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

[Roselvr]

5) Another clarification...there was NO way the "friends" could have "thrown her the keys" or "met her and give her the keys" ..because Morgan called them and said she would try to get in and/or get a ride....and they tried to call her back and she did not answer. They had no idea which gate /entryway she was at, in fact she apparently tried a couple different doors with no luck

This is something else I wanted to address and keep forgetting..

If my car is out; I always hold the keys.. I don't care who is driving. When the car gets parked; keys go back on my purse. There is no way I am getting separated from my car. I always thought it was weird Morgan wasn't holding her own keys.

Back to reading & catching up.

.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

Her death was ruled a homicide not a murder which still leaved alot open to interpretation until more info is released

homicide
n. the killing of a human being due to the act or omission of another. Included among homicides are murder and manslaughter, but not all homicides are a crime, particularly when there is a lack of criminal intent. Non-criminal homicides include killing in self-defense, a misadventure like a hunting accident or automobile wreck without a violation of law like reckless driving, or legal (government) execution. Suicide is a homicide, but in most cases there is no one to prosecute if the suicide is successful. Assisting or attempting suicide can be a crime.
http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=881

You make a good point. However, the issue of "murder" doesn't come up until a suspect is charged. LE doesn't usually talk about "murder" until a suspect is in hand and charges are brought against him or her.

 

[Roselvr]

7) Another clarification....I had posted before various "proof" that Morgan had overdrafted her debit card, and was "going to balance her account" the very next day with her dad....I think this meant that she did NOT have money/much money on her card and that limited her options. She probably had cash on her...but may have spent it??

If she was my kid & I knew she had no money in her account; I would have made sure there was at least enough money to cover the minimum balance as well as an extra $100 just in case. I don't just say this.. I've done this many times with my son.

 

[Waddles]

This is something else I wanted to address and keep forgetting..

If my car is out; I always hold the keys.. I don't care who is driving. When the car gets parked; keys go back on my purse. There is no way I am getting separated from my car. I always thought it was weird Morgan wasn't holding her own keys.

Back to reading & catching up.

.

I think this could have been a designated driver thing...

 

[carbuff]

Is there a pointer to the information about the Harringtons formerly living in Charlottesville? Thanks in advance.

 

[Roselvr]

I think this could have been a designated driver thing...

Which would confirm she was drinking or something.

I worked on the blog last night & this morning.. added more links that were posted on the last pages. The blog was too long so I had to split it in 1/2 -

Morgan Dana Harrington - links which I made the newest blog &

Dan Harrington’s summary as well as the link to where I got it from

Time to clean up the white fluffy we were dumped with...

.

 

[ella971]

Roselvr, Thank You so much for taking the time to do this.Very helpful.

 

[LogicalMinds]

Some thoughts...
Morgan left the concert building by choice (not to smoke or use bathroom). The friends kiss on the cheek says to me that they did not intend to see each other for a while. I think she intended to meet up with someone, they didn't show, and she tried to get back into the concert but couldn't. did she eventually meet her friend and thats why she was hitchhiking because she saw his car? i doubt she went off with a stranger. I'm sure one of her friends could have brought out money to buy a ticket from a scalper. If that was asked or offered. I am sure its known by police who she was meeting and what her plans were. But since her plans may not have worked out where was she intending to go? A local party or a nearby friends house would have been good options since she had to know that no one would drive her back to Harrisonburg (correct place?)

Sorry..that is not supported again because they could NOT call her, she could apparently not call them....the phone was not working...she made ONE call to her friends and then tried to get back in, she did not/could not call them so there was NO way they could "bring money out to her" for a scalper's ticket

there is again NO way they could "meet her at the gate and give her the keys"...they would need to know which gate, where, and she did NOT call them back

Once I realized from various posts on her family forum that the PHONE BATTERY WAS AN ONGOING PROBLEM I was able to grasp that many of the scenarios that people are putting out were just not possible...none of this "meet the friends" stuff would be possible

I was out shopping and saw a woman drop her phone and the battery popped out and skidded across the floor, of course she retrieved it, but that night was crowded , noisy, Morgan was apparently in some "altered" state..and the battery was gone. I don't think the "perp" removed the battery, I think the battery came out when phone dropped...and sadly this may have been one of many factors leading to this tragedy

as far as the "meeting someone">>?> unless it was a drug dealer I don't buy that idea either...Morgan wanted to see Metallica, wanted to see the concert...there is no way she would miss it to meet some mysterious guy...why would she have to do that anyhow?? She was not a child, she lived on HER OWN IN AN APARTMENT>...while close to her family she was not under their thumb, she could meet this "mystery man" that people speak of anytime, anywhere, why would she miss a concert for him?? I don't buy it sorry

While the friends have been close lipped with the media, they have no doubt given LE all they know..which is not much..dragging them in further only complicates their futures (my guess is that the girls were drinking underage and maybe doing some drugs party party)

IF they felt there was some "mystery man" she was meeting they would surely have said by now...and really why would she have to meet someone out there?? She was on her own, had a car, an apartment, she was not some 13 year old dating an older guy or whatever, that just makes no sense to me

Kissing her friends?? Check out any photos on myspace and facebook and photobucket and you tube...kids are demonstrative...especially when "partying"

I think that her going outside was a mistake, went out to smoke mistake, or went to look for more booze or drugs etc....she called the friends....they suggested places for her to try to get in...she tried but SHE DROPPED PHONE LOST BATTERY>...COULD NOT CALL THEM BACK>...
THEY COULD NOT "MEET HER"...COULD NOT"THROW HER THE KEYS"...COULD NOT "GIVE HER MONEY FOR THE SCALPERS"...

and..again....her debit card was overdrawn..so she probably did not have money to buy a scalpers ticket (*if any out there...remember the startup bands were already playing)....the ticket office was closed..and again she HAD NO PHONE

There have been some reports that she went to the pay phone at the convenience store..more proof to me that the phone was NOT working, the battery was dropped....today if one finds a rare antique pay phone it may not be working or may be complicated...plus who even knows many phone numbers anymore?? they are all stored in our cell phones

If one looks at what DH has listed....adds in that her cell phone was defective and prone to losing the battery, add in that she was "impaired", put together the fact she called friends, texted and then no more calls, didn't answer calls, add in that she likely did not have a lot of money, had an overdrawn debit card....

didn't NEED to meet anyone outside and would not have missed the concert willingly...

tried to use a payphone...was angry and frustrated and seemed to be "impaired"....

then I think that she was approached and offered a ride and with the combined situation she made a fatal mistake and accepted that ride...
I would bet the guy was pretty nice looking, seemed harmless, may have known mutual friends, or talked a good game ...

I feel that he may be abuser, rapist/date rapist ....but this night it escalated to murder. I think he felt she was an easy mark, but she fought back and here we are.

I could be wrong about some of this, especially the guy...but I feel that the phone/debit card etc is a logical and valid scenario

 

[Waddles]

Which would confirm she was drinking or something.

I worked on the blog last night & this morning.. added more links that were posted on the last pages. The blog was too long so I had to split it in 1/2 -

Morgan Dana Harrington - links which I made the newest blog &
Dan Harrington’s summary as well as the link to where I got it from

Time to clean up the white fluffy we were dumped with...

.

Yes this was actually established, at first through witness testimonies and later by LE. I have yet to take a look at the blog, I'll look at home tonight

 

[LadyBug99]

IMO - If Morgan had plans to meet someone outside of the arena the police would know this. She would have made plans via cell phone (call or text) or computer. Police would have talked to anyone that Morgan had contact with in the days leading up to the concert.

Also, I don't think the killer is just someone who knows about the farm. As someone stated before, they really have to know the land and the layout. Just because someone lives next to or has partied on a farm doesn't mean they know the area where Morgan was discovered.

If Mr. Bass does the work on the farm, who else would know the land? Specifically the area where Morgan was..

I keep going back to hunters. With or without permission. Hunters will normally know the layout of a large property such as this. They spend a lot of time scoping out the good spots. Knowing the tree lines (prime location) and how to get around in the dark. They like to set up before first light. I don't know why....but I keep going back to this.

There is usually a lot of police presence at a concert such as this. I also posted a link earlier showing the arrests made at the arena that night. This is also why I think Morgan was not attacked and forced into a car. I think she willingly got into a car with someone.

JMO of course!

 

[ella971]

Sorry..that is not supported again because they could NOT call her, she could apparently not call them....the phone was not working...she made ONE call to her friends and then tried to get back in, she did not/could not call them so there was NO way they could "bring money out to her" for a scalper's ticket

there is again NO way they could "meet her at the gate and give her the keys"...they would need to know which gate, where, and she did NOT call them back

Once I realized from various posts on her family forum that the PHONE BATTERY WAS AN ONGOING PROBLEM I was able to grasp that many of the scenarios that people are putting out were just not possible...none of this "meet the friends" stuff would be possible

I was out shopping and saw a woman drop her phone and the battery popped out and skidded across the floor, of course she retrieved it, but that night was crowded , noisy, Morgan was apparently in some "altered" state..and the battery was gone. I don't think the "perp" removed the battery, I think the battery came out when phone dropped...and sadly this may have been one of many factors leading to this tragedy

as far as the "meeting someone">>?> unless it was a drug dealer I don't buy that idea either...Morgan wanted to see Metallica, wanted to see the concert...there is no way she would miss it to meet some mysterious guy...why would she have to do that anyhow?? She was not a child, she lived on HER OWN IN AN APARTMENT>...while close to her family she was not under their thumb, she could meet this "mystery man" that people speak of anytime, anywhere, why would she miss a concert for him?? I don't buy it sorry

While the friends have been close lipped with the media, they have no doubt given LE all they know..which is not much..dragging them in further only complicates their futures (my guess is that the girls were drinking underage and maybe doing some drugs party party)

IF they felt there was some "mystery man" she was meeting they would surely have said by now...and really why would she have to meet someone out there?? She was on her own, had a car, an apartment, she was not some 13 year old dating an older guy or whatever, that just makes no sense to me

Kissing her friends?? Check out any photos on myspace and facebook and photobucket and you tube...kids are demonstrative...especially when "partying"

I think that her going outside was a mistake, went out to smoke mistake, or went to look for more booze or drugs etc....she called the friends....they suggested places for her to try to get in...she tried but SHE DROPPED PHONE LOST BATTERY>...COULD NOT CALL THEM BACK>...
THEY COULD NOT "MEET HER"...COULD NOT"THROW HER THE KEYS"...COULD NOT "GIVE HER MONEY FOR THE SCALPERS"...

and..again....her debit card was overdrawn..so she probably did not have money to buy a scalpers ticket (*if any out there...remember the startup bands were already playing)....the ticket office was closed..and again she HAD NO PHONE

There have been some reports that she went to the pay phone at the convenience store..more proof to me that the phone was NOT working, the battery was dropped....today if one finds a rare antique pay phone it may not be working or may be complicated...plus who even knows many phone numbers anymore?? they are all stored in our cell phones

If one looks at what DH has listed....adds in that her cell phone was defective and prone to losing the battery, add in that she was "impaired", put together the fact she called friends, texted and then no more calls, didn't answer calls, add in that she likely did not have a lot of money, had an overdrawn debit card....

didn't NEED to meet anyone outside and would not have missed the concert willingly...

tried to use a payphone...was angry and frustrated and seemed to be "impaired"....

then I think that she was approached and offered a ride and with the combined situation she made a fatal mistake and accepted that ride...
I would bet the guy was pretty nice looking, seemed harmless, may have known mutual friends, or talked a good game ...

I feel that he may be abuser, rapist/date rapist ....but this night it escalated to murder. I think he felt she was an easy mark, but she fought back and here we are.

I could be wrong about some of this, especially the guy...but I feel that the phone/debit card etc is a logical and valid scenario

I'm on the same page with you. Add in maybe someone giving her a ruffie (flunitrazapam) date rape drug.

 

[ella971]

A family member of mine in her 20's went to N.Y.at Christmas with friends. Someone sent them over two glasses of wine. E got up to go to the bathroom. Vanished! Friends could not find her.She woke up in the hospital with not remembering ANYTHING! Including how she got to the hospital. Very,very scary. Thank God she is okay. She also is a very beautiful girl inside and out. Was Teen usa. We need to warn our kids more about this drug.

 

[Waddles]

it's awful, happens way more often than people say
It happened to me once (I was safe!) and even to my friend -he picked up the wrong beer destined for a group of girls

 

[LogicalMinds]

Waddles..
the guy was the "designated driver"....a friend but not close, he has a girlfriend who does not like heavy metal, he was brought along to drive them it seems

LadyBug...great point to further eliminate the "meeting mystery guy" idea...with today's technology, phone/computer/cell phone records would show she was meeting someone, and I think that by now the friends would have given up her "secret'>> ie, there was no secret meeting, no secret guy (and of course NO reason for a secret, since she lived in an apartment, and why would she miss a concert etc?)

Ella...that is a possibility ...date rape drug? Maybe someone (not her friends) slipped her that....maybe she was just disoriented and went outside..or maybe went to get some pot or downer to bring her "down" or whatever?? I don't know

Much of what happened that night seems very random...I have to remind myself that there were so many people there, loud heavy metal music blaring, night time, lights and special effect lights etc....steps and crowds and all the random, busy, confusing mess of an arena

 

[LadyBug99]

Anyone have any ideas about where Morgan was killed?

Hypothetically...If Morgan got into the car with someone at 9:30ish, do you think she was brought to the farm then? Killed there?

I'm wondering if she was taken and killed someplace else and dumped on the farm later that night. 10:00ish seems too early for her killer to chance getting caught. The vehicle would have been parked somewhere that it may have been noticed. Also, early enough that people in the area may not be sleeping yet.

Thoughts? TIA

 

[ella971]

Waddles..
the guy was the "designated driver"....a friend but not close, he has a girlfriend who does not like heavy metal, he was brought along to drive them it seems

LadyBug...great point to further eliminate the "meeting mystery guy" idea...with today's technology, phone/computer/cell phone records would show she was meeting someone, and I think that by now the friends would have given up her "secret'>> ie, there was no secret meeting, no secret guy (and of course NO reason for a secret, since she lived in an apartment, and why would she miss a concert etc?)

Ella...that is a possibility ...date rape drug? Maybe someone (not her friends) slipped her that....maybe she was just disoriented and went outside..or maybe went to get some pot or downer to bring her "down" or whatever?? I don't know

Much of what happened that night seems very random...I have to remind myself that there were so many people there, loud heavy metal music blaring, night time, lights and special effect lights etc....steps and crowds and all the random, busy, confusing mess of an arena

Hard line for us parents.We trust our kids.It's the other people we worry about.We want to protect them and let them live their own lives. I feel it was random.

 

[ella971]

Anyone have any ideas about where Morgan was killed?

Hypothetically...If Morgan got into the car with someone at 9:30ish, do you think she was brought to the farm then? Killed there?

I'm wondering if she was taken and killed someplace else and dumped on the farm later that night. 10:00ish seems too early for her killer to chance getting caught. The vehicle would have been parked somewhere that it may have been noticed. Also, early enough that people in the area may not be sleeping yet.

Thoughts? TIA

I'm sure who ever she was with she felt she could handle. I'm also sure who ever she was with I pray did drug her so she did not realize what was going on. I wish Monsters looked like Monsters.

 

[ella971]

Anyone have any ideas about where Morgan was killed?

Hypothetically...If Morgan got into the car with someone at 9:30ish, do you think she was brought to the farm then? Killed there?

I'm wondering if she was taken and killed someplace else and dumped on the farm later that night. 10:00ish seems too early for her killer to chance getting caught. The vehicle would have been parked somewhere that it may have been noticed. Also, early enough that people in the area may not be sleeping yet.

Thoughts? TIA

This perp was extremely comfortable with both know locations.

 

[carbuff]

I thought her behavior as described in and out of the arena was completely consistent with having been slipped a roofie or GBH.

 

[part time prof]

Have been without internet for a few days due to storms, power, phone, and dsl outages in Charlottesville...again makes me think it's a miracle her body was found when it was.

Location, location, location...yes, either someone killed her there or put her there (or her body ended up there having been moved by nature from somewhere else...swollen creek idea advanced here, perhaps?).

Hunters, workers, landscapers, partiers, Wiccans, mushroom farmers, band members, former renters, nearby RSOs, band roadies...all have been mentioned and should be considered.

Personally, I think the egress was from the back, not the main AF road, and I think the perp(s) believed her body would never be found there (knew it wasn't checked by DB more than twice a year and would be cut in the spring)...and it was a fluke that it was.

As for the purse, despite different reports, I believe it was found in Lannigan Field parking lot the next day (but turned in at the Cage), and even if it was dropped/left/lost in a struggle Saturday night, since that lot is only overflow parking for athletes on concert nights, it was probably little traveled after the concert (few, if any, concertgoers were likely parked there, and basketball practice/workout seems to have ended by 9:20...though we don't know how many other athlete's cars were parked there). Would be nice to know the circumstances under which it was found/turned in and if any forensic evidence was obtained.

How do we reconcile the location of the purse with the last known location of MH, hitchhiking on Copeley Road Bridge?

1) perp returned it after the fact (least likely in my opinion, but I'm no profiler and am only really following this case).

2) MH had left it/lost it in Lannigan Field Parking Lot without knowing it after brief interaction with BB players and any unnamed others (in which case she was hitching without her purse...either really "out of it"...head injury shouldn't be discounted, or of course other impairment at her hands or others'...or out of desperation, i.e., trying to get away from someone...but LE has stated she was not in apparent signs of distress, and BB players/others presumably would have reported that).

3) MH still had it on Copeley Road Bridge, was actually hitching, and walked the 100 feet or so (depending on where she was on the bridge) and crossed the street to the Lannigan Field Lot to catch her ride, which had pulled past her and then turned left into the lot...whether the individual was known to her or not...at which point perp throws it out before driving off, turning right out of parking lot, right at Ivy Road signal light, off to 29-S and a straight shot to AF location...unlikely nobody saw this, but the concert was in full swing, the lot was semi-deserted (I would argue), it was a cold misty night and Copeley Road isn't all that frequently traveled at that time of night in my local opinion.

4) MH was never hitchhiking and never on the bridge, whatever happened happened in LF parking lot, and LE issued the (false) hitching report for some specific reason.

5) MH was hitching (or holding out her thumb for a known person's car on the bridge), she got into a car on Copeley Road, and the car quickly turned into LF parking to turn around and head to Blacksburg/Roanoke/Harrisonburg. Perp tossed the purse and continued as #3 above.

A few other thoughts:

There have been rumors/talk of a party at a hotel/motel beforehand and that they were all going to stay at a local place that night...much easier to imagine getting a ride to a local hotel/crash pad than to Blacksburg/Roanoke/Harrisonburg, but that only "works" if we believe that the friends didn't wait around for awhile afterward that night and then drive back to H'burg (why would they do that if they were staying locally?) or that they did so because they needed MH's share of the room cost and couldn't swing it otherwise. And with her possible financial issues anyway, that seems less likely.

Crozet has also been mentioned as possibly relevant (party before/crash after), and it's only about 12 miles from Charlottesville.

Re: designated driver. Saw claim that MH was studying for math test during drive to JPJ, so may have been more innocent than partying it up (at least at that time).

So all this leaves 1) someone she knew who also knew AF location intimately enough to do this (most unlikely, imho), 2) someone she didn't know who looked trustworthy (VA Tech hat or sweatshirt, young and good-looking, nice car, Bonnaroo t-shirt, tie-dye, small and meek, whatever) and knew the AF location, and is a first-timer at this (escalation scenario or partying gone bad), or 3) someone she didn't know, who didn't necessarily look trustworthy, but blitz-attack abducted her, and, knew the AF location.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it's helpful.