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

[Cher352]

That puzzled me, too. Back in college, students had locks on their doors in certain apartments, but that was because they didn't know or trust the other students who were moving in and out in revolving door fashion. OR the landlord was renting the rooms of the apartment out separately (with separate leases) rather than a group of friendly roommates sharing the lease together. MH's apartment situation sounded stable, with a long-time friend as a roommate.

I admit I have been following this case much lately. This is the first I remember hearing about a deadbolt on her door. Do we know if she added it or could it had already been there when she moved in?

 

[rossva]

I think the deadbolt lock was on her room when she lived in a dorm, not at her apartment with Amy (or Sarah, whichever one it was.)

That puzzled me, too. Back in college, students had locks on their doors in certain apartments, but that was because they didn't know or trust the other students who were moving in and out in revolving door fashion. OR the landlord was renting the rooms of the apartment out separately (with separate leases) rather than a group of friendly roommates sharing the lease together. MH's apartment situation sounded stable, with a long-time friend as a roommate.

 

[KR2tonenow]

I know zero about pathology and forensics, but I think the coroner might be able to determine if the kind of damage Morgan sustained was via a car, tractor, hammer, shovel, etc.

Also, would it be possible that the police have by now identified any crime related DNA from Morgan's body (do we even know if they were successful doing that?) and have had it checked against known offenders?

Good question! So far based on the little released by LE its hard to tell. I'd like see them release more info, this case will be a cold one, if they don't!

 

[carbuff]

Hit & runs are common. Domestic murder is common. Fatal ODs are common. Stranger abduction, rape & murder is less common, but common enough.

But to kill someone in a MV accident, scoop up all the evidence, go find a remote pasture and dump the body there? Certainly could have happened and probably has, at some time, but it would be highly unusual, in my judgment.

Until more evidence is revealed, I'm betting that a stranger picked her up (offering either transportation, use of a working cell phone, or both), raped and killed her and then dumped her body in a place he knew pretty well. I'm betting that the reason no one claims the reward is not that the truth is known by rich kids who don't need the money, but that he acted alone and, so far, got away with it. I'm betting that there is a woman out there somewhere who didn't know the victim, but who knows intuitively that something happened and is in denial. I'm betting that one single clue or one single new development (like the perp punches out the woman and she gets angry) will lead LE to an arrest.

Hope I'm right....

I think your scenario is also quite likely. Especially the part about a woman who suspects. I'm thinking maybe she finds out the necklace she's wearing is Morgan's.

If Morgan was hit by a car, it didn't have to be near the stadium. If she went to a party with somebody, the field might have been quite near -- and as you say, if it was a place the person knew well, he might have been comfortable dumping her there. If for instance she passed out in the driveway of one of those houses behind Anchorage Farm, somebody could have backed over her without even knowing. Then it would have been a simple matter to have dragged her up into the fields.

It seems like if more than one person was involved in the coverup, however she died, somebody would have cracked by now, either from guilt or from greed.

 

[LadyBug99]

:Welcome-12-june:

Hi everyone,
I'm new here but not new to keeping up with Morgan's case. I am still reading the 14 humongous threads and am not yet caught up.

Would someone please tell me if you all have discussed any of the following (and if it is allowed here as it is not on another forum)?

1. The friends - no names of course - The friends have been cleared by LE and the Harringtons do not believe they are involved in Morgan's murder
2. LE timeline beginning so late in the night (LE 101 says last verifiable accounting. Wouldn't that be her call to dad at 2PM?) - The last known activity was a call to her friends at approximately 8:40 and a text to a friend that was not in Cville that night.
3. Why Morgan would try to go home with no keys to enter either apartment/dorm and leave her own car behind instead of waiting a couple of hours. - We don't know Morgan's exact words in that conversation...All LE has said is that she told her friend she would find a way home. We don't know what "home" she was referring to.
4. Why black clothing was spotted by the farmer but her shirt was supposedly taken - possible changed clothes before concert? What other black clothing do you all think was actually found? - She was wearing a black skirt and black leggings. LE has not said what items were found with her. The only item were know of was a bracelet that has been given back to the family.
5. Mushrooms growing where cow pies are - Speculation as to why someone may know about that field
6. "6 months ago" - ??? Not sure what you mean
7. Deadbolt lock on her bedroom door. - Dan Harrington said that Morgan had a lock on her bedroom because she had a lot of expensive jewelry and she did not want people going in and out of her room without her knowledge.
8. Strange lack of ex-boyfriend(s) coming forward to help as we have seen in other cases - I do not have a lot of info on this
9. Drug issues (ex. her myspace page is "highya") - I don't know the extent of her drug use. Maybe just recreational?
10. Lie about her car being there - did friends lie to LE - isn't that a felony? - No the friends did not lie. Mr. Harrington did not know that Morgan had taken her car to the concert that night. Initially there was confusion about this. It was cleared up within a day or two.
11. Underage drinking/proof/pictures and what LE is or isn't doing about it. - I have not seen anywhere that LE was doing anything about the underage drinking.

That's enough for now. Mods - If anything is out of line, please feel free to edit as appropriate! I'm dying to hear you guy's take on all this stuff. Going to read more. :dance:

 

[SkewedView]

On the ex-boyfriends question - it has been stated by those who knew Morgan that she hadn't had any serious relationships. Sorry I don't have a link for that, it's on the find Morgan forum somewhere.

 

[ThePhantom]

If Morgan's death was related to a hit and run accident, couldn't the police just say so, so that people could be on the look out for vehicles that they noticed were damaged around the time Morgan initially disappeared?

 

[carbuff]

If Morgan's death was related to a hit and run accident, couldn't the police just say so, so that people could be on the look out for vehicles that they noticed were damaged around the time Morgan initially disappeared?

Hm, good point, unless they already have a pretty good idea or have found the car abandoned or something.

 

[Sally10]

Does anyone know if Morgan's computer was searched? I'm sure she had one - probably at her apartment. Did she use mom and dad's the night before the concert? Could she have looked up a hotel?? A map to a party? Emailed someone?

I wonder if LE did any computer forensics in this case???

 

[LLLindsayy]

Does anyone know if Morgan's computer was searched? I'm sure she had one - probably at her apartment. Did she use mom and dad's the night before the concert? Could she have looked up a hotel?? A map to a party? Emailed someone?

I wonder if LE did any computer forensics in this case???

I can't provide a link, but I know from experience here that the computer is always one of the first things to be checked in a missing persons case after a certain amount of time.

 

[5150_bound]

Does anyone know if Morgan's computer was searched? I'm sure she had one - probably at her apartment. Did she use mom and dad's the night before the concert? Could she have looked up a hotel?? A map to a party? Emailed someone?

I wonder if LE did any computer forensics in this case???

something odd i've noticed:
no one has ever signed onto Morgan's myspace page.
her last log in was the day before the concert.
If LE had been on her page, the date would have changed.
early on her dad said he had Morgan's passwords, i'm guessing he doesnt have the myspace password or he would have check her account for messages etc.

I do not think Morgan was hit by a car.
a hit & run driver usually panics and takes off ASAP.
i've never heard of one picking up the body and then moving it other than to the side of the road.

plus i think the reason the ME called Morgan's death a homicide so quickly, is there must have been something found on Morgan that lead them to believe she was murdered. ie: rope

also, VA state police stated this is a murder. (I belive that was in a HOOK article) which is rare (in this case) for them to say that much.

 

[arielilane]

Sorry if this quote does post correctly

2. LE timeline beginning so late in the night (LE 101 says last verifiable accounting. Wouldn't that be her call to dad at 2PM?) - The last known activity was a call to her friends at approximately 8:40 and a text to a friend that was not in Cville that night.

LadyBug, thank you for taking the time to answer all of Sally's questions.

Welcome, Sally10!!!

LadyBug, Morgan's text to a friend (I believe the person lived about 60 miles away) is a reminder for me. I had forgotten about that and I orginally thought that person was key to this case.

 

[SkewedView]

something odd i've noticed:
no one has ever signed onto Morgan's myspace page.
her last log in was the day before the concert.
If LE had been on her page, the date would have changed.

I've seen it noted in other cases that LE can backdoor access myspace and facebook pages without changing the log in dates...I'm not clear on the details though, maybe someone here can give a more detailed explanation...

 

[carbuff]

<respectfully snipped>
I do not think Morgan was hit by a car.
a hit & run driver usually panics and takes off ASAP.
i've never heard of one picking up the body and then moving it other than to the side of the road.

plus i think the reason the ME called Morgan's death a homicide so quickly, is there must have been something found on Morgan that lead them to believe she was murdered. ie: rope

also, VA state police stated this is a murder. (I belive that was in a HOOK article) which is rare (in this case) for them to say that much.

Vehicular homicide is still homicide. A car or truck can easily be a murder weapon. I don't picture it happening very far from where her body was found.

 

[fhc]

Hit & runs are common. Domestic murder is common. Fatal ODs are common. Stranger abduction, rape & murder is less common, but common enough.

But to kill someone in a MV accident, scoop up all the evidence, go find a remote pasture and dump the body there? Certainly could have happened and probably has, at some time, but it would be highly unusual, in my judgment.

Until more evidence is revealed, I'm betting that a stranger picked her up (offering either transportation, use of a working cell phone, or both), raped and killed her and then dumped her body in a place he knew pretty well. I'm betting that the reason no one claims the reward is not that the truth is known by rich kids who don't need the money, but that he acted alone and, so far, got away with it. I'm betting that there is a woman out there somewhere who didn't know the victim, but who knows intuitively that something happened and is in denial. I'm betting that one single clue or one single new development (like the perp punches out the woman and she gets angry) will lead LE to an arrest.

Hope I'm right....

ITA and would add that he is both a lone wolf and from an affluent family. Speaking of punching out another woman, this would also describe Yeardley Love's killer. She instinctively felt he was alittle too intense and had broke up with him, over & over.

This was a crime of opportunity by a very angry young man, jmo.

 

[nostoneunturned]

any word on anything official ever being released,again? Like something .from the medical examiner? I thought they said the results would be back in several weeks..it's past that isn't it?
Virginia is a common wealth state..they may not release it ...I don't know..but it would sure lay a lot of questions to rest.

 

[LadyBug99]

any word on anything official ever being released,again? Like something .from the medical examiner? I thought they said the results would be back in several weeks..it's past that isn't it?
Virginia is a common wealth state..they may not release it ...I don't know..but it would sure lay a lot of questions to rest.

I don't think LE is releasing anything at this point. I do think they have the results back but will not release it "due to the ongoing investigation". They have not even held a presser in quite some time. It's so frustrating. I can't imagine how Morgan's family feels. If it weren't for the Harrington's we really would have no information at all. I don't get it. At the press conference when her remains were found they came out stressing location, location, location. It seemed they were looking for very specific information. Since then we have received no new information other than a confirmation that Morgan's shirt was found.

 

[ThePhantom]

I wonder how the Harringtons seem? Do they sound as frustrated as ever about finding the killer -- or -- do they seem -- satisfied with how the investigation is going?

 

[rossva]

LE would not need passwords, etc, to access Morgan's myspace, nad they would go in through a "backdoor" so it wouldn't show they had logged in.

something odd i've noticed:
no one has ever signed onto Morgan's myspace page.
her last log in was the day before the concert.
If LE had been on her page, the date would have changed.
early on her dad said he had Morgan's passwords, i'm guessing he doesnt have the myspace password or he would have check her account for messages etc.

 

[nostoneunturned]

When they appeared on Jane ,they both seemed like they were not that happy with how the lack of information about what happened to her . in my opinion