VT VT - Sarah Hunter, 36, Manchester, 19 September 1986

[wfgodot]

DNA breakthrough solves mystery of female golf pro found murdered in 1986 (Daily Mail)

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Vermont State Police say 52-year-old David Allen Morrison is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 36-year-old Sarah Hunter of Manchester.

Police Lt Tim Oliver says police in Union City, California, contacted Vermont investigators in 2009 after Morrison made statements that led them to suspect he was involved in Hunter's killing.

Police subsequently conducted a DNA analysis of evidence that Morrison, who was a gas station worker at the time, had been in Hunter's car.
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Morrison left Vermont in January 1988. Later that year, he was arrested, and he eventually pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder, sexual assault and kidnapping in a case in Chula Vista, California.

more, with pictures, at link above

Possible serial killer? Vermont police also said that Morrison "had a pattern" and that they're "looking at" what I take to be his possible involvement in other cases.

 

[LucyOso]

DNA breakthrough solves mystery of female golf pro found murdered in 1986 (Daily Mail)

more, with pictures, at link above

Possible serial killer? Vermont police also said that Morrison "had a pattern" and that they're "looking at" what I take to be his possible involvement in other cases.

http://www.wcax.com/story/18931357/police-advances-in-dna-technology-cracked-vt-cold-case?hpt=ju_bn4

Updated article...

 

[fran]

It'll be interesting to see if they connect any additional crimes to this guy. Is he the Connecticut Valley River Killer?

Time will tell.

NH Connecticut River Valley Killer (1980s) *UNSOLVED* - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


fwiw,
fran

 

[TheCrankyChef]

Looks like we got him back after his "vacation" in CA.

http://www.wcax.com/story/26023258/man-faces-charges-in-1986-vt-murder

 

[Gene]

An article with a bit more information:

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/ci_26153762/accused-killer-three-decades-old-case-pleads-not

Morrison denied the other killing, but never denied killing Hunter. He said he would address Hunter when he, "felt it was time," and that he did not "think I will take this to my grave." He said the Hunter case could have been closed 17 years ago had his request to be transferred to a Vermont prison been agreed to.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.reformer.com/state/ci_26156670/suspect-1986-manchester-murder-case-pleads-not-guilty

The man accused of killing Sarah Hunter 27 years ago in Manchester pleaded not guilty to a murder charge Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court.

David A. Morrison, 54, is currently serving out a lengthy jail sentence in California for kidnapping a woman there and attempting to rape and kill her.

The murder charge carries a life sentence upon conviction.

 

[PastTense]

A man recently charged in the 1986 killing of a popular country club golf pro had the charges against him thrown out on Friday because of an evidence error involving one of the victim's hairs.

The Bennington County state's attorney dismissed the charges against David Allan Morrison after it was discovered that a hair from the victim thought to have been found in Morrison's car and sent to an FBI lab for analysis actually was found in the victim's car, the state Department of Public Safety said.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/13/charges-in-1986-country-club-golf-pros-slaying/

 

[PastTense]

And no one has any comment on the post I just made? Go back to the Daily Mail article in the OP's post:

Police subsequently conducted a DNA analysis of evidence that Morrison, who was a gas station worker at the time, had been in Hunter's car.

Oliver says Morrison had been a suspect, but police couldn't find enough evidence to charge him until they reprocessed his car, which was seized by police in 1988.

Evidence from the car was re-analyzed, and police matched hair found in the car to Hunter by comparing it to DNA from Hunter’s sister.

Obviously law enforcement made a very major blunder: the sample hair they sent was from victim's car not the suspect's car (you would expect the victim's hair to be in the victim's car). It is critical that law enforcement keep the chain of evidence intact--so there was massive sloppiness here.

 

[luckyseven]

Vermont State Police continue to investigate decades old killing
Posted: 06/03/2015 09:44:36 PM EDT

snipped

State Police are reviewing the evidence in a 1986 murder case which they were forced to drop earlier this year after hair samples were mislabeled.

Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Scott Dunlap said the evidence collected from the investigation into the murder of Sarah Hunter is being looked at anew.

"We are reviewing the evidence right now and were are going to decide what's going to be sent out to be tested," said Dunlap on Tuesday.

He intends to meet with Bennington County State's Attorney Erica Marthage to decide what evidence will be sent to the Vermont Forensics Laboratory and what, if any, will be sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigations for further tests.

 

[UnderSea]

This long article from 2016 provides a strong portrait of Sarah Hunter and her life, as well as a summary of the investigation and the botched evidence collection.

http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-sa...rmont-golf-pro-Sarah-Hunter-still-9227447.php

 

[Skigirl]

Vermont State Police continue to investigate decades old killing
Posted: 06/03/2015 09:44:36 PM EDT

snipped

what a sad case. I hope her loved ones live to see this case resolved.

 

[dotr]

Man sentenced in 1986 cold case murder of Vermont pro golfer

David Allan Morrison, who is currently serving a life sentence for another crime, appeared in Bennington Superior Court on Monday, where he admitted to stabbing and killing Vermont golf pro Sarah Hunter.

www.mynbc5.com

Dec 10, 2025
''David Allan Morrison was in Bennington Superior Court on Tuesday, and changed his plea to guilty in the murder of Sarah Hunter, 36-year-old pro golfer. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the nearly 40-year-old case.

Prosecutors said Morrison was working at a gas station in Manchester when Hunter stopped in to buy cigarettes. They said Morrison then "took her by force" and used rope to tie her up inside the gas station. He then put Hunter in the trunk of his car and drove her to Danby, where he stabbed her through the ear with a pair of scissors, killing her.''

Dec 9, 2025
Man pleads guilty in 1986 cold case murder of Vermont golf pro

Dec 9, 2025
David Allan Morrison, who is currently serving a life sentence for another crime, appeared in Bennington Superior Court on Monday, where he admitted to stabbing and killing Vermont golf pro Sarah Hunter.