Pantera find: Shirt on 15th Street was Morgan Harrington’s
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UVA second year Blaine Eichner, who requested his face not be shown, points to the spot where he found Morgan Harrington’s Pantera t-shirt on a bush outside his apartment building at the corner of 15th Street and Grady Ave last November.PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART
Six months into the Morgan Harrington murder case, police have dropped a bombshell: Forensic testing has concluded that the black Pantera t-shirt found on a bush outside an apartment building at the corner of 15th Street and Grady Avenue belonged to Harrington and is the one she was reportedly wearing when she disappeared after attending an October 17 Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena.
The news is the first major development in the case to be made public since the discovery of Harrington’s body on January 26 on a 740-acre farm in southern Albemarle County, and it comes as a shock to those who live in the 21-unit building where the shirt was found.
“Good God!” exclaimed Blaine Eichner, the UVA student who discovered the shirt back in mid-November as he was returning home from class.
Click on the map to see where this stuff happened.GOOGLE MAPS
When he was first interviewed by the Hook in late January, Eichner expressed doubt that the shirt— which he said appeared to have faces of the Pantera band members along with beige letters— could have belonged to Harrington.
“I feel like, if it really had something to do with the case, it wouldn’t have been thrown on a bush,” he said at the time, suggesting it could also be a “crazy person who just wants attention.”
Eichner says the shirt was spread flat and facing up on the bushes about six feet from the 15th Street and within reach of the road’s gravel shoulder. He says he didn’t see it on his way to class that morning, but he doesn’t believe that the shirt could have gone unnoticed for long as he and other students walk past by the bush numerous times each day on their way to and from class. “There’s no way,” he says, expressing his belief that the shirt was placed there deliberately and well after Harrington’s disappearance.
Learning that it is, in fact, Harrington’s shirt— which he discovered on November 11, a full three weeks after her disappearance— is “scary,” he says, “the closeness of it.”
Another person surprised by the revelation is Norma Parson, a newspaper deliverywoman who has long claimed that she saw Harrington— or an amazing lookalike— leaving a room on the West Lawn sometime around 3am on the night of the Metallica show. Parson says she still stands by her story, and hopes that the discovery of the shirt will help solve the case for the family’s sake.
“I’ve been hoping and praying for the Harringtons,” says Parson.
According to Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller, the forensic testing on the shirt wasn’t complete until the last few weeks— law enforcement did not know the results in January, when the shirt was first publicly reported, she says—and police are not releasing any details on the condition of the shirt. Police are still waiting on forensic testing results from Morgan’s remains and Anchorage Farm, Geller says, and the Medical Examiner hasn’t yet released a cause or time of Morgan’s death, which has been ruled a homicide.
The presence of Harrington’s shirt a mile and a half from the last place she was seen alive and 10 miles from where her body was discovered seems to pose more questions than it answers. According to the police press release, investigators have followed up on 1,000 tips, conducted more than 100 interviews, and have made “substantial progress in evaluating countless possibilities and scenarios” relating to Harrington’s disappearance and death.
In spite of that progress, investigators continue to urge the public to come forward with “factual details” rather than “theoretical abstracts.”
“It’s going to take that one courageous phone call to Crime Stoppers from someone who knows something firsthand about this case,” says Lt. Joe Rader in the release.
Tips can be called in the Jefferson Area Crimestoppers at 434-977-4000, to the Virginia State Police Tip Line at 434-352-3467, or emailed to State Police at [email protected]. The $150,000 reward is still available.
Updated 10:04pm with information about the timing of forensic test results.
Updated 9:51am Tuesday, April 20 with a more detailed description of the shirt’s location and position on the bush and a new photo.
Bombshell is right –I don’t understand what took so long to find this out. I attended one of the search meetings and a woman stood up and swore she saw Morgan on the lawn and no one would listen to her–now I wonder if she did ?
If people had known this a long time ago, they might have put their thinking caps on and tried to recall seeing Morgan coming and going with anybody in the area.
Nuff said.
Of course, the possibility exists that she was killed at the farm and the shirt was dumped there long afterward.
there are literally thousands of possibilities, U-hoo. What’s your point? Are you for some reason trying to argue that finding an article of her clothing is not a significant clue?
Obviously we don’t know what happened and we can’t draw a conclusion based on this one fact. But the fact that the shirt is there means something.
Either Morgan or her killer had to have been at this spot at some point, unless you can come up with another plausible explanation for the shirt being there? We’re all ears.
grrrrrrrrrr. battle of the “experts”. Why so quick to jump down throats, yepper? especially after all the farfetched bs thats been going around…
didn’t mean to ruffle feathers, it just seemed an odd comment by U-hoo. I was trying to figure out exactly what his point could be.
The odds are overwhelming that the murderer is an Albemarle or Nelson resident, between the ages of 16 and 50, and male. So make a list and spend a few days sorting it out into people with criminal records, domestic abuse isues etc, then continue until you have ruled most people out. Maybe that short list will yield something of substance.
Somebody knows the murderer(s) and may not even know it. Everyone needs to imagine the worst about their friends and aquaintances and see if they can come up with a suspect.
What about the sighting of her the night of her disappearance at the houses on the lawn? I thought a newspaper delivery person saw her there? Maybe I got my facts mixed up?
zombie_hands, read above….
“…Norma Parson, a newspaper deliverywoman who has long claimed that she saw Harrington— or an amazing lookalike— leaving a room on the West Lawn sometime around 3am on the night of the Metallica show. “
here’s what i dont get.
in the case of murder victim Chelsey King (California)
they had the clothing forensics back in 24 hours AND had the killers DNA & name.
so why did it take VA this long just to confirm this was Morgan’s shirt??
And Casteen was so busy as it was making sure that the Hook, C-Ville weekly, the Daily Progress, and NBC29 didn’t dare cover the story of a 21 year old UVA student dropping dead in a frat house 2 weeks ago..
(an order that they all obediently took, obviously..)
I think his creepy house of cards may be crashing down at this point.
yorke, that’s a great try, but everyone knows you’re really sean cannan.
Cause DNA testing takes about 6 months to complete in the State of Virginia. Narcotics testing at the Forensic Lab takes about 3 months to complete.
And Virginia doesn’t have the greatest record at accurately testing DNA. They have had a lot of problems in the past with inaccurate results and a great deal of controversay thereafter. I think the labs were even closed down at one point in time. anybody else remember all this stink?
Just to add-on. There are only a couple of Forensic Labs in the state, Roanoke, Richmond, and Fairfax. Those labs handle all evidence for every PD and Sheriff’s Office in the State. Plus they have also been hit hard by budget cuts.
I think they knew it was Morgans shirt some weeks after they found it, but before they found the body (no it doesn’t take 6 months to run DNA on a shirt for an investigation that is getting national media- 6 weeks perhaps but not 6 months).
The reason you’re learning about it now- is because the PoPo probably think it’s beneficial to their investigation to release the info now. It’s a simple as that.
I just updated the story to include information about when police had the results of forensic testing on the shirt. According to State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller, investigators learned the shirt was Morgan’s a few weeks ago– not, she says, in late January or early February when its existence was first made public.–Courteney Stuart
” the forensic testing on the shirt wasn’t complete until the last few weeks—” The only reason I can find for the delay is a shortage of resources. Possibly, a more timely release of this information would have helped the case. This is what led me to this conclusion.
From the following web-site about DNA testing:
http://www.dps.state.ak.us/crimelab/services/DNA.aspx
“DNA analysis involves four main steps: extraction, quantification, amplification and genotyping. Once a genetic profile is obtained, the data must be interpreted and peer reviewed. Each of these steps is detail-intensive and time consuming and may take up to several hours for a single sample. Samples are often processed in batches and therefore, completing the four step process for a batch of samples can take a few weeks, once analysis is begun. In addition, due to the backlog of cases and shortage of resources, it may be several months before DNA analysis begins on a case.”
Yeppers you are spot on
I would bet if they did the math they would realize that if they got the dna done sooner they could pay for it in saved time of cops investigating stuff that the dna would have told them was a dead end.
Our government at waste.
Maybe they should take the radios out of cabs so the drivers can just drive to the dispatcher to figure out where the next fare is waiting…
this is pathetic.
I still say….question the farmer…something doesn’t seem right about him.
Leave politics out of this topic wilwonkawackadoodle…you must be a loony Republican tea party nut!!! This story is about Morgan…not the government.
Question: was Morgan’s the only DNA on that shirt??
right on lis, your point is the only one that really matters, i think.
Brilliant insight Kayla. I bet the police never even thought of questioning the person who found the body!
“Brilliant insight Kayla. I bet the police never even thought of questioning the person who found the body!”
With the gross injustice Morgan has suffered being served by local police departments it is not shocking that this revelation comes out when its useless . Its expected from corrupt agencies whom have from the very start protected an entity and its faithful followers . Follow the corruption and you will find out why the investigative agencies failed to engage the most powerful weapon they have looking for Morgan …THE PUBLIC. Anybody seen Lt. Rader smiling in an interview lately ? I mean he couldn’t find his ass with both hands , fails to protect our children even when he is handed the facts Charlottesville has a sadistic murderer on the loose and as it stands we now are left to wonder if Morgan was held , tortured , raped and GOD knows what from OCT17 to Nov 5. As it stands in my mind the police were never looking for Morgan until her body was handed to them by the PUBLIC . The same PUBLIC that was left in the dark as Morgan most likely was held by a deviant monster and now unless the investigation is held in limbo for the sake (yea right) of protecting an investigation when its really going to the buried so the real reason wont be revealed .
All Police agencies in this area starting with UVA are an EPIC FAILURE to Morgan and the citizens they are paid to protect .
But confused lol . I will up your sarcasm. I wouldn’t be surprised if the UVA police dept would fail to question an ax wielding murderer with a body over his shoulder if it happened on UVA grounds ….they would find some mistery passersby that seen the murderer somewhere other than UVA grounds , you know like they did with Morgan . Morgan Harrington was hitching on that bridge by design ……..
So we now know police withed crucial information for the thinking public to protect an investigation …….um it’s been almost six months …. How is keeping the public completely blind and misinformed working out for you Lt. Rader ? I mean one would think your last hopeless plea for somebody to hand the answer to you would clearly let the public know you have absolutely nothing . A demented , sadistic animal roams among thousands of people and you don’t have the ball’s to even make a stand and engage the public with accurate information , updates .
What are you afraid of uncovering Lt. Rader ? THE TRUTH ?
This is huge.
I was always struck by that story of the supposed siting by Norma Parson. And the fact that this shirt was at the same place is very significant!
When reading this, I was wondering if Norma Parson came forward BEFORE or AFTER it was known that there was a black Pantera shirt at this location and I see she came forward (10/26 or so) long before any revelation of a shirt (11/11).
People Come Forward with Possible Morgan Harrington Spottings
Quoting from the article, dated Oct 27, 2009:
>> Norma Parson believes she saw Morgan Harrington on the University of Virginia grounds at 3:45 a.m. last Sunday, just a few hours after she disappeared. Parson delivers newspapers to the University. She believes she saw Morgan Harrington walking with three men down the sidewalk of the Academical Village.
>> “She walked right by me with boots on, and you could not have missed her,” said Parson.
>> Parson says she called the police Tuesday when she saw Harrington’s picture for the first time. Investigators gathered the information from her. Parson never got the chance to give a description of the men which she believed would help. >>
========================
So either one of these would have to be true:
a) this confirmation really lends credibility to Ms. Parson’s comments about what she saw that night and is very significant; or
b) the actual perpetrator, reading Norma’s comments, and knowing it was false, went there afterwards and put the shirt there as a deliberate red herring. (meaning he would have either saved the shirt or went back to her body…)
Very significant either way. And I can’t think of any other scenario.
Absolutely nothing bad can happen near or on UVA property. To even think or suggest such a thing is reason enough to be committed.
6 months for dna tests to come back. Not only is this pathetic but it also shows the lack of urgency by all agencies involved.
Rob honey, look at a map. There is a good reason why the article say “investigators continue to urge the public to come forward with “factual details” rather than “theoretical abstracts.””
the more I reflect on this, the more I think b) is the most likely scenario. Why else would the shirt be there? Why would Morgan (even if totally blasted) take it off on a cold night? Why would some bad guy throw it there and leave it there? It makes little sense when put that way…
In fact, if Norma’s comments really WERE true, it’d be likely that the real bad guy would want to REMOVE evidence from the scene, not let a shirt sit there highlighting a significant part of the crime.
No, it seems more likely to have been planted there after reading Norma’s comments in the paper.
Hiding - What do you think is most significant about the location? I see it’s not far from the PJ Arena.
““I know what I saw,” says Norma Parson, a newspaper delivery woman who believes she saw Morgan– or an incredible lookalike— coming out of a room on UVA’s West Lawn at 3:45am October 18, six hours after the last confirmed sighting on Copeley Bridge.” That can be found here: http://readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/15/concerned-witnesses-before-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/
The lawn isn’t located at Grady and 15th streets. It’s dumb stuff like that which makes the vast majority of the speculation and accusation that goes on in these blog comments so ridiculous. Neither a nor b of Rob’s comments make any sense if the actual facts are weighed, yet his assertion is that one “would have to be true.”
Hiding,
Yes, I see what you mean. Poor and too-quick reading on my part.
I’d falsely assumed that because the reporter had brought in Norma’s supposed sighting, she was talking about the same place. Pretty poor and leading to false logic, yes.
I realize that everybody commenting here wants to crack this case, so I improved the online map that I had made on Google Maps back in January and posted the new version into the story above. Lemme know if I need additional data or other improvements.–Hook editor Hawes Spencer
What I would like to see added to the map is the location , make ,model and color of Morgan’s car . Oh wait that won’t be verified because it was parked at JPJA ……or was it ?
I can’t think of an abduction case off hand where the person abducted has a vehicle clearly tied to the case and it is never revealed the EXACT LOCATION it was parked .
How Strange and par for the course with the ya-hoo’s involved in this investigation’s .
Morgan wasn’t abducted from the vehicle. There is nothing the public could do with the information you think a conspiracy is withholding from you.
What about DNA from the shirt??? There has to be DNA other than Morgan’s on the shirt. Hello…Police Dept??? Did you ever think of testing her shirt for DNA??? After all the shirt was found not long after she went missing!!!
So many comments posted on other forums, and perhaps here, are from people who have never had feet on the ground in Virginia. They know nothing about the area but think they are experts from looking at goggle satellite views, maps and diagrams. It’s certainly conceivable that if Morgan was picked up near the arena, she could have been transported within minutes to 15th and Grady. It’s also possible that she could have been on the lawn. Maybe Ms. Parson did see her, but it’s just as possible she didn’t. How many blonds are there on any college campus or for that matter in any community? I don’t know, but it’s my guess that some part of the description Ms. Parson gave investigators was not consistent with it being Morgan. There have been other reports of people being equally sure she was seen elsewhere? In addition to the lawn sighting, she was seen in Orange at a Sheetz, and there was one other report that someone thought they saw her either near Zion Crossroads or Louisa (can’t remember the exact story.) One woman even thought she might have seen her bruised and bleeding at a motel in Maryland. Again, just my opinion, but I doubt she was seen anywhere in public after she was picked up from the vicinity of the arena. If someone took her with the intent to hurt her in anyway, I don’t believe that person would have taken her to a party, to the lawn, to a convenience store, or any place where an observant witness could positively ID her AND the person with her. If she was picked up with no intent to hurt her and something later happened, then perhaps he wouldn’t have been so careful, but I still do not believe she was in a public place after the last sighting near the arena. There would have been more people who saw her than the handful we have heard about. Of course, with some of the wild theories and accusations posted on other forums, I can understand why there would be hesitation to come forward. It seems that some want to try to make a connection with absolutely no basis. Give them a name or an idea, and they’re like a hungry dog or scavenger. Tear the person apart, it doesn’t matter that a shadow of suspicion could be cast on someone who was nowhere near the arena on October 17th.
I hope if anyone has any information they think could be useful, no matter how far fetched it might sound, get that information to VSP. If you’re worried about having your name bandied about by amateur sleuths, make an anonymous call to crimestoppers. If Jackson is the Blue Ridge Parkway shooter, understand his arrest came so quickly as the result of a crimestoppers tip.
Kayla, it’s a given that the shirt has been thoroughly tested for DNA. If the DNA matches up with any existing perps in the database, they are being investigated. The police don’t announce every step they take during the course of an investigation. Contrary to what a lot of people posting on the Morgan threads seem to think, this isn’t a CSI show.
As Honoree said above, she could have been anywhere, at any time. Personally, I also think it’s unlikely she was seen in public after she initially disappeared, but that’s just a hunch. However, I’m sure the police are following every single lead.
Didn’t the police interview a guy in a goth band whose name translates to “Beautiful Death” that lives right across the street from where the shirt was found?
Confused
WOW , you are sitting on important evidence since you “KNOW” Morgan was not abducted from her car . I hope you have shared this with the investigators as they will tell you they have not a single piece of evidence to factually confirm your statement. Now we can put together many reason the location and details of Morgan’s car that witnesses could have used to jog memories.
Honoree - great post . I must disagree that “online sleuths” no matter how wild some theories get are not an asset . I can link you to literally hundreds of cases solved by the PUBLIC long after LE packed them up on a shelf as a cold case . Without engaging the public very few crimes would ever be solved .
Now what I find ironic is so many quickly discount the sittings of Morgan in various locations but accept Morgan was hitchhiking on a bridge . If we cannot accept Morgan was in Orange VA then what makes statements Morgan was hitchhiking on a Bridge so credible ? Why are we accepting Morgan was hitchhiking when her personal items including cell phone were found sans the battery hundreds of feet away from her last “supposed” sitting. Speaking of witnesses , where are the witnesses that seen Morgan “hitchhiking” . With social networking rampant in todays world does anyone else find it amazing that we have people who drove over Copley bridge in the timeline given by police that never seen Morgan or anyone else on the Copley bridge hitching but we haven’t heard a word after thousands of hours of Public investment to bring Morgans KILLER to justice . With today’s social networking it is hard to keep people quiet for 6 minutes , 6 months makes me feel the witnesses never existed in the first place .
Keep in mind the blue ridge parkway shooting . The first hand witness reports were far from even close to factual . Understood with the situation that animal put those kids in . Witness accounts of events are notorious to be miserably wrong . So I ask again , what creditable information is available Morgan was hitchhiking on the Copley bridge ? I feel Morgan walking away from UVA/JPJA to hitchhike to her death sounds better that a blitz attack where her personal items lay after being denied reentry as a paying customer whom was injured inside JPJA. Amazingly we have an announcer run over by a monster truck and video hits the internet within hours . Its been 6 months and we have yet to see not a single video clip from a post 9/11 state of the art facility with a price tag of around 162 MILLION dollars showing Morgan Harrington anywhere on UVA property , how conveniant .
I still say bring in the professional psychics, it would certainly speed things up, and find answers that are credible. At this point any and everything would help even if one doesn’t believe in psychics, it doesn’t hurt to try.
The words “psychic” and “credible” don’t belong in the same sentence, well unless like this one it includes the word “not” too.
I think whoever abducted her came back and dumped the shirt there to confuse the investigation, as with the cell phone missing its battery. Also, even if she was sighted on the West Lawn, she could have been abducted AFTER leaving that party. Until they have more facts, this still doesn’t prove anything.
I wonder if the arrest of Ralph “Leon” Jackson in the recent Blue Ridge Parkway shooting is significant — he looks very similar to the composite sketch of the man who abducted Alician Showalter Reynolds over 10 years ago along Highway 29 (near where Morgan’s body was found).
Wait’N See, It depends on your definition of near. Alicia Reynolds was abducted near the town of Culpeper on Route 29N, and was found 2 months later near Lignum, VA. Lignum, according to MAPQUEST, is just over an hour from Charlottesville, a distance roughly 60 miles from where Morgan Harrington’s remains were found, off of 29S. I know in our very mobile society, 60 miles is not a great distance, but to state that Alicia Reynolds was found on Route 29 “near where Morgan’s body was found” is a little misleading. That being said, there could be the possibility the same person is responsible for both deaths, and maybe others, since Ms. Reynolds’ killer has never been arrested.
I still don’t think Darrell Rice or Michael Andrew Nicholaou looked enough like that old Route 29 stalker sketch to be a sure thing. I’ve seen articles blaming several of those old serial killings on one or the other, as though the old cases are closed, and they aren’t. Just because Nicholaou committed suicide when police caught up with him doesn’t mean he was guilty of all of the other crimes — many wife-killers turn the gun on themselves after the crime. Plus Nicholaou’s eyebrows and chin don’t match the old sketch even slightly. I was really surprised, in fact, when I saw that even Ralph “Leon” Jackson’s hair style looks like the old sketch, plus look at his chin, lips, ears, eyebrows. It’s amazing.
And with regard to Darrell Rice, DNA testing set him free because it didn’t match. That’s why I still think the old cases are far from solved.
I’m just waiting for the DNA on Leon Jackson to come back, wondering how many of those old cases might finally be put to rest.
The only sketch Ive seen that looked enough like someone was the unabomber, and that was because he had a hoodie, glasses and facial hair covering up his facial features. Cville rapist looked nothing like his sketch…
I agree that sketches don’t look exactly like the actual perpetrators, but several people saw the Route 29 abductor and so the police had a lot to work with. Also, why would people tell the sketch artist that the suspect had PLUCKED, thin, and pointed eyebrows, if the actual perpetrator was Nicholaou whose eyebrows were MASSIVE and obviously never plucked? Why would there be a cleft in a suspect’s chin, but people tell the police that they didn’t remember seeing one? I never expected the sketch to be exact, but the differences are usually more LACK of detail, not the absolutely wrong detail.
Dan Harrington’s Mini Press Conference
——————————————————————————–
Pippi, asked if I would answer some questions. I have posted the questions and answers below:
1. I asked earlier and you said no pictures or video of Morgan or her three friends in JPJ Arena. Do you believe they were ever there? Did other witness that knew them see them there?
To the best of my knowledge there are no pictures or video of Morgan in or out of the building.
2. With no pictures and no video is the only confirmation Morgan attended the concert the word of her friends?
I have no reason to believe that Morgan skipped the concert; she had been looking forward to it for months. Her presence has been reported by eyewitnesses (per description) that Morgan was present in the parking lot before the concert, in JPJ, and in the parking lots after she left the building.
3. Are there any photos taken of Morgan after she left your home on the afternoon of Oct. 17?
None that have come to light.
4. When you called Amy Oct. 18 what was her reaction?
I did not initially speak to Amy, I spoke (as I recall) to Sarah, I was upset and scared, and I knew Morgan something terrible had happened to her. I spoke to Amy when she brought Morgan’s car back on the evening of October 18. I do not recall the conversation; I was in a state of shock.
5. Was Morgan’s car every processed by LE? If not why?
Morgan’s car was searched by police.
6. Was Morgan ever stalked or followed or afraid?
Not that I am aware.
7. Why did Morgan feel the need to deadbolt her bedroom door at Blacksburg?
During times she and Amy had friends over or parties, friends/visitors would be in and out of her bedroom. She wanted her privacy and did not want people coming into her room when she was not there. She was quite organized and had fairly nice jewelry.
8. Where did the girls go before the concert?
Morgan and Amy went to JMU to Sarah’s house. I do not know what they did in Harrisonburg. I do not believe they went anywhere else in Charlottesville.
9. Did Morgan know the BB players previous to Oct. 17?
Not to my knowledge.
10. Has Morgan’s necklace ever been found?
That is part of the investigation.
11. What articles were found with Morgan?
The chunky silver bracelet that Gil gave to her was give back to us. The rest of the information is part of the investigation.
12. Was Morgan shot as Gil hinted at?
The details and cause of death are part of the investigation.
13. Did Morgan or the Harrington Family have any ties to AF?
No, despite Gil’s maiden name being White, she had no connection to AF.
14. Did Morgan ever attend parties or have friends living at North Garden?
Morgan had visited her brother when he was in school; she occasionally went to concerts in Charlottesville. To my knowledge she had never been there.
15. Was Mr. Bass home the day and night of Oct. 17? The day and night of Oct. 18?
I am told no, but I have no confirmation of that.
.
16. Do you believe AF holds the key to Morgan’s murder?
I believe it is part of the puzzle. One would have had prior knowledge of AF for her body to be were it was found.
17. Why was the sighting of Morgan by Mrs. Parsons the newspaper lady discounted?
I do not think it was, I still believe it is a possibility, I do not think it is a closed deal.
18. Are there any sightings of Morgan after 10:00 pm October 17?
Not to my knowledge, unless she was on the lawn.
19. Why were the friends that went to the concert not concerned when Morgan did not arrive to drive home with them?
I think they were concerned, but I think they thought she got a ride.
20. Did her friends think she was safe with whomever she told them she was with?
I do not believe she told them she was with anyone.
21. Do you believe there is any connection between Morgan and Cassandra’s’ murder?
I do not rule that out.
22. Do you think AF has anything to do with Morgan’s’ murder other than her being found there?
It has something to do with her murder, if only that it is well known to the killer(s). It is not just a random place to put her. I believe she was placed there with thoughts she would never be found. The shirt now being acknowledged as being her is significant and it was found in a mixed neighborhood (students/frats/drug users/ poor)
23. Are there any questions you would like to add to this list before I topic it?
No
FindMorgan.com
CC, don’t knock it unless you have tried it. If it was my kid, I would give it a try. At this point nothing to lose.
Nobody should be in the least bit surprised that it took so long for details in a missing person turned murder investigation to get printed by ANY news outlet in this town. Give the Hook it’s props. They covered the sighting on the lawn and the short found on Grady weeks later, but C-Ville Weekly, the Daily Progress, and all the TV networks didn’t at all.
A 21 year old UVA student dropped dead in a frat house two weeks ago, but the only ones who have dared cover that are the Cavalier Daily and the newsplex
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/90033542.html?storySection=comments
Not so coincidentally, this single story is linked at the UVA website - buried deep in their website far from the homepage streaming with springtime pictures of smiling, happy, sober students.
Here’s how tragic stories about students dying in frat houses are covered everywhere else in America:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10035577
Note that this poor chap expired the same day that Mr. Arwood did, and it was national news on the 7th. Here we are in UVA-land, and the only local media who will dare touch - with 5 very carefully worded sentences - finishes with the absurd notion that somehow it might take 6 months to determine a cause of death.
The hospital won’t comment. The police are saying nothing. The administration is saying nothing. The intra fraternity council has no comment. I know people in local media who are getting stonewalled at every turn. No response, or no comment. Graduation is a few weeks away, and you can bet they’ll string this silence along until after then at the very least.
This town needs some Duke Boys to take on Boss Hog. This doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country. Anyone who thinks City Council with their modest budget really controls this town is a fool. Take a look at the size of UVA’s endowment alone - and the advertisement atop this webpage.. The complete cover up of anything negative having to do with UVA impacted the Harrington case also - as this lead with the shirt now proves. Most people are finding out about it for the first time just now. Not because local media didn’t want to cover it back in November. Just that they wouldn’t dare.
There is no other rational explanation for these series of “non events” other than a very powerful and corrupt UVA administration strong arming the local media - and doing a very thorough job of it.
Mr. Christian,
You write about “students dying in frat houses.” Have you bothered to consider that statistics of death in such houses might not show any greater rate of incidence per resident compared to non-fraternal student housing?
Methinks you’re trafficking a myth — that fraternity houses are dangerous.
Rvr, the type of dwelling is irrelevant. Could have been in a dorm, a sorority house, or off campus housing. It would not be (covered) news around here just the same. He was found unconscious in the frat house, and died two days later at UVA Hospital, btw..
The cloak of silence around here surrounds any negative news about current UVA folks, whatever kind of roof they live under. And that, obviously, included the T-shirt found on Rugby Road. The single eyewitness sighting of Morgan on the lawn also remains a secret according everybody but the Hook.
Touche, Archer.
They covered the sighting on the lawn and the short found on Grady weeks later, but C-Ville Weekly, the Daily Progress, and all the TV networks didn’t at all.
***
Umm, isn’t that the shirt whose discovery was first noted in the C-ville Weekly’s blog?
“Here we are in UVA-land, and the only local media who will dare touch -”
“I know people in local media who are getting stonewalled at every turn. No response, or no comment.”
Seems to me those two statements directly contradict one another Mr. Christian.
Here’s my question: Why are the local media covering up the tragic death of Archer Christian, Jr.? I mean, sure, it happened over a century ago, but why isn’t it still getting daily coverage in the Hook, Daily Progress, and C-ville Weekly? I’ll tell you why - MASSIVE UVA COVERUP! Orchestrated by nefarious spinmeister John T. Casteen III!
shhhh April 16th, 2010 | 1:06 pm
Absolutely nothing bad can happen near or on UVA property. To even think or suggest such a thing is reason enough to be committed.
————————–
Exactly!!! I am certain that is what UVA is hoping to do to Norma for even suggesting that criminals could be on TJ’s sacred grounds.
Note to would be criminals….do it on UVA grounds, you are assured the highest protection as the Honor Code = see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Note to would be criminals….do it on UVA grounds, you are assured the highest protection as the Honor Code = see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Its looking that way !
I am ashamed one of the finest institutions of learning in the world would stonewall to protect an image .
Our children are much more valuable .
I say the find of Morgan’s shirt that was handled by local LE will be absolutely useless in bringing Morgans killer to justice . How much DNA does a shirt that traveled from Blacksburg to Charlottesville and mingled amongst literally thousand of people contain . I say it contains enough DNA to never be valuable in a trial . If the murderer doesn’t have handcuffs on by now there is little to no chance these local ya-hoos will ever get a pair on the murderer over the shirt !
So sad , it’s all so sad .
I call B*S*. Who even knows who Cassandra is in the Q&A you posted from Dr. Harrington? The only time her name even hit the news was when to everyone’s relief it was just a black girl’s body found in Lynchburg and not the blonde girl’s body.
The police don’t have magic wands to wave to make things happen and there are a lot of other cases for forensics labs to be working on. Where’s the similar outrage about Cassandra Morton’s murder?
Only a raving lunatic would believe the UVA Police have a student suspect who is shielded from prosecution somehow because of the Honor Code. It’s even more absurd to believe that the Honor Code would somehow keep a non-student safe from prosecution.
I still am baffled by the car.
It might be an interesting article, Hawes, to delve into why the lead police investigator and Dr. Harrington had opposite things to say about where the car was. Why would that be? It has never made sense to me.
And as others noted above, it still seems odd to have an abduction case when the victims car was available.
Questions:
* didn’t her friends wonder why she’d go home on her own when her OWN car was there? What have they said about that? Why did they not question that? (maybe a past pattern of leaving events?)
* why wouldn’t she request the car keys from her friends (if they were holding them, which I believe was the case), so she could at least keep warm? it was a cold night!
You seem to be digging deeper on some of the questions in this case, but I’ve never seen anyone explore in detail all the questions surrounding the car.
Thanks,
Interesting Q’s Baffled .
I say the non disclosure of the car is yet another separation from UVA . I find many things that don’t jive with me about Dr. Harrington’s answers to the mini conference ( posted above ) . I really wanted to keep my mouth shut on these issues as Dr. Harrington and his family are truly living hell on earth .
So I will try to step lightly as I have the upmost admiration for the Harringtons.
My questions to Dr. Harrington’s replies all seem to deal with the “friends” . I use the term friends very loosely as I feel Morgan didn’t have a friend in site the night of OCT 17th .Well after the fact Morgan had friends all over Charlottesville , they just didn’t know Morgan needed help that evening .
What I find unusual about some of Dr Harrington’s answers revolve around what little he states he knows about Morgan’s last day before she disappeared . Does anyone else find it odd that the “friends” have not sat down with Dr and Mrs.. Harrington and shared every detail of those tragic last hours ? I mean from a Psychological point of view a parent usually crave every last memory that can be shared by those close to a lost child or loved one in a case like Morgans. Abduction and murder seems to me to warrant every single minute detail a parent would need for more reasons than just personal satisfaction . Now , could have Dr. Harrington sanitized his answers , absolutely for the sake of justice for Morgan he may have . I respect that if he did .
I will approach what I found odd as if Dr. Harrington did not sanitize his answers .
Question number 2 . Seems odd to me Dr. Harrington goes into detail about Morgan present at JPJA but never mentions the “friends told me so ” or the like . While I am at it Gil has beautifully in my book shared her thought’s through this horrible tragedy . Gil has mentioned the ‘friends” to the best of my knowledge ONE time in her writings . Seems odd to me .
Question 3 NO PICTURES , seems to be the theme of the day , no video , no pictures from the friends cameras or cell phones . Let us not forget we have pictures of everything the “9″ did at random events but mysteriously nothing has surfaced of OCT 17th . What really doesn’t sit well with me is we have the “friends” doing shot’s half naked mere days after Morgan disappeared and even better of them mocking Morgan hitching during the search under a sign used to direct searchers .
Question 4 . Notice how Dr. Harrington doesn’t answer the question about what the reaction of AMY was . He does break my heart to hear his reaction . I don’t even have children and just the thought of what Dr. Harrington felt the moment as a Father he knew something was terribly wrong . I say Dr. Harrington’s word’s of being in shock and scared don’t even begin to describe the horror he felt . I cannot even fathom the thought .
Question 5 Another dodge of the question I feel . Morgan’s car was searched , NOT forensically processed by LE , Again epic failure on LE’s part .
Question 8 this answer baffles me . I go back to again wouldn’t after 6 months the “friends” took the time to write down and document every detail of that day . Would the friend’s not take the time to share every damn detail from the food they ate to where they went on OCT 17th . 6 months and a Father and Mother of a slain child do not know the details from the very people who spent their last hours with there murdered daughter .
Question 10 . My answer to this question …….NO the necklace has NOT been located .
Question 15 This is absurd that Mr.bass and as it stands I think is a fine man with a terrible thing connected to his property , but if LE or MR. Bass has not shared every detail of that farm and the comings and goings including himself , daughter and everybody else then we need to take a closer look at Mr. Bass. Very possible Dr. Harringtons answer reflect that MR. Bass shared with him where he and his family was , if so I respect that . IF NOT Mr. Bass as a Father has a Moral duty to sit with Dr and Mrs. Harrington as they would had this been Mr. Bass’s daughter . AT this point the Harringtons deserve confirmation not hear say .
Question 19 Why should a Father have to “think” anything . Had I failed Morgan miserable as the friends did that evening I would be on my damn knees first begging for forgiveness that I wouldn’t deserve and second to assure him what I was thinking and what I was feeling . Dr. Harrington doesn’t seem to assured of those friends actions and behavior .
Hiding,
>> 8. Where did the girls go before the concert?
Morgan and Amy went to JMU to Sarah’s house. I do not know what they did in Harrisonburg. I do not believe they went anywhere else in Charlottesville. >>
Yes, I too, find this amazing. As you said, there’d be a real psychological (as well as, of course, practical invetigative) need to do everything you said, to piece together every detail of the entire day. NOT KNOW ?? How has he not called the friends over and gone over everything?
>> What really doesn’t sit well with me is we have the “friends” doing shot’s half naked mere days after Morgan disappeared and even better of them mocking Morgan hitching during the search under a sign used to direct searchers . >>
really? Where is that? That’s incredible. Are the pics still anywhere on the web?
baffled by car Qs
I feel confident Dr. Harrington and Gil have been hanging on every word of the friends about that dreadful day . Now have the friends been forthcoming , thats the million dolla question .
yes the pictures are available . I posted a couple on craigslist .
GO to craigslist.com - Charlottesville - look under personals for rant & raves . the pics will be posted there .
I posted pics I referenced here .
Sadly the pics are self explanatory .
maybe the friends have been forthcoming. maybe, just maybe, there are aspects of the victim’s behavior that people do not want to discuss publicly out of respect for her and her family. maybe it is those that keep lamenting the fact that not every detail of the victim’s behavior is known by the public that are doing the disservice to the victim’s family.
maybe the family knows more about the case and the friends’ behavior and the victim’s behavior than they are letting on. read between the lines.
wow! how do you know they’re her friends and the dates? if that’s really her “friends” on the dates you’ve said, that’s quite amazing. and why not post the link directly from here?
OK sorry I am dumb as a rock most time lol .
YES ! unequivocally those are Morgans friends .
and here is the link I dont know what I was thinking .
http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/rnr/1700413353.html
Folks, I was at the Cavalier Daily about this story months ago. Their new editorial staff (only there the last few weeks..) is much more forthcoming in daring to cover news that might shed UVA in a bad light than the last one was. The sighting on the lawn and the Pantera shirt found in the heart of UVA greek territory was not news to them this past winter - somehow - some way..
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/03/22/fact-checking/
C-Ville weekly deletes my posts from their website. They are the worst biased and corrupt media outlet in town, and that is amongst a lot of other biased and corrupt media outlets in town. I agree that the Hook has been out front on this story - but keep in mind these stories here arrives weeks late themselves. they were the only ones who really dared to defy UVA, but they were very cautious and slow about it. Horrible considering that it was a MISSING PERSONS case at the time - but at least they eventually printed something that nobody else had the guts to.
sean, looks from what i read that all of you accusations about the cavalier daily were answered and the answer was that you were wrong in assuming a cover up. the current staff seems to me to be saying that the former staff were acting responsibly.
John Giuliano April 17th, 2010 | 11:06 am
Didn’t the police interview a guy in a goth band whose name translates to “Beautiful Death” that lives right across the street from where the shirt was found?
——————————
John, can you provide a link to this info?
Is that Belle Morte?
Hobby Horse,
The Cavalier Daily refused to print the story that the shirt was found in the first place. They didn’t think it was news, for some VERY peculiar reason.. Could it have led to further leads? UVA students don’t read the other papers in town. Probably too late now, huh?
Well, somebody turned out to be right regarding whether it was/is news or not. And the folks at the Cavalier Daily turned out to be 1000% wrong. So now it is them who can look back and wonder if any new leads could have been generated, or people’s memories jogged, by MORGAN’S T-Shirt being found in the heart of UVA student residences and fraternity/sorority rows. They were perfectly happy to have her last confirmed sighting on Ivy hitching a ride West and away from UVA. Keep in mind that that they have STILL never printed one word of the single sighting on the west range of the lawn.
What exactly is responsible about NOT printing evidence in a missing persons/murder investigation when that evidence suggests that UVA folks may be involved? If the Casteen Cloaking Device can be enabled on the newspapers and networks all over town, then do you really believe that they have no pull with the Cavalier daily?? The facts certainly suggest otherwise.
These things only happen here - where any story that might cast UVA in a negative light gets squelched by the powers that be. Where else in America can a 21 year old drop dead in a frat house, and it is NOT news? Where else does evidence in the case of a missing young woman in danger NOT get printed or covered on TV? Where else can a student at a football game assault several police officers and face multiple felony charges - and it is NOT covered by anyone in local media?
And just why exactly would it be that people are OK with this?
Sean writes; “in the heart of UVA greek territory”
That’s an incorrect description that carries a bit of an accusation.
I don’t see how a T-Shirt would come off Morgan’s body out there in the street. It’s not like a T-Shirt just falls off your body like a scarf or a piece of jewelery. It has to be pulled off your body. And if it was pulled off the body, that would indicate a struggle out there in the street and somebody would have heard the disturbance, like Morgan screaming.
Also, as the finder said, how could it have sat there for weeks without being noticed? I know students tend to be out of it, but I just don’t believe it sat there for weeks, without being noticed, especially with the searches that were going on. Plus the fact that it was conveniently laid flat and face up. I think it was placed there to confuse the police and throw them off, perhaps to make them think it was students.
I meant to say a T-Shirt has to be pulled off over the head.
To answer the question as to why sometimes DNA testing can be completed more quickly than others, the quality of evidence varies considerably in case to case. It can be a great deal easier and quicker to determine that a shirt or something belonged to a particular person when there is a blood spot, for example, than it would be if a shirt were simply worn.
Secondly, I would bet money that the Bella Morte members would do anything to help police, just as Metallica did.
Just because this bombshell was dropped today doesn’t mean that the investigators did not know about the results yesterday, or last month, or the month before. We need to respect their decision to hold back information crucial to the case. Sadly this doesn’t necessarily mean Morgan was anywhere near the apt. building - it could have been tossed from a vehicle after the killer discovered he didn’t drop it off with the body. There are just so many ways this could go - I DO hope and pray the investigators sort through this mess of a case and find out who killed her.
Who killed Morgan UVA?
Spring in Cville
Flowers, the lawn
Rugby Road
The corner
Hey remember those bones? That girl?
Well she wasnt from the University anyway
And we need to take care of our own
So, too bad for her
Let’s get on with our lives
That was some night wasnt it?
Kind of a rush
She shouldnt have been out
She was probably drinking
So, she deserved it
She wasnt from the University anyway
And we need to take very good care of our own
Those guys are usually decent
And she probably deserved it
Too bad for her
We take care of our own
Go Wahoo
Why was Morgan’s car not FORENSICALLY processed?
Why was Morgan’s car not FORENSICALLY processed?
… because that would be FOLLOWING protocol, procedure AND the logical thing to do. besides … if your daddy is in LE, then i am sure they don’t want the car searched.
VIRGINIA law needs to change … no disclosure = no case solving.
look around you people … your cases are not getting solved and more people are getting murdered with no solution.
osama
I feel Morgan was not seriously looked at as an abduction .
Can someone help me out here . Some stories I can reply to others when I hit post ….NOTHING it doesn’t show up . If I try to repost it say’s oooops you already said that .
AM I being censored or am I just a bonehead or both :) .
TIA
Facts are great. Theory can’t hurt. I’ve been saying all along that the guy who killed Morgan probably saw her months before the concert.
That means her killer may have even known she was going to that rock show!
This killer knows the whole layout of the campus in certain ways.
He’s most likely a outsider type male with few friendships and also likely a past area trouble maker. He probably has assault charges on his record and no tresspassing restrictions. He’s also most likely to have hurt or killed domestic animals in order to vent rage and feel superior over small dominions because of his rejection.
Do the V.S.Police have this guy on the crimmal data base? Im saying 99% possible.
Wow WaitandSee You are right Jackson does look very, very much like the sketches and is without a doubt a cold blooded killer. It is wrong to think that Rice, Evonitz or Nicholaou were involved with all of the unsolved cases in Virginia. You are also right Nicholaou did have massive eye brows and they do not match the sketches AT ALL. Wonder if he ever shaved them as he son Nick does in his latest mug shot? ( the one he kidnapped at 11 months old, took with him for a life on the run) photohttp://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/PublicInquiry/Arrest/Inquiry/Search from a few weeks ago and also in the mug shot photo prior to that one. Just because Mike Nicholaou has one missing wife plus another wife that he murdered for sure, a step daughter he stalked, held hostage for hours, bound at the wrists, mouth he duct taped, who he murdered and just because he was featured naked in photos with woman who looked drugged or drunk and were tied up in bondage positions and just because he drove the key vehicle that matches the description to a “T” that was used by the perp in the Ct. Valley murders at the exact same time frame and left town leaving behind all his possessions in Massachusetts in the middle of the night and just because the lone survivor of the Ct. Valley serial murders says he is the man she did hand to hand combat with who stabbed her 27 times when she was 7 months pregnant who stayed alive in a heroic fight to save her unborn babies life and just because he is the prime suspect in the Connecticut River Valley Serial Murders, several of which occured when he was coincidentally visiting the area, just because there is a death bed confession that also implicates him in those murders,just because he spent most of his time in Virginia, had a porn shop there, has a child abuse charge there, had stolen vehicles charges in bulk there, was a former car repo man who killed a guy during that job and has a past history of lighting cars on fire and painting racial slurs on homes of neighbors, admits to killing 31 people whose faces haunt his sleep, lived on I-29 in 1996 and ditched his Virginia apartment in 1996 leaving everything in it and headed for Florida then in Nov. 1996 checked into the hospital for mental help and complained that he could not sleep due to the fact that he killed 31 people and could see their faces in his dreams, said he had blackouts, foamed at the mouth and told the doctors he was hooked on crack, just because just because his former associates say he was running guns to south america, that he stole their cars and some were found in New York Chop shops and just because he was a former special police officer in Virginia but was turned down for being a full fledged officer as the police in Charlottesville have stated, due to the fact that he could not pass the background check, there is no reason to place him as a suspect over anyone else. Certainly there are 131 other criminals in Virginia who have already been proven to have done many more crimes than he has.
This is very disturbing . Blink from blink on crime.com is confirming there is a snuff porno ring in Charlottesville area . I thought snuff films were and urban myth. This is not good at all .
Mary L. says:
April 26, 2010 at 7:29 pm
32.MarchmallowWI says:
April 17, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Is there a possibility of porn being produced in this area? Has anyone come across porn convictions (for production) when looking at criminal records?
This comes to mind by associating of criminal organizations with drugs, prostitution, porn
Me - I was thinking more along the lines of “snuff” film. Sorry Dr. H., Mrs. H. & Alex.
I’m so behind!
Funny you should mention that, the answer is yes.
B
confirmation my behind
I have a question. This Blink person. How do they know and confirm these things? Is this Blink person talking to Morgan’s friends and family? That seems strange for a blogger. Isn’t a blogger just a sort of reporter?
I tell everyone i know who has followed this story(esp since her remains were found) the same thing: gil and dan harrington are being told what they can and cannot say(so as not to disrupt the investigation),and i am sure they are very frustrated with their hands/mouths tied…but they are also extremely intelligent in what they are able to tell us..even if it seems like a short sentence or phrase,they manage to get their point out there..so WE the PUBLIC can help them find morgan’s killer(s).Just for a few examples: Gil said in one post on findmorgan.com: that she “shares the air” with Morgan’s friends..like there is only SILENCE between them..huh? like previous posters wrote in april,would you not, as morgan’s ‘ feeling guilty’ friend,want to tell the harringtons everything?? everywhere you went ? everything you did? their daughter is dead..anything you could tell them now,would not hurt them any more than they are hurting already..the only reason for this ’silence’Gil talks about, is that the friends all have attorneys telling them to keep their mouths shut! also, dan at one point, said, it may have just been a simple accident/tragedy(he almost hints about it,as if she could have been partying with someone, but died after a fall,or in a car accident..note all of the broken bones..it was as if Dan was trying to coax that person out of hiding.).what if a motorist ran her over in the road, after she had already fallen, and he or she did not see her there in time to stop? i do not press others to believe in any one scenario, but watch and listen to every phrase and word that Gil and dan say..they are intelligent, experienced medical professionals..and they are trying to help their daughter find justice…i know that if i were ever in their sad shoes, i could not do as they do,asking the public to help them,but in a very controlled,restrained way..i would be shouting on the roof tops, i would have camped out on the lawn at the dorms of all of these so called concert friends of morgan’s until they had to talk to me..i want to know what kind of friend drives my daughter’s car home to the dorm after the concert,but leaves my daughter behind to fend for herself…dan and gil are two very cool,disciplined people,on the hardest mission any parent could ever be on..the quest for justice for their daughter..HELP THEM!In a few weeks the semester will be over,and perhaps college students who may know something will be going back home til august..please, if you know something, tell someone..do not just go back home to another city, or another state,and pretend you know nothing..even the smallest thing could mean something in solving this case…the longer it goes on..the longer it will go on..without being solved..signed,yet another sad mom
Excellent post.
>> i want to know what kind of friend drives my daughter’s car home to the dorm after the concert,but leaves my daughter behind to fend for herself… >>
Yes, this is the part that bothers me the most.
I keep coming back to this again and again, and it never makes any sense.
And no one in the press that I’ve ever seen has been able to talk with the girls to ask why? what? (I know, Morgan supposedly told her friends in the arena that she’d find her own way home… I forget, how do we know this? One of the friends? And who called who in that last call?
And I still don’t know why Dan originally had wrong info about where the car was. Didn’t he think it never went beyond Harrisonburg? Why would he come to that conclusion?
yet another sad mom you are so correct. Hopefully someone will break the Wahoo code and come forward. Not in time to help Morgan or save her life but in time to keep these monsters from doing this to other women.
Too bad for Morgan. Her mother, father, brother and uncle went to UVA. Her grandparents lived in Charlottesville. She was born in Charlottesville. And now she was killed in Charlottesville. Note how much the University has NOT said about this murder??? Morgan had wanted a more rural college closer to her parents, plus she had seen how UVA permitted students to abuse others and used the honor code to cover it up. She decided to go somehwere else. Unfortunately she did visit UVA and UVA has exacted its 120 pounds of flesh from her. Some honor and some honor code. Go Wahoos.