Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #14

[ThePhantom]

Carbuff, *great* catch -- and definitely worth investigating

 

[rossva]

VSP have confirmed the purse was found by a lacrosse player.

 

[ThePhantom]

Mercy me, my stomach is turning.

 

[dovebar]

Everything looks creepy in retrospect. I read a Washington Post article from 2006 that said Huguely was the quarterback of his prep school football team (read: big man on campus). He once bet his assistant coach that if he made a play, he should get a kiss from the assistant's girlfriend. (Of course, the girlfriend wasn't consulted in the bet). He made the play and came off the field asking what her number was.

Now, maybe it's just hubris. But it's pretty weird that a high school kid would make this suggestion to an adult man who was his assistant coach. Presumably the woman was older too.

In this article, which is a profile of him (in the Washington Post!), he is portrayed as a real golden child, star. No wonder he couldn't take rejection. I really wonder who Morgan ran into that night, whether they had been drinking, and what kind of rage they might fly into. Football players today are notorious for steroid abuse and if you look at this kid's picture, his head and neck have that steroid look. I wonder if the police will or can drug test him for this.

Edit: for how violent this guy can get, note that he kicked in this girl's door to get to her. And a female police officer who encountered him drunk and stumbling through the streets of Lexington had to taser him to get him to quit attacking her.

 

[LadyBug99]

It is so very tragic that once again a young talented women has left this world too soon. I have to wonder if GH was on steroids. IMO I thought that his neck looked rather large, but I have not seen many pictures of him. It is all very sad. Sad that GH was never really held accountable for his actions in the past, only leading him to commit a horrific act of violence against someone he had claimed to love. He should not have been let off so leniently after his first run in with the female officer. The lax coach and UVA should have also held him accountable. He should not have been an active member of the team after his arrest. Money and privilege did nothing to help this boy, instead it taught him that he can do whatever he wants.

This type of anger and violence only escalates. If Morgan's killer is not caught soon, I fear he will strike again. I also have to question why VSP were so quick to say that these cases are not related. I do doubt that they are, but I wonder what they know to make them state this so vehemently. IMO that gave me hope that they already have Morgan's killer in their sights and are working to piece together the evidence or looking for a way to link them to Morgan's body or belongings. I pray that this is the case!!

 

[carbuff]

It wouldn't be surprising if a student-athlete found it wherever it was. Quite a high percentage of students at most universities participate in athletics at some level. There are certainly problems with the cult of athletics in the US, but it's a mistake to assume that two people being athletes, even on the same team, constitutes a major connection.

I am, however, wondering if the accused murderer has a connection through a different activity. He was vice president of UVa's chapter for Operation Smile (http://www.operationsmile.org/), which helps provide reconstructive surgery and dentistry for kids with cleft palate worldwide. Were MH or GH (or DH for that matter) ever involved with that organization? (The comments for this article http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/03/uva-student-found-dead/ quote his UVa athletic dep't bio)

I hate to quote myself, but...

Operation Smile is apparently for med school students, so if this guy was indeed VP of the student chapter, he must have been in med school at one point. Either that or he puffed his bio up a little, which is what I think. Their website is at http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/mulsoc/club/opsmile.cfm

It's one of the clubs of the Mulholland Society (the med student social arm) and is listed as inactive on their clubs list (http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/orgs/clubService.cfm), or at least was inactive at one point. That page has not been updated recently.

 

[LLLindsayy]

Gil Harrington Speaks About Yeardley Love
posted 05/05/10 11:44 pm posted by: Ashton Smith

Charlottesville, VA - In light of Yeardley Love's case, Gil Harrington spoke about Love Wednesday from the Copeley Road Bridge - where her own daughter disappeared from last October. You'll remember, she's the Virginia Tech student found murdered in January. There are still no suspects. Harrington says she feels for Love's family calling the situation heartbreaking.

A little more at the link...
http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0510/733158.html

 

[carbuff]

It is so very tragic that once again a young talented women has left this world too soon. I have to wonder if GH was on steroids. IMO I thought that his neck looked rather large, but I have not seen many pictures of him. It is all very sad. Sad that GH was never really held accountable for his actions in the past, only leading him to commit a horrific act of violence against someone he had claimed to love. He should not have been let off so leniently after his first run in with the female officer. The lax coach and UVA should have also held him accountable. He should not have been an active member of the team after his arrest. Money and privilege did nothing to help this boy, instead it taught him that he can do whatever he wants.

This type of anger and violence only escalates. If Morgan's killer is not caught soon, I fear he will strike again. I also have to question why VSP were so quick to say that these cases are not related. I do doubt that they are, but I wonder what they know to make them state this so vehemently. IMO that gave me hope that they already have Morgan's killer in their sights and are working to piece together the evidence or looking for a way to link them to Morgan's body or belongings. I pray that this is the case!!

I agree with most of what you said, but in fairness to the coach and UVa -- according to that article they were never informed about the arrest, which happened out of the area. There aren't any reporting requirements for students involved in crimes. The only way they'd know about it is if he told them himself.

 

[LadyBug99]

I agree with most of what you said, but in fairness to the coach and UVa -- according to that article they were never informed about the arrest, which happened out of the area. There aren't any reporting requirements for students involved in crimes. The only way they'd know about it is if he told them himself.

You're right about the school policy. I was just reading more about it. I guess there are 8 other players with arrest records that the school was unaware of. Perhaps something needs to be done to change that policy.

 

[carbuff]

You're right about the school policy. I was just reading more about it. I guess there are 8 other players with arrest records that the school was unaware of. Perhaps something needs to be done to change that policy.

I don't think it's a policy so much as the way arrest records are or aren't shared. If I'm a student who gets arrested in a different town, and I don't tell the cop I'm a student, they wouldn't even know they're supposed to inform the school I go to.

Granted that this particular school seems pretty adept at looking the other way

I still doubt that he's connected to Morgan's murder, though I think her murderer is probably somebody very much like him.

 

[LadyBug99]

In light of such a tragedy, I'm happy to see that changes are being made.

http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/92975404.html

"UVa. President John Casteen said school officials were unaware of Huguely's prior arrest and that officials, coaches and trainers had no indication of violence on his part.

Casteen also said the school would begin to screen students against public records before each semester."

 

[arielilane]

readthehook has an article bringing together Harrington and Love murders:

"While the State Police spokesperson discounts the likelihood of any connection between the Yeardley and Harrington cases, there are at least three similarities:

• there were crushing injuries in both cases,
• Morgan’s shirt was found at the corner of 15th Street and Grady Avenue, about three blocks from Love’s apartment, and
• there was a lacrosse connection (as a group of UVA men’s lacrosse players reportedly discovered Morgan’s purse on their way to practice the morning following her disappearance. ...[new news to me!!!!]
Harrington doesn’t believe the cases are connected, but she does think there’s significance to the location of the shirt."

I think the three similarities are huge! :waitasec:

 

[Walker]

Under Virginia law, people can apparently be arrested just for being drunk, even if they are not disorderly or otherwise behaving badly.

IF such a policy is in effect, MH may have avoided getting help from security or the police, and her companions also may have avoided asking the police for help later that night.

Generally speaking, excessive drinking should be discouraged, however arresting an individual just for drinking too much doesn't seem fair: after all, drunkenness can sometimes occur accidently.

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/ind...-murder-suspect-scion-of-prominent-dc-family/

Yet not all was golden in Huguely’s career before his May 3 murder arrest. In November 2008, he was arrested for public drunkenness and resisting arrest in Rockbridge County, charges for which he pleaded guilty and received probation and a 60-day suspended sentence.
“He said: ‘I’ll kill you. I’ll kill all of y’all. I’m not going to jail,’ ” the arresting officer was quoted in her recall of Huguely’s alleged statements that night in a breaking story on WashingtonPost.com.
The Post quotes the officer as fighting Huguely until she Tasered him, a deed that “incapacitated him long enough for me to get cuffs on him. But that just pissed him off even more. He became a lot more aggressive.”

Strangely worded: "the officer as fighting Huguely" rather than Huguely fighting the officer. And, he was not charged with any type of assault. So, maybe the officer used excessive force. The incident may have contributed to Hughely's rage against women.

 

[dovebar]

So he told a female officer doing her job that he'd kill her.

It's also interesting that Morgan's shirt was found. And so was Yeardley's.
Why those two items of clothing in each case? It's like they were kept as trophies.

 

[Walker]

So he told a female officer doing her job that he'd kill her.

Why wasn't he charged though? Threats can be considered an assault. Maybe he made that threat after she tazered & cuffed him. And, maybe her superiors thought she had gone way too far. Else, he would have been in prison.

It's also interesting that Morgan's shirt was found. And so was Yeardley's.
Why those two items of clothing in each case? It's like they were kept as trophies.

Haven't heard about YL's tee shirt. Where was it found?

 

[carbuff]

Why wasn't he charged though? Threats can be considered an assault. Maybe he made that threat after she tazered & cuffed him. And, maybe her superiors thought she had gone way too far. Else, he would have been in prison.



Haven't heard about YL's tee shirt. Where was it found?

Or maybe the poor little rich boy got off easy because, y'know, rich boy and all that.

 

[Walker]

Or maybe the poor little rich boy got off easy because, y'know, rich boy and all that.

If he had assaulted a police officer seems unlikely they would have just let him off.

The policy is counter-productive.

Is anyone here from VA? Is it true that you can be arrested merely for being drunk? That is, not driving while intoxicated, not disorderly behavior, but merely for having had a few too many beers?

College drinking should be discouraged; but post-adolescents will always drink. That age group feels high levels of anxiety, they are also curious about "altered states" and the atmosphere of a college is highly social.

Therefore, the policy should be realistic. Evidently, MH's companions were too afraid of being arrested to report their concerns to LE that night. Presumably, even the (we assume: sober) DD was afraid of the girls ending up in the slammer. Maybe other witnesses were concerned about MH that night, but since they too may have had a few drinks, they were also afraid of being tazered and cuffed. If the local police were more approachable, MH's life might have been saved. They need to change this policy.

 

[wanttohelp]

I hate to quote myself, but...

Operation Smile is apparently for med school students, so if this guy was indeed VP of the student chapter, he must have been in med school at one point. Either that or he puffed his bio up a little, which is what I think. Their website is at http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/mulsoc/club/opsmile.cfm

It's one of the clubs of the Mulholland Society (the med student social arm) and is listed as inactive on their clubs list (http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/orgs/clubService.cfm), or at least was inactive at one point. That page has not been updated recently.

im thinking this must be club for privledged highschoolers. im pretty sure that prep school show that was on bravo, about students at an exclusive prep school in new york, the popular girl was associated with and the other girl would do anything to be a part of.

More than 600 Operation Smile Student Associations in the United States and around the world build awareness, raise funds and educate students about the values of commitment, leadership and volunteerism.

link

 

[LLLindsayy]

If he had assaulted a police officer seems unlikely they would have just let him off.

The policy is counter-productive.

Is anyone here from VA? Is it true that you can be arrested merely for being drunk? That is, not driving while intoxicated, not disorderly behavior, but merely for having had a few too many beers?

College drinking should be discouraged; but post-adolescents will always drink. That age group feels high levels of anxiety, they are also curious about "altered states" and the atmosphere of a college is highly social.

Therefore, the policy should be realistic. Evidently, MH's companions were too afraid of being arrested to report their concerns to LE that night. Presumably, even the (we assume: sober) DD was afraid of the girls ending up in the slammer. Maybe other witnesses were concerned about MH that night, but since they too may have had a few drinks, they were also afraid of being tazered and cuffed. If the local police were more approachable, MH's life might have been saved. They need to change this policy.

*raises hand*

I know there is a law about not being drunk in public.

I don't know how unruly you have to be to be considered "too drunk" and to draw attention to yourself by LE. Do I make sense?

I believe that if you have had a few drinks and you're still completely composed then LE will not bother.

I don't know that GH was completely composed, though. Was he?

 

[gnomony]

Evidently, MH's companions were too afraid of being arrested to report their concerns to LE that night.

Do we have any evidence of their being afraid?

Maybe other witnesses were concerned about MH that night, but since they too may have had a few drinks, they were also afraid of being tazered and cuffed.

Do we have any evidence that witnesses were afraid of being tazered and cuffed?

In my judgment, young people (especially) who are impaired by alcohol are too often not afraid of anything, even when they should be.