum for later

Here's something else I recently learned about DNA evidence. Not all DNA evidence is in a suitable format to be entered into CODIS; so LE can't exclusively rely on CODIS matches for DNA collected at crime scenes. That's about all I really know about the subject, but I suspect we will be hearing about it a lot more in the months to come.

 

[HokieBird]

Bones, but a body? I thought her body was intact, just broken. If cattle trampled skeletal remains they would be spread out, I'd think. I don't know how advanced the decomposition was.

It was out in the elements for 3 winter months. There was no body. Have you seen a deer by the side of the road after a week?

 

[MidgeC]

It was out in the elements for 3 winter months. There was no body. Have you seen a deer by the side of the road after a week?

There was in fact some flesh still attached-- enough to get DNA samples. Several posters have posted links on the subject earlier today.

 

[2Hope4]

Right, but the talk about the grass being so tall, etc., well, that farmer had no intention of haying it then or he would have done so already. Sometimes leaving a field with hay on it, and turning the cattle out on for the winter, but, you're losing lots of hay then.

I don't know. I just want this monster trialed, convicted, and done with! Too many families have waited too long and I'm impatient tonight!!!

BTW, we didn't hay a fall cutting this year, bush hogged it but not as low as a hay cutting, so that the horses can have it.

 

[2Hope4]

I hope I'm still in Morgan's thread. I watched the disappeared episode today, and still can't believe there was NO VIDEO AT ALL of Morgan. NONE! How can that be???