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

[minazoe]

Once Morgan was found, did LE at least call in the cab drivers and ask for DNA? Maybe they would refuse but you have to start somewhere, especially if his co-workers thought JM looked like the sketch.

Seems like basic police work...how many drivers were working that night? Now I feel pissed...they have a dude that resembles the drawing, was driving a brown van cab... That very night...a girl is missing..

Were the cabbie interviews after they found Morgan or while she was a missing person...still...wouldn't you go back after the discovery of a body? The girl got in a cab...no one saw her after that...not in a bar or on a street or anywhere. What in bloody hades have these cops been doing?

Maybe I am missing something in the law, probable cause for a warrant to get DNA? Who would admit picking her up? When did the cab company close? Did they do background checks?

Ugh...

 

[MzOpinion8d]

Regarding the cab, remember media will word things to be sensational over factual. My guess is that Jesse himself did not own the cab and park it out in the boonies on someone's farm for a few years. It's probably the one he drove while employed and then it was eventually retired and possibly sold. It may have then been "abandoned" because it needed repairs. I love the idea of it being his Killmobile with enough DNA evidence to solve 20 cases, but I don't think that's the case here. It's still VERY useful because it may contain more forensic evidence related to MH.

However, I could be totally wrong! Kinda hope I am, actually, and that it really does help solve a lot of cases.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Seems like basic police work...how many drivers were working that night? Now I feel pissed...they have a dude that resembles the drawing, was driving a brown van cab... That very night...a girl is missing..

Were the cabbie interviews after they found Morgan or while she was a missing person...still...wouldn't you go back after the discovery of a body? The girl got in a cab...no one saw her after that...not in a bar or on a street or anywhere. What in bloody hades have these cops been doing?

Maybe I am missing something in the law, probable cause for a warrant to get DNA? Who would admit picking her up? When did the cab company close? Did they do background checks?

Ugh...

If it turns out that JM is positively identified as MH's killer, I think there's going to be a lot of people not happy with LE.

 

[MomnVA]

Once Morgan was found, did LE at least call in the cab drivers and ask for DNA? Maybe they would refuse but you have to start somewhere, especially if his co-workers thought JM looked like the sketch.

That can be a challenge, in both legal and community relations terms. And Longo encountered problems along those lines earlier in his tenure in C'ville.

"...The serial rapist case brought Longo some of the most strident criticism he has faced in his time in Charlottesville. As police hunted for the man responsible for a string of rapes in the area, city police were accused of profiling and harassment for asking black men to submit mouth swabs for DNA testing.
At the time, police were asking black men for samples if they were reported to resemble a composite sketch of the rapist."

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/l...cle_c1ee131c-c4b3-54ab-b80d-c67cbbdb2766.html

 

[MzOpinion8d]

i think thats a common thing to look for when there is a sexual assault the perp has to be up close and personal with the victim so they often get scratched etc.

I agree but as big as he is and as small as MH was, one punch upside her head and she would have been knocked out. Plus his arms are long so he could have held her far enough away to keep her from getting in any good scratches. So lack of scratches doesn't indicate anything really. Although of course the presence of them would be very suspicious!

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Mother of god....get him.

They will, mina. I don't have one doubt.

The walls are tumbling down now and the bricks are going to land right on top of him.

He may have gotten away scott free for more than a decade but now he will never be able to rape or murder another young woman ever again.

And they have much more evidence than this IMO. The evidence against him just keeps stacking up higher and higher.

 

[ksj3]

OT, I know, but I have to express this.

May I just say that Hannah and Morgan and the Fairfax victim and his two rape victims in college, and perhaps many others, are heros? May God bless and keep these girls and their families. The numbers of lives they have potentially saved...

 

[Foxfire]

That can be a challenge, in both legal and community relations terms. And Longo encountered problems along those lines earlier in his tenure in C'ville.

"...The serial rapist case brought Longo some of the most strident criticism he has faced in his time in Charlottesville. As police hunted for the man responsible for a string of rapes in the area, city police were accused of profiling and harassment for asking black men to submit mouth swabs for DNA testing.
At the time, police were asking black men for samples if they were reported to resemble a composite sketch of the rapist."

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/l...cle_c1ee131c-c4b3-54ab-b80d-c67cbbdb2766.html

Thanx for sharing, MomVA.. This explains why JM was enabled to prey on other unsuspecting innocent victims/UVA coeds for almost a decade oblivious to law enforcement... Unbelievable and unacceptable, imo...

 

[Conductor71]

i think thats a common thing to look for when there is a sexual assault the perp has to be up close and personal with the victim so they often get scratched etc.

Just shared this in the wrong thread, but FWIW Morgan Harrington was last seen on Copeley Road and had a scratch on her chin. This was around 9:30 pm. Wonder when a Carter reports she was last seen alive getting into a cab? Not sure if relevant to JM having scratches but allows for easy DNA transfer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110505141.html

 

[oceanblueeyes]

That can be a challenge, in both legal and community relations terms. And Longo encountered problems along those lines earlier in his tenure in C'ville.

"...The serial rapist case brought Longo some of the most strident criticism he has faced in his time in Charlottesville. As police hunted for the man responsible for a string of rapes in the area, city police were accused of profiling and harassment for asking black men to submit mouth swabs for DNA testing.
At the time, police were asking black men for samples if they were reported to resemble a composite sketch of the rapist."

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/l...cle_c1ee131c-c4b3-54ab-b80d-c67cbbdb2766.html

I did just read a case recently where everyone in the area where a little girl was murdered did offer to give their DNA to LE. It sure weeded out the real killer since he was the only one that made excuses at first and stalled in giving his DNA and only did so because he was told to do so by his mother. At least the people that lived around there didn't scream they were being harassed.

I also wish this had happened back when Longo asked for volunteers. It wasn't racial profiling. They knew by the DNA it was an AA male. But I do think it should have been done on a voluntary basis only back then.

It would seem to me that they would want the rapist off the street too and if they knew they weren't the one they would gladly volunteer so they could be ruled out but I guess not. I know I would volunteer if asked if it would advance a case.

IMO

 

[Conductor71]

JM's dna was entered into CODIS in 2005 and Jesse Mathews was hiding in plain sight behind his evil mask of normalcy, imo. JM was oblivious to law enforcement and was allowed/enabled to continue preying on unsuspecting innocent victims for nine years. This is Unacceptable, imo...

Did I miss that in the press? I read that he was not in DNA database until HG; that is what broke case open.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

If it turns out that JM is positively identified as MH's killer, I think there's going to be a lot of people not happy with LE.

Why?

Even the Harringtons know that Morgan's case was a hard one to solve because of the DNA profile not being in any data bank.
JM probably gave off no bad vibes when questioned. He seems to be a great manipulator anyway.

They had no probable cause back then to even search his vehicle or they certainly would have done so.

 

[Doghairrules]

Did I miss that in the press? I read that he was not in DNA database until HG; that is what broke case open.

I think the DNA was in CODIS, but they did not have a person to match it to until they took JM's DNA.

 

[Moonchime]

OT, I know, but I have to express this.

May I just say that Hannah and Morgan and the Fairfax victim and his two rape victims in college, and perhaps many others, are heros? May God bless and keep these girls and their families. The numbers of lives they have potentially saved...

Very well said. I totally agree.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I agree but as big as he is and as small as MH was, one punch upside her head and she would have been knocked out. Plus his arms are long so he could have held her far enough away to keep her from getting in any good scratches. So lack of scratches doesn't indicate anything really. Although of course the presence of them would be very suspicious!

I remember reading about the case of a young woman who was at a bar in NYC and she was very intoxicated so the bouncer pretended he would take her to her home. Instead he took her to his apartment, tied her up, beat, raped and murdered her. He was a huge muscled brute as big as JM and she was a very petite woman yet she was able to scratch him and it was his blood that was under her fingernails that got him convicted.

So I do think Morgan could have scratched JM. When someone is trying to rape and/or murder I think the victim has super human strength due to being so terrified and know they are fighting for their life, literally.

IMO

 

[eileenhawkeye]

How did he manage to kill every missing woman in Virginia between 2009 and 2014? It doesn't sound like LE had their eye on him at all. Either they knew he was a threat to the public and did not do anything about it, or they thought nothing suspicious about him until the camera footage.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Just shared this in the wrong thread, but FWIW Morgan Harrington was last seen on Copeley Road and had a scratch on her chin. This was around 9:30 pm. Wonder when a Carter reports she was last seen alive getting into a cab? Not sure if relevant to JM having scratches but allows for easy DNA transfer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110505141.html

Just maybe if LE had released the information that MH was seen getting into a cab, people would have noticed things about cab drivers they knew that might not have gotten their attention otherwise. According to another post here on WebSleuths, there were 20 cabbies on duty that day/night--that's a very small pool of possible suspects. If JM was involved, I am having a very hard time understanding how he slipped under their radar for all these years. Or, maybe the story about MH getting into a cab is not accurate...

 

[MomnVA]

I think the DNA was in CODIS, but they did not have a person to match it to until they took JM's DNA.

I'm not aware that anything has been released saying that JM's DNA has been matched to the DNA in CODIS for the 2005 rape or anything else. Yet.
I think all we have so far, publicly, is a JM "forensic link" to MH. And unnamed LE telling CNN that means DNA. But not linked to the 2005 case. Yet.
IMO.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

How did he manage to kill every missing woman in Virginia between 2009 and 2014? It doesn't sound like LE had their eye on him at all. Either they knew he was a threat to the public and did not do anything about it, or they thought nothing suspicious about him until the camera footage.

It's baffling...I just don't see him as being that slippery!! Amazing...

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Can you retrieve DNA after 5 years? It would be great if this taxi came back to haunt him...

Oh yes, they have retrieved DNA in other cases that were decades old.

I wouldn't be shocked if DNA of other missing women are found in the abandoned cab as well.

This is a great find for LE.

IMO