Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #15

[Guinevere]

BUMPING! for morgan. I cannot believe we are in a new year, yet again, and no justice has been had for this beautiful girl.

Very Sad that there is still not Justice for Morgan

 

[wantjustice]

Bumping for Morgan! Somewhere her murderer is still around. I am hoping someone will slip up or speak up for future and past victims. So very sad! I can't believe how many missing people and unsolved cases there are out there. I want to help out so much!

 

[LillyRush]

Hi Everyone,

I've been trying to read up on or at least scan over all of the 15 threads. I have not followed Morgan's case from the beginning, but my interest in it started really the other night while I was watching a marathon of "Disappeared" episodes and watched Morgan's story.

Some questions I have are, why were they so quick to dismiss the sighting that one woman gave who was delivering papers (or something) on campus? Is it because she described the girl as not wearing tights and having a coat on? Those things could easily be explained that she had taken her tights off at some point, maybe due to them getting a tear/run, and that the coat was something she borrowed from one of the guys. The one detective said that they had checked on that lead and mentioned that they'd gone to that dorm area to ask the people who lived there who denied knowing anything and claimed that the woman probably saw a guest of a wedding reception that was being held nearby? That was it, just that they think she mistook a guest of the reception as being Morgan..?

The other thing is that I think they have limited themselves by thinking that the perp must have had intimate knowledge of that farm. I mean, really, if someone had been driving that way at night and needed to dump a body would they have even cared or needed to know whether it was a farm? Seems like just as long as it appeared as a remote, dark area would have been enough reason for some creep to use it as a dumping ground. Another thing is that if there have been parties and/or other events on that farmland, that could include anyone who has ever partied there...which considering it's a college town seems like a lot of people to go through and that they might not actually be able to know exactly how many or who has ever been there.

Sorry for the long response, but I have been thinking about this for a couple of days since I saw that episode! Also, this is the most recent thread I saw on here (aside from the poll), so I apologize if a thread # 16 has been started and I missed it.

 

[carbuff]

Hi LillyRush, and welcome. Yes, this is the most recent Morgan thread. Glad to have you here!

 

[neverletgo]

Bumping for Morgan. :beats:

Source

 

[Janeumayer]

Hi Everyone,

I've been trying to read up on or at least scan over all of the 15 threads. I have not followed Morgan's case from the beginning, but my interest in it started really the other night while I was watching a marathon of "Disappeared" episodes and watched Morgan's story.

Some questions I have are, why were they so quick to dismiss the sighting that one woman gave who was delivering papers (or something) on campus? Is it because she described the girl as not wearing tights and having a coat on? Those things could easily be explained that she had taken her tights off at some point, maybe due to them getting a tear/run, and that the coat was something she borrowed from one of the guys. The one detective said that they had checked on that lead and mentioned that they'd gone to that dorm area to ask the people who lived there who denied knowing anything and claimed that the woman probably saw a guest of a wedding reception that was being held nearby? That was it, just that they think she mistook a guest of the reception as being Morgan..?

The other thing is that I think they have limited themselves by thinking that the perp must have had intimate knowledge of that farm. I mean, really, if someone had been driving that way at night and needed to dump a body would they have even cared or needed to know whether it was a farm? Seems like just as long as it appeared as a remote, dark area would have been enough reason for some creep to use it as a dumping ground. Another thing is that if there have been parties and/or other events on that farmland, that could include anyone who has ever partied there...which considering it's a college town seems like a lot of people to go through and that they might not actually be able to know exactly how many or who has ever been there.

Sorry for the long response, but I have been thinking about this for a couple of days since I saw that episode! Also, this is the most recent thread I saw on here (aside from the poll), so I apologize if a thread # 16 has been started and I missed it.

Welcome to the Forum, LillyRush!

It's been a while but I can honestly say that LE was very tight lipped about this case. We do not know the reason the newspaper's lady's sighting was dismissed. I too thought that it could have been Morgan. Maybe by looking at the surveillance tape from a business right after the bridge, LE was able to determine that Morgan never return to Campus.

On the farm, LE knows it must have been someone knowledgeable of the grounds because Morgan was not dropped off through the mains gates of the farm. If I recall correctly, she was by a fence that was hard to get to. I think there was even a stream running by it? So they think the perp went through a house division on the other side of the farm.

Hope that helps, Jane

 

[Janeumayer]

Also, I forgot to add that DNA was found on Morgan that matched the DNA of a rapist in another unsolved case. The perp was never found.

 

[otto]

This is the general layout of the area where Morgan was found. Because she was not near a road, it appeared that the person that took her there knew the general layout of the area and was able to ensure that she was left in a very isolated area. She was only found because the farmer that owned the land happened to be checking fences.

 

[otto]

This map shows distances to nearby roads.

This map shows other possible routes to the area where she was found.

This is a timeline for Morgan on the evening that she was abducted

Here's another view of the timeline

That abandoned building on the right was a known party spot.

This is a close up of the location where Morgan was found.

This is the area where there was new construction around the time that she was murdered

Here's a winter shot to show how isolated it would be when she was abducted and murdered

 

[Janeumayer]

Thank you for the pics Otto!

 

[ktgirl]

Thank y'all.
Morgan's case haunts me more than any others on WS. Think of her often.

 

[carbuff]

Thanks Otto!

 

[otto]

When Morgan was abducted and murdered, I remember her parents saying that the person responsible has done it before. They said that no one starts their criminal career by abducting and murdering a young woman. They were right. When DNA evidence from Morgan's remains was analyzed, there was a match to a previous violent assault and rape.

This violent offender that targets young women has apparently never been arrested for a similar crime, and it's very likely that he continues to be violent and abusive towards women. There must be a girlfriend, wife, ex-wife, or female acquaintance in his life that continues to experience violence due to his insecurity and mental weakness. As Morgan's parents said, it's only a matter of time before he does the same thing to another young woman.

Someone knows who he is

 

[carbuff]

It's possible he's a) incarcerated or b) dead.

 

[otto]

Thank y'all.
Morgan's case haunts me more than any others on WS. Think of her often.

This case bothers me too. Morgan came from a good family and she would have believed that she had good judgment. Clearly something went wrong. The suspect has a DNA match to a man that picked up another woman and carried her to a location where she was assaulted. There's a good possibility that Morgan was also picked up and carried away. Here purse and cell phone were found in the parking lot near the bridge where she may have last been seen.

 

[mikkismom]

Parents of slain Va. woman mark grim anniversary

http://www.nbc12.com/story/20713294/parents-of-slain-va-woman-mark-grim-anniversary

 

[carbuff]

I ran across the case of Suzanne Lyall (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/lyall_suzanne.html), a SUNY-Albany student who disappeared on her way home from work in March 1998.

There are some similarities with Morgan's case besides location -- her nametag was found in a visitor's parking lot, she was carrying a backpack, and she was an avid rock music fan (Rush, in Suzanne's case). Her ATM was used the day after she disappeared.

But what really caught my eye was the sketch of a man who might have been involved in or witnessed the disappearance. I think he resembles the sketch of Morgan's suspect? Maybe? What do you guys think? I'm afraid the Lyall sketch is kind of blurry; it was very tiny on the Charley project page.

 

[Walker]

I ran across the case of Suzanne Lyall (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/lyall_suzanne.html), a SUNY-Albany student who disappeared on her way home from work in March 1998.

There are some similarities with Morgan's case besides location -- her nametag was found in a visitor's parking lot, she was carrying a backpack, and she was an avid rock music fan (Rush, in Suzanne's case). Her ATM was used the day after she disappeared.

But what really caught my eye was the sketch of a man who might have been involved in or witnessed the disappearance. I think he resembles the sketch of Morgan's suspect? Maybe? What do you guys think? I'm afraid the Lyall sketch is kind of blurry; it was very tiny on the Charley project page.

To my knowledge, whether MH's ATM card was used on or after 10/17/09, the day of her disappearance, was never confirmed; however, the possibility was discussed.

And, the bone structure of the two men's faces is different.
The possible witness in the Lyall case, "Nike Man," has a narrow face with large round eyes and a direct gaze; "Sketch" in the MH case has a wide face with narrow slanting eyes.

The SUNYA case is interesting, though. Thank you for posting.

 

[carbuff]

To my knowledge, whether MH's ATM card was used on or after 10/17/09, the day of her disappearance, was never confirmed; however, the possibility was discussed.

And, the bone structure of the two men's faces is different.
The possible witness in the Lyall case, "Nike Man," has a narrow face with large round eyes and a direct gaze; "Sketch" in the MH case has a wide face with narrow slanting eyes.

The SUNYA case is interesting, though. Thank you for posting.

I agree there are discrepancies. I would expect that; sketches based on eyewitness accounts are not necessarily going to be as accurate as reconstructions etc.

What I noticed was the center of their faces: the big beefy nose that looks like it might have been broken, the full lips, and the relatively weak chin. I don't know whether any of the Nike Man witnesses got a good look at him -- I notice they didn't include ears in the sketch -- but it's quite likely that the rape victim never saw more than a glimpse of his face.

So to my mind the question isn't whether it's close enough for a match -- it's clearly not -- but whether there are enough similarities to be worth submitting it to one or both tip lines.

 

[LillyRush]

Thank you everyone for the replies!

Those are some awesome maps, Otto!

What I meant before in that I think maybe they focused too much on whether someone had ties to that specific farm, is that I don't necessarily think that someone would have had to have been a farmhand or worked literally on the land specifically to have had that knowledge. From what I gather, this farm has been open to events such as (local) music concerts and the landowner's daughter has had some sort of art retreat there as well. I should add that I don't think his daughter was involved at all. She seems to be an upstanding citizen, college professor, etc. I'm just saying she may not have known every single person well enough who came to her retreats there, their background, etc.

Also, I think it's possible that people who grew up around there - like in that subdivision shown on the map, could have just had general knowledge like if they had played hide and seek there (or, whatever, just as an example) as kids, etc. The other thing, which has been mentioned on other threads, is local hunters knowing the land. So, all in all, there seem to be a lot of different varieties of people who could have had some knowledge of that farm land. When I watched "Disappeared", it almost seemed like the one cop was saying that they did have someone in mind who lived in that area but were having a problem getting access to that person (maybe lawyering up or something?).