Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #13

[theforgotten]

Sadly, I haven't visited Morgan's thread lately. Today, I came back and I'm very disturbed by the news of the condition of her bones. How awful! I pray that, who ever this monster is, did this to her after death. It breaks my heart to think that she was tortured. I wonder if the police have found other female bodies, who's bones were in the same condition? I pray that her family will someday get the answers that they need.

 

[Paulette]

The shattering of her bones sounds personal.

 

[MBLover]

Very angry individual

Personal? Maybe, but maybe not at Morgan. Maybe she was a "representative" of who he was full of rage for.

In all of the places the killer could have taken Morgan's body and dumped it, he didn't. He didn't drive a few miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway or dump her in the woods on Afton Mtn. or in any woods. He chose Anchorage Farms.

Was this directed on a "personal level" to someone at AF or who is connected in a personal way (family/family ties) to AF?

 

[Mia]

Just decided to check into this thread and see how the investigation is going. I kept up with and posted on this thread quite a bit before Morgan was found. I cannot believe these many weeks later there is still no POI named, no suspects that we know of, and that the same info is still being rehashed (she met someone who offered to let her meet the band, she was lured outside by someone who stalked her from FB, etc. - not that I blame the rehashing; what else can one do when no more facts are known or being released?) Is this turning into a cold case? I wonder how active the investigation is? I doubt the Harrington's would let it go cold - it's clear they miss Morgan very much and that her murder turned their world upside down. I feel so badly for them.

I still think this was a local - someone who knew that farm if not very well, then reasonably well. And I also think one or more of the perp's family members have a suspicion about their son/brother/father but are too scared or guilty feeling to turn him in, or don't want THEIR family turned upside down as well. Someone went to that concert that night or was out in Charlottesville that night and got home very late, and most likely acted suspiciously/unusually for a time afterward. Someone had to notice this, and put two and two together.

 

[Mia]

On another board, someone suggested that the perp(s) are playing word games: 1. the word "anchorage" might mean something to him/them, or suggest that the body has been "anchored down;" 2. the name Bass is associated with research on forensic science. The name Bass is not unusual, and the Bass family of AF is not believed to be any relation.

http://crime-scene-processing.suite101.com/article.cfm/forensic_anthropology

Could not be a just a coincidence. This murder was not merely the mad impulse of totally crazed & brutish stranger.

Are there any other names around the immediate area that might have meaning?

The latitude & longitude of the location of the body might also be symbolic: the latitude & longitude of Anchorage Farm itself according to the following site is 37.983631,-78.610791.

http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html

or roughly 38-79.

Could be code for a date that only means something to them; for example, March 8, 1979? Someone's birthday? Some event? Perhaps some event known locally.

This sounds a bit crazy Walker, with all due respect, as I enjoy reading your posts on this thread. The killer researched a particular longitude and latitude whose numbers corresponded to, say, his birthday, and then somehow in the dark of night took the time to drop Morgan's body at these coordinates? And why, exactly? To leave a clue? As far as the name "Anchorage" Farms goes, her body wasn't anchored down, was it? Just dropped, as far as I can see. No, I believe the killer most likely killed her in his vehicle or at another location and dropped her body where it was found because it was close by and he didn't want to be driving all over kingdom come with a dead girl in his car, and because he was familiar somewhat with the farm and knew that where he dropped her she wouldn't be found for awhile.

Getting off track with this conspiracy/hidden meaning stuff, IMO. That said, once again I really enjoy your posts Walker. Hope I didn't offend.

 

[LogicalMinds]

I agree...I don't feel there is any reason to think that some killer was working out acrostic puzzles or anagrams (at one point it was suggested they wanted to "anchor" her body to "Anchorage" Farms)

that is simply not realistic

and again we do NOT know what bones were shattered...or how

many bones "shattered"??? maybe run over by atv or tractor

arm bones shattered, maybe damage to skull?? Maybe hit with tire iron or ?? hammer or 'something?? Battered to death??

Battery is one way that a killer who does not have a gun can kill....full of rage but not necessarily personal

I agree with Mia that this seems to be some local who somehow was able to convince (or force) Morgan to go with them....a local with bad intentions

There are many things we don't know here

I don't think this is personal...I think that this murderer is out there and that other women in the area there are in danger of them, horrible danger

One thing about "personal" murders is that they are so specific that at least others are not in danger...ie, an angry husband/boyfriend is a danger to the woman in his life but probably is not going out to be a serial killer etc

I don't know if this is a serial killer but I do think this is a dangerous guy who could strike again...he may have killed before...or may have raped...or may have "date raped" women who he felt he could "get away" with this horrible stuff with....ie, stripper or prostitute or ?? A lot of serial killers start that way

also....just because there is no other case with this exact MO doesn't mean that much...this could be his first kill or he could vary the MO, and may have others who have not been found or given this attention(ie runaway, prostitute etc)

Plus there are others missing in Virginia etc right??

 

[Walker]

This sounds a bit crazy Walker, with all due respect, as I enjoy reading your posts on this thread.

The idea that the killer referenced some hidden meaning is not that unlikely. Did you read that first link? I can't believe that you didn't notice something odd about the name Bass.

The killer researched a particular longitude and latitude whose numbers corresponded to, say, his birthday, and then somehow in the dark of night took the time to drop Morgan's body at these coordinates? And why, exactly? To leave a clue?

Do you realize how easily one could choose a particular latitude-longitude in a plane? Dropping a body from a plane is not that unusual.

As far as the name "Anchorage" Farms goes, her body wasn't anchored down, was it? Just dropped, as far as I can see.

How do you know? The body was found in a stream bed. Several posters discussed the possibility of floods moving the body to that location. Possibly the killers feared a flood moving it away. Plus, the name "Anchorage" could have some other meaning to the killer: maybe he lived in AK for a while. We don't know.

No, I believe the killer most likely killed her in his vehicle or at another location and dropped her body where it was found because it was close by and he didn't want to be driving all over kingdom come with a dead girl in his car, and because he was familiar somewhat with the farm and knew that where he dropped her she wouldn't be found for awhile.

A plane drop would be easier, and this scenario would explain the shattered bones. However, as I said before, at least two people would have to be involved.

Getting off track with this conspiracy/hidden meaning stuff, IMO. That said, once again I really enjoy your posts Walker. Hope I didn't offend.

A conspiracy just means more than one individual working together. We don't know how many people were involved in committing this crime.

There are cases in which killers used hidden meanings (the Zodiac Killer, the Manson Family, for example). The possibility of hidden meaning should be explored; because we may be able to figure out some type of code & help solve the case.

In any case, there certainly is no harm done in merely discussing the possibility that some name or location has significance, even if it should later turn out to be unlikely.

 

[evelyn24]

I agree...I don't feel there is any reason to think that some killer was working out acrostic puzzles or anagrams (at one point it was suggested they wanted to "anchor" her body to "Anchorage" Farms)

that is simply not realistic

and again we do NOT know what bones were shattered...or how

many bones "shattered"??? maybe run over by atv or tractor

arm bones shattered, maybe damage to skull?? Maybe hit with tire iron or ?? hammer or 'something?? Battered to death??

Battery is one way that a killer who does not have a gun can kill....full of rage but not necessarily personal

I agree with Mia that this seems to be some local who somehow was able to convince (or force) Morgan to go with them....a local with bad intentions

There are many things we don't know here

I don't think this is personal...I think that this murderer is out there and that other women in the area there are in danger of them, horrible danger

One thing about "personal" murders is that they are so specific that at least others are not in danger...ie, an angry husband/boyfriend is a danger to the woman in his life but probably is not going out to be a serial killer etc

I don't know if this is a serial killer but I do think this is a dangerous guy who could strike again...he may have killed before...or may have raped...or may have "date raped" women who he felt he could "get away" with this horrible stuff with....ie, stripper or prostitute or ?? A lot of serial killers start that way

also....just because there is no other case with this exact MO doesn't mean that much...this could be his first kill or he could vary the MO, and may have others who have not been found or given this attention(ie runaway, prostitute etc)

Plus there are others missing in Virginia etc right??

Bludgeoned/beaten to death is what first popped into my mind when I read about "shattered" bones.

 

[gnomony]

The body was found in a stream bed.

Not to quibble, but that doesn't look even remotely like a "stream bed" to me.

As for the plane, many things are possible, but the more high-flying the hypothesis, the less likely to be true, in my opinion. I would reach farther for an explanation only if I didn't have a good one at hand.

We don't have the details about how she first connected with the perp or about how her life ended, but it's not hard to imagine how it might have been, and I have read numerous reasonable websleuth hypotheses. I also read someone saying this could be all about the African gold market.

As I say, many things are possible, but I generally don't take an airplane when I can walk.

 

[LogicalMinds]

I agree with gnmoney.....

following the Occam's Razor idea...that the answer that has the least amount of variables is probably correct, basically the most simple answer is likely the right answer I don't think that the perp used a plane or dropped her from a plane. Just too many variables to go through there for me

anything is POSSIBLE but I feel it is best to look for what is "probable"

 

[Walker]

Not to quibble, but that doesn't look even remotely like a "stream bed" to me.

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/n...here_harrington_body_found_scrutinized/51599/

Quote from the above link:

The area where the body was discovered was initially reported by police to be a hayfield. It was, in fact, a pasture with particularly tall grass, Bass said. “It’s a creek bottom, and the grass grows real well, even though I bushhog it,” he said.

He added, “The only reason I think I saw it was the heavy deep snow.” By the time the more than 20 inches of snow the region received in December melted, it had matted down tall grass all across the region.

As for the plane, many things are possible, but the more high-flying the hypothesis, the less likely to be true, in my opinion. I would reach farther for an explanation only if I didn't have a good one at hand.

In another case, my suggestion that a missing person may have been forced onto a plane met with similar extreme protests. These days, small planes can be bought for less than $100K and rented for less than $200/hour. Of course, maintenance costs are huge; but if someone had this specific training (for example, in the military), they could do much of it themselves. You do not have to be a billionaire to have easy access to your own plane; you just have to know planes. They are common now. And, unfortunately, dumping bodies by plane is not that unusual.

We don't have the details about how she first connected with the perp or about how her life ended, but it's not hard to imagine how it might have been, and I have read numerous reasonable websleuth hypotheses. I also read someone saying this could be all about the African gold market.

Interesting. Do you have a link to that post?

As I say, many things are possible, but I generally don't take an airplane when I can walk.

There is no requirement that small planes even be housed in airports. You can keep your small private plane in a large barn.

Actually, the simplest answer is that the body was dropped from a plane.

 

[Walker]

I agree with gnmoney.....

following the Occam's Razor idea...that the answer that has the least amount of variables is probably correct, basically the most simple answer is likely the right answer I don't think that the perp used a plane or dropped her from a plane. Just too many variables to go through there for me

anything is POSSIBLE but I feel it is best to look for what is "probable"

The plane would eliminate a lot of variables: no DNA trail (hair caught on fence, threads of clothing, fingernails, etc), no running into late-night partiers or hunters, easy to get to exact location desired, no tire marks of any kind, cheap, easy, common & quick.

 

[gnomony]

Interesting. Do you have a link to that post?

I meant to say copper. It was your post.

 

[gnomony]

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/n...here_harrington_body_found_scrutinized/51599/

Perhaps you're right about the stream bed, but unless the map I saw was wrong, that's not what it looked like. Thanks for the correction.

 

[nostoneunturned]

na I'm throwing out the plane idea..how could you determine where her body would fall?
It could have landed in Mr Basses back yard.
If it was more remote ...maybe but I'm still thinking, someone she thought she knew as a friend ,someone she knew either from a party, or someone she knew through her brother.
Shattered..could mean animal breaking her bones..we have wild dogs,wild boar, bears and wolves around here...if she was left at the sight since October it's hard to tell what could have been at her body.
The medical examiner will know...their is no need to guess...he will know if her bones were shattered with a weapon or if the breaks were from a "fall" or from a hit and run...
or an animal..the 4 legged kind.
I feel so sorry for MH's family,such a waste of all their lives...noone will ever be the same that knew M..
I believed, her bones showed signs of something from what LE didn't say...if it had been a simple case of hit and run I think LE would have said something "about asking for anyone having an injury to their car..having it fixed around that time"...I always thought her bones would show she had been shot. but maybe not..

 

[evelyn24]

na I'm throwing out the plane idea..how could you determine where her body would fall?
It could have landed in Mr Basses back yard.
If it was more remote ...maybe but I'm still thinking, someone she thought she knew as a friend ,someone she knew either from a party, or someone she knew through her brother.
Shattered..could mean animal breaking her bones..we have wild dogs,wild boar, bears and wolves around here...if she was left at the sight since October it's hard to tell what could have been at her body.
The medical examiner will know...their is no need to guess...he will know if her bones were shattered with a weapon or if the breaks were from a "fall" or from a hit and run...
or an animal..the 4 legged kind.
I feel so sorry for MH's family,such a waste of all their lives...noone will ever be the same that knew M..
I believed, her bones showed signs of something from what LE didn't say...if it had been a simple case of hit and run I think LE would have said something "about asking for anyone having an injury to their car..having it fixed around that time"...I always thought her bones would show she had been shot. but maybe not..

A powerful close gun shot would definitely shatter bones.

 

[Walker]

na I'm throwing out the plane idea..how could you determine where her body would fall?
It could have landed in Mr Basses back yard...

A small plane could temporarily descend to a low altitude. The Bass home was about one mile away.

 

[lawlady84]

A small plane could temporarily descend to a low altitude. The Bass home was about one mile away.

Someone would hear a plane flying so low.

 

[PaulR]

Someone would hear a plane flying so low.

What if it was a stealth plane?

 

[Wes]

What if it was a stealth plane?

Like a B-2. I think we're onto something here.