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

[LadyBug99]

They haven't explicitly said, but I get the impression that the sketch may have come from the witness, not the victim, and that the LE working on Morgan's case have doubts about the accuracy. They haven't said anything specific, but the part about race isn't on the picture and description they're using.


As for the location -- I don't know. If the person who dumped her came in through Blandemar Farms or over the creek, it might have nothing whatsoever to do with Anchorage Farm -- it might be a place where the perp has gone fishing or hunting or drinking.

Thanks! I agree that the link doesn't need to be with AF directly but I truly believe that whoever brought Morgan to this location knows the area. This was not a random location IMO. Maybe sketch had help with disposing of her. I do believe he was the one to attack her, given the brutality of his previous crime.

 

[carbuff]

Thanks! I agree that the link doesn't need to be with AF per say but I truly believe that whoever brought Morgan to this location knows the area. This was not a random location IMO.

No, I doubt very much that it's a random location.

 

[goldiegirl]

I should be more clear. I wasn't for a second suggesting that the connection to the rapist in the other case ("Sketch") was a coincidence. I do believe it's the same guy. So yes, the grocery store part fits into that. I was talking about profiling who he is based on Morgan's cultural interests and such.

 

[Walker]

I believe that the woman that was attacked identified sketch as African American. Maybe LE left out that info because no further testing has been done to verify that? Or perhaps that is just one more thing that LE isn't releasing for whatever reason. I do not believe that she was misrepresenting his ethnicity though. If she feared to tell the true ethnicity (as Walker suggested), Why report this rape and beating at all?

The neighbors would have reported the crime, if she didn't.

 

[Walker]

They haven't said anything specific, but the part about race isn't on the picture and description they're using.

Do you have a link? Didn't they describe him as "black" -- meaning just skin tone, and not race/ethnicity?


This link is from the VSP site, and uses the term "black."
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/wanted/Wanted 2005 Fairfax City Poster.pdf

 

[Walker]

[Morgan] doesn't look like the past victim at all.

How do you know what the 2005 victim looked like?

 

[Walker]

I should be more clear. I wasn't for a second suggesting that the connection to the rapist in the other case ("Sketch") was a coincidence. I do believe it's the same guy. So yes, the grocery store part fits into that. I was talking about profiling who he is based on Morgan's cultural interests and such.

Just to clarify, my theory is not that Morgan was profiled for having certain cultural interests; just that those shared interests led to her becoming acquainted with a group of particular individuals at VTech who happened to be dangerous. The individuals were the problem, not the interests.

 

[goldiegirl]

How do you know what the 2005 victim looked like?

Oops, I thought it was established that she was of a different race. That's what I was basing that off of. I should have done more research.

 

[goldiegirl]

Just to clarify, my theory is not that Morgan was profiled for having certain cultural interests; just that those shared interests led to her becoming acquainted with a group of particular individuals at VTech who happened to be dangerous. The individuals were the problem, not the interests.

I just meant that I don't think her killing had anything to do with her interests. I enjoy reading everyone's theories, and mine is just mine, of course. I just don't think the killer was anyone who had ever met Morgan before. And I wasn't talking about profiling Morgan, I was referring to profiling who the killer might be based on Morgan's interests, etc. It's just a guess, but I believe it was random.

 

[Walker]

Oops, I thought it was established that she was of a different race. That's what I was basing that off of. I should have done more research.

According to the Hook, she was likely South Asian (since the article mentioned that she spoke a language like Urdu), but wouldn't be impossible for her to resemble Morgan in some ways (height, weight, long hair?).

But, in any case, I agree that the perp would not likely have targeted her for having a particular appearance. What I wonder is if he somehow knew her personally. An ex-gf? Or did he target her as a member of some particular group?

 

[LadyBug99]

Just to clarify, my theory is not that Morgan was profiled for having certain cultural interests; just that those shared interests led to her becoming acquainted with a group of particular individuals at VTech who happened to be dangerous. The individuals were the problem, not the interests.

And you believe that her friends with shared cultural interests followed Morgan to C-ville with the intentions to 1) Kidnap her or 2) lure Morgan into running away with them?

Why at the arena? Why not do this at VT? To me it seems a little out of the way. They could not have known that Morgan would become separated from her friends that evening.

 

[LadyBug99]

The neighbors would have reported the crime, if she didn't.

They could have reported it, however she obviously was a willing participant if LE was able to obtain Sketch's DNA from her.

 

[carbuff]

Do you have a link? Didn't they describe him as "black" -- meaning just skin tone, and not race/ethnicity?


This link is from the VSP site, and uses the term "black."
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/wanted/Wanted 2005 Fairfax City Poster.pdf

Okay, I don't know what this means, but the articles I saved have been "corrected" in the online version to use the phrase "African American."

They have to be looking at the East Coast rapist for this. They just have to. According to the articles just released, they don't have a direct DNA match for him until just now -- the other "hits" are on "familial" DNA. New Haven Register article with DNA info and copy of the arrest warrant (which includes upsetting detail so read with caution)

 

[Walker]

Okay, I don't know what this means, but the articles I saved have been "corrected" in the online version to use the phrase "African American."

Wasn't the other way around? African-American corrected to "black"? Do you have a link?

 

[carbuff]

Wasn't the other way around? African-American corrected to "black"? Do you have a link?

I was looking at the Hook article from the anniversary tour. http://www.readthehook.com/88650/hes-still-here-and-other-revelations-harrington-case. That's also where it has the statement about possible doubt about the sketch being accurate.

"The victim in that case survived after her assailant was likely startled by a passerby; the composite sketch produced from her description of an average sized African American male, aged 25-35, is the only publicly known information about the suspected perpetrator, whose DNA now exists in the State's DNA databank, though his identity remains unknown.

"Because eye-witness accounts--- particularly from traumatized witnesses--- are notoriously unreliable, police have been cautious in confirming the suspect's race."

The description does fit the man arrested as the East Coast rapist.

 

[cluciano63]

LE would already know if the DNA from these cases matched the DNA of East Coast rapist, wouldn't they? Surely they have checked before now?

Serial offenders often choose a type of location to "operate" from, i.e. a grocery store is not out of the question. And they usually scout the location of their dump sites in advance (at least, organized ones do.) So poor Morgan could well have just fallen into this guy's line of sight, and if not her, it would have been some other victim that night. The moon was right for him, or whatever lunacy they use to determine when to strike.

I'll bet he has a record, but just not one that allowed LE to take his DNA. I fear he will need to make a mistake in order to be captured, which probably means another attack, with either a witness or a victim who escapes.

 

[carbuff]

LE would already know if the DNA from these cases matched the DNA of East Coast rapist, wouldn't they? Surely they have checked before now?

Serial offenders often choose a type of location to "operate" from, i.e. a grocery store is not out of the question. And they usually scout the location of their dump sites in advance (at least, organized ones do.) So poor Morgan could well have just fallen into this guy's line of sight, and if not her, it would have been some other victim that night. The moon was right for him, or whatever lunacy they use to determine when to strike.

I'll bet he has a record, but just not one that allowed LE to take his DNA. I fear he will need to make a mistake in order to be captured, which probably means another attack, with either a witness or a victim who escapes.

That article seems to say that they only just got the east coast rapist's DNA at the end of February, so it might not have been submitted to the national database yet. And they might not have released the information even if they have it. I dunno. It seems like everything like this takes way longer than we think it should.

 

[cluciano63]

Even if they didn't have his DNA, you would think they would have known if what they found on Morgan matched other unsolved cases, i.e. a "cold" hit, I think they call it, when they know it matches other victims but don't have the suspect yet.

 

[carbuff]

Even if they didn't have his DNA, you would think they would have known if what they found on Morgan matched other unsolved cases, i.e. a "cold" hit, I think they call it, when they know it matches other victims but don't have the suspect yet.

Yes, the match with the 2005 rape was a "cold hit," so you're probably right. And as far as I know, they don't suspect him of anything other than rapes, which are bad enough but they're not murder, either.

 

[zinc]

They have to be looking at the East Coast rapist for this. They just have to.

Agreed, many other people had the same thought. Shortly after the East Coast Rapist was captured, the Virginia State Police stated that his DNA profile does not match the DNA profile of the Morgan Harrington suspect.

http://www.wset.com/Global/story.asp?S=14204325