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

[Walker]

well we have posted a lot of theories here and they all have been good ones.i just cant buy into this being a random abduction.the main reason being that she just wandered out of the arena.there was a reason she went outside.possibly from a preplanned meeting inside that her friends knew nothing about.i just believe she had interaction with her killer/s before the concert or before metallica came on.looking at the arena the doors are glass you can see outside unlike here at our civic center where a lot of one way exit doors are solid.she could have been coaxed outside by someone that was supposed to meet her inside.i also believe its not that hard to find someone at a concert if you know they are there i have done it many times.especially if i had an idea where they might be sitting.i think it would have been a good opp for someone that had a fixation on Morgan that maybe she didnt know about or did to carry out a plan.i can easily see this as being an old friend/murderer.

Considering this situation today: seems to me that there would be a certain social awkwardness in MH separating from group 1 & interacting with group 2.

[Recall that we have three groups:

1. the four White men dressed in black who walked from the arena to the RV Lot with MH as described by credible witness;

2. the BB players who had "limited interaction" with her, which is confirmed by LE ...]

Maybe MH felt that someone (let's call him BG) had stood her up. After arguing with arena security, maybe she happens to see him approach with a group of men. They are group 1.

To make BG jealous, she decides to flirt with the middle-aged guy. Even the kick may have been effort to make BG think that something was going on with another man.

MH walks with group 1 from the arena over to the RV lot for drinks at someone's car. She gets angry or annoyed at BG. To get back at him, she leaves, and goes over to flirt with members of group 2.

Group 2 doesn't want any trouble, and therefore the BB players leave her without offering her any ride.

All alone, she walks over to the bridge, only to see BG in his vehicle. Playfully she sticks out her thumb ...

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...fore-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

 

[rickh]

Considering this situation today: seems to me that there would be a certain social awkwardness in MH separating from group 1 & interacting with group 2.

[Recall that we have three groups:

1. the four White men dressed in black who walked from the arena to the RV Lot with MH as described by credible witness;

2. the BB players who had "limited interaction" with her, which is confirmed by LE ...]

Maybe MH felt that someone (let's call him BG) had stood her up. After arguing with arena security, maybe she happens to see him approach with a group of men. They are group 1.

To make BG jealous, she decides to flirt with the middle-aged guy. Even the kick may have been effort to make BG think that something was going on with another man.

MH walks with group 1 from the arena over to the RV lot for drinks at someone's car. She gets angry or annoyed at BG. To get back at him, she leaves, and goes over to flirt with members of group 2.

Group 2 doesn't want any trouble, and therefore the BB players leave her without offering her any ride.

All alone, she walks over to the bridge, only to see BG in his vehicle. Playfully she sticks out her thumb ...

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...fore-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

thanks walker i find it odd she called her friends at 8:48 to tell them she would find a ride home with friend/s.then within 10 minutes she is seen with four white guys laughing,shaking her leg at them etc.these guys are dressed in black sounds like rock metal fans to me.whats the chance they were inside the arena?or did they just dress in black to wander around on the parking lot.

 

[part time prof]

thanks walker i find it odd she called her friends at 8:48 to tell them she would find a ride home with friend/s.then within 10 minutes she is seen with four white guys laughing,shaking her leg at them etc.these guys are dressed in black sounds like rock metal fans to me.whats the chance they were inside the arena?or did they just dress in black to wander around on the parking lot.

Some possibilities (not necessarily mutually exclusive):

They could have been fans only of the opening acts (Gojira and Lamb of God), and coincidentally have left roughly the same time as Morgan was outside the arena.

They could have been "known" from an earlier encounter (e.g., at a place in Charlottesville the day of the show).

They could have been dressed in black (or dark tones reported as black) for reasons unrelated to metal.

It is my assumption that the UHall parking lot is reserved for JPJ event parking on event nights, thus the need for athletes to park in the Lannigan Field lot. If that is true, and if Morgan and the four guys were walking to their car in UHall Lot, laughing it up, it brings up a fourth possibility...

They themselves were late arrivals to the concert, getting there just for Metallica (as, apparently, the eyewitness to this was). As they approached the concert, they saw Morgan outside, perhaps upset and angry, perhaps dropping her things, and saw an opportunity, either to help (or make it better in their own way), or for nefarious purposes. So they say "come back to our car, we'll party a little more" or "we have an extra ticket" or something.

We don't know how long they were at the car or for what purpose, but I think we believe she next interacted with the basketball players, and at least one report says she walked with them from UHall to Lannigan Field (rather than heading over there, away from UHall, JPJ, and Copeley Bridge, by herself). After a "brief interaction," she left on foot, as did they in their cars.

Then she was reported hitchhiking on Copeley Bridge.

Since we don't know what happened with the four guys (did they then go in to see Metallica?) or the basketball players (did they suggest she get cash at the close-by bank?), nor why Morgan decided to hitchhike, that's what we have.

But the new realization for me is putting together the report of Morgan walking with the four guys across the UHall lot, and ending up at a car, with the assumption that all of that is reserved JPJ event parking (paid...$15?), which to me suggests they were indeed concert-goers.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

I think she was approaching people, looking for a ride, perhaps to some place in particular. Either Group 1 was too savvy to pick up a single female or they were going in a different direction. The middle-aged guy might have said something offensive or made her uncomfortable. Do we know where the BBall players were headed? Or were they just hanging out? If she asked them for a ride somewhere, LE knows that and may have more information about her intended destination than they have revealed.

The infuriating thing is--all we can do is speculate.

 

[part time prof]

I think she was approaching people, looking for a ride, perhaps to some place in particular. Either Group 1 was too savvy to pick up a single female or they were going in a different direction. The middle-aged guy might have said something offensive or made her uncomfortable. Do we know where the BBall players were headed? Or were they just hanging out? If she asked them for a ride somewhere, LE knows that and may have more information about her intended destination than they have revealed.

The infuriating thing is--all we can do is speculate.

I think her looking for a ride from Group 1 or Group 2 (or, conceivably from the middle-aged guy) is plausible, especially given that she was later apparently hitchhiking.

The basketball players most likely had just finished practice or a workout at The Cage (across UHall parking from Lannigan lot), were heading to their cars in Lannigan Field/R.V. parking, and from there were headed ?...

I still would like to know if either Group #1 or Group #2 members were some of those who reported that Morgan was hitchhiking on Copeley Bridge...

 

[rickh]

I think her looking for a ride from Group 1 or Group 2 (or, conceivably from the middle-aged guy) is plausible, especially given that she was later apparently hitchhiking.

The basketball players most likely had just finished practice or a workout at The Cage (across UHall parking from Lannigan lot), were heading to their cars in Lannigan Field/R.V. parking, and from there were headed ?...

I still would like to know if either Group #1 or Group #2 members were some of those who reported that Morgan was hitchhiking on Copeley Bridge...

i would like to know if anyone in group #1 has been identified or spoken with LE.

 

[Walker]

It is my assumption[/I] that the UHall parking lot is reserved for JPJ event parking on event nights, thus the need for athletes to park in the Lannigan Field lot. If that is true, and if Morgan and the four guys were walking to their car in UHall Lot, laughing it up, it brings up a fourth possibility...

The observer was in the U-Hall lot, but apparently both group 1 & group 2 were in the RV lot, which is used as overflow parking. Group 1 would not have needed tickets to park there; but it may have been a less expensive alternative to arena parking. How large can the RV lot be? Group 2 must have seen group 1 and their vehicle.

It wasn’t the last time the Richmond woman saw the young blonde. After she, her husband, and friend parked near U-Hall, she says, she saw the same group of five gathered around a vehicle in the RV Lot, or Lannigan Field overflow parking lot— the spot where Morgan’s purse and phone were found and one of the last places police have officially placed her.
“I figured, ‘They’re going to party before they go into JPJ,” says the woman, who estimates the RV Lot sighting as 9:15pm.

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...fore-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

 

[pittsburghgirl]

Was this witness referring to Group 1 or the basketball players?

 

[part time prof]

The observer was in the U-Hall lot, but apparently both group 1 & group 2 were in the RV lot, which is used as overflow parking. Group 1 would not have needed tickets to park there; but it may have been a less expensive alternative to arena parking. How large can the RV lot be? Group 2 must have seen group 1 and their vehicle.

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...fore-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

Thanks for this, I had misremembered where the interaction with Group #1 took place, thinking it was the UHall parking lot.

As I understand it, the R.V./Lannigan Field lot is available to UVa athletes for parking when they have been displaced from UHall parking for JPJ Events, but not, strictly speaking, open to the public or event goers (different for football games, when it really is the "R.V. Lot"). Not really "overflow" parking, the way I think about that term, but still "reserved."

I know when I drive past the lot, the gate is sometimes closed (not sure if locked), but often open, with a sign saying "Authorized Personnel Only," but perhaps non-athletes have figured out a way to park there during shows...wonder if it's monitored at all (or only during early arrival times) during JPJ events? I recall Ms. Geller saying there was no tracking of who might have been there, in terms of license plates recorded or anything.

Since the interaction with group #1 took place at the R.V. lot as well, perhaps they are UVa athletes as well???

I know that I, for one, don't park in too many places around UVa that I don't think are legitimate, but maybe they had insider knowledge that I don't have (e.g., nobody ever gets ticketed/towed from there).

 

[part time prof]

The observer was in the U-Hall lot, but apparently both group 1 & group 2 were in the RV lot, which is used as overflow parking. Group 1 would not have needed tickets to park there; but it may have been a less expensive alternative to arena parking. How large can the RV lot be? Group 2 must have seen group 1 and their vehicle.




http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...fore-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

From the article:

“It was right about 9pm when we were driving down Massie Road with JPJ to left,” says a Richmond bookkeeper/musician whose late arrival prevented her from hearing opening acts Gojira and Lamb of God— but got her there in time to spot a “wobbly” blonde woman step in front of the car.

With the blonde were four young, white men— a conspicuous group, says the witness, because of the direction they were headed: away from the Arena."

So, it appears they did walk as a group from close to JPJ through UHall lot, to the R.V. lot, which suggests to me they were *not* athletes, unless they had finished whatever they were doing and gone over to JPJ to check out the scene, because heading from any of the athletic venues that I am aware of to the R.V. lot wouldn't have taken them particularly close to JPJ, from which they crossed Massie Road.

Although a further quote about the empty parking lot confuses me. “I thought, ‘That girl should have no business going off with those guys, walking into an empty parking lot when the concert is getting ready to start.”

UHall lot was likely packed (for the concert), and the R.V. lot certainly had a few cars in it, but I guess that's (the R.V. lot) what the witness meant and maybe they stayed on Copeley Road the whole time after crossing Massie, never entering the UHall lot...but wasn't Morgan reported walking through that lot, still in possession of her purse???

Especially with the boots discrepancy (over the knee or knee high), I'm starting to wonder about this sighting as well...

 

[carbuff]

From the article:
<snipped for the relevant part>
Although a further quote about the empty parking lot confuses me. “I thought, ‘That girl should have no business going off with those guys, walking into an empty parking lot when the concert is getting ready to start.”

UHall lot was likely packed (for the concert), and the R.V. lot certainly had a few cars in it, but I guess that's (the R.V. lot) what the witness meant and maybe they stayed on Copeley Road the whole time after crossing Massie, never entering the UHall lot...but wasn't Morgan reported walking through that lot, still in possession of her purse???

Especially with the boots discrepancy (over the knee or knee high), I'm starting to wonder about this sighting as well...

Might "empty" mean that there weren't any other people around, rather than that there weren't any cars in it?

 

[ChasingMoxie]

I find all sightings that contacted media outlets to be at least somewhat questionable. All of the witnesses that LE seems to be valuing the most appear to have been asked NOT to contact the media or participate in interviews. This includes the basketball players, the friends, and the hitchhiking sightings reported by LE. I can't remember any others that can go here at this time, but I won't be surprised if LE has been in contact with others and made the same request. I hope so, anyway.

 

[Walker]

Especially with the boots discrepancy (over the knee or knee high), I'm starting to wonder about this sighting as well...

MH is confirmed to have been in the RV lot at that point in time. Of course, there may have been another woman who happened to bear a striking resemblance.

It wasn&#8217;t the last time the Richmond woman saw the young blonde. After she, her husband, and friend parked near U-Hall, she says, she saw the same group of five gathered around a vehicle in the RV Lot, or Lannigan Field overflow parking lot&#8212; the spot where Morgan&#8217;s purse and phone were found and one of the last places police have officially placed her.
&#8220;I figured, &#8216;They&#8217;re going to party before they go into JPJ,&#8221; says the woman, who estimates the RV Lot sighting as 9:15pm. When she learned about the disappearance on Monday, October 19, she says, she immediately relayed her information to police, who have interviewed her as many as five times in the past three weeks.

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...organ-harrington-last-seen-over-train-tracks/

Time line:

8:20 - 8:30 - Harrington outside Arena at front and the side facing U-Hall
8:30-8:48 -Harrington at various locations outside arena
8:48 - friend calls and offers other entry door suggestions, but Harrington says she&#8217;ll try to get a ride home from &#8220;friends around Charlottesville&#8221;
8:48 - 9:00 - Harrington still in the Arena area
9:00 - 9:10 - Harrington walking with purse through U-Hall parking lot &#8220;around&#8221; and &#8220;walking in the same direction&#8221;&#8212; but not necessarily &#8220;with&#8221;&#8212; other people
9:10 - 9:20 - Harrington in the RV Lot with &#8220;limited interaction&#8221; with witnesses
9:20 - some witnesses leave in vehicles
9:20 - 9:30 - Harrington walks on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road

JMO: The boots aren't that important. She could easily have changed her boots or decided not to wear the ones which she told her mom she was going to wear. GH did not see her at the arena.

Until now, the missing woman&#8217;s boots have been described as &#8220;knee high,&#8221; but this witness insists they were &#8220;over the knee.&#8221; (Through a spokesperson with the Harrington&#8217;s recently hired PR firm, Gil Harrington says the boots she saw Morgan try on prior to the concert were not above the knee.)

 

[Walker]

Might "empty" mean that there weren't any other people around, rather than that there weren't any cars in it?

JMO: she may have meant "empty" in the sense of one girl being all alone with all those men in a secluded place.

&#8216;That girl should have no business going off with those guys ...

 

[gnomony]

JMO: The boots aren't that important. She could easily have changed her boots or decided not to wear the ones which she told her mom she was going to wear.

If the boots were recovered with her remains, LE would know exactly what kind of boots she was wearing. Unfortunately for this discussion, we do not.

 

[SusieMom]

Just a thought about the boot controversy....

What if instead of wearing tights as reported she was wearing black thigh high opaque stockings? This could reconcile nearly all the reports as thigh highs are notorious for rolling down your leg . Up down up down all night long. I can imagine after awhile not really caring enough to bother pulling them up. Also, I can imagine that those who knew she had on thigh high opaque stockings might not have felt them substantially different from tights to make the distinction. Also lets face it, thigh high stockings, opaque or not, have a certain stigma (for lack of a better word) that something as sensible and little girlish as "tights" do not.

Pulled up in their proper position, I can imagine that at a glance it might appear that she WAS wearing above the knee boots... let 'em slide on down a few inches... You've got knee high boots.

 

[PaulR]

I'm guessing that her friends would have been the ones to definitively say what she was wearing last. If they said she was wearing tights, then she was probably wearing them.

 

[SusieMom]

I'm guessing that her friends would have been the ones to definitively say what she was wearing last. If they said she was wearing tights, then she was probably wearing them.

I guess what I was getting at is that the actual word TIGHTS could have applied even if they were thigh-high rather than regular waist high. So the friends might have said "Tights", so possibly adjusting our definition of the word might be helpful especially when it comes to reconciling variations in the witness descriptions of the boots. See, as a female, the significant difference, IMO, between panty hose or stockings (which are practically synonyms) and "tights" is opacity. If they are opaque... I call 'em tights, If they are sheer... pantyhose. Generally speaking something thigh high fits into the category of "stockings" however if they were opaque I can see calling them tights b/c it would be more accurate, IMO, and would avoid possible misinterpretation. If I'd read in a description that she was wearing thigh high stockings, I would have assumed they were sheer (or even net) and that she was being intentionally a bit flirtatious in her dress for the evening. Not a good idea to convey if you are trying to garner victim sympathy to aid the immediate search efforts. (Right or wrong as that may be, I'm just saying...)

That's probably more of a discussion of hosiery anybody wants to have. It was just a thought that I entertained while pondering boots.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

If the tights and boots were both black, it might cause witnesses--who after all were not focused on remembering Morgan's outfit--to be confused about the height of the boots, or just to misremember or be uncertain.

 

[KAE]

If the tights and boots were both black, it might cause witnesses--who after all were not focused on remembering Morgan's outfit--to be confused about the height of the boots, or just to misremember or be uncertain.

Or confuse her outfit with something similar that someone else was wearing. I'm sure there was a lot of black clothing being worn that night, as I recall from my concert days. :angel: