findmorgan.com

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.

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.”

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.

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 bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov. The $150,000 reward is still availabl

APPOMATTOX – In the six months since the disappearance and death of Morgan D. Harrington, Virginia State Police with the assistance of local investigators have pursued close to a thousand leads and interviewed more than 100 individuals as part of the on-going investigation. In addition, forensic testing has recently confirmed an article of clothing as belonging to the 20-year-old Roanoke woman.

Harrington disappeared the night of Oct. 17, 2009, during a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia (UVA) grounds in Charlottesville, Va. During the course of the investigation, police have been able to establish a timeline of Miss Harrington’s movements once she ended up outside of the arena at approximately 8:30 p.m. After talking to her friends on her cell phone, she then walked through the parking lot of University Hall and was also seen in the Lannigan Athletic Field parking lot, which is also used for RV parking. At around 9:30 p.m., she was last seen walking on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road, hitchhiking for a ride.

An Albemarle County landowner discovered Harrington’s body in a field on his 700-acre farm on the morning of Jan. 26, 2010. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the manner of death as a homicide. The cause and time of death remain under investigation.

Recently completed testing by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science confirmed that a black T-shirt discovered Nov. 11, 2009, in the city of Charlottesville is the one Harrington was last seen wearing the night of the concert. The T-shirt, with the word “Pantera” spelled out in tan letters across the front, was discovered by a Charlottesville resident on Nov. 11, 2009, and turned over to investigators. The T-shirt was found on 15^th Street near the intersection of Grady Avenue.

In addition, the team of investigators from the University of Virginia Police, Albemarle County Police, Charlottesville Police, Virginia State Police and the FBI assigned to the case has made substantial progress in evaluating countless possibilities and scenarios related to the circumstances surrounding Harrington’s disappearance and death.

“We are still encouraging the public to come forward with relevant information concerning Morgan Harrington,” said Lt. Joe Rader, Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Appomattox Field Office. “As this investigation continues to progress, factual details are more helpful and important to investigators 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 that will be the key to linking together the evidence and data collected to date.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers at (434) 977-4000. A reward of $150,041 is still available for anyone with information that leads to a resolution of this crime. Calls can also be made to local police or the Virginia State Police Tip Line at (434) 352-3467 or emailed to the State Police at bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov. Anonymous tips are welcome.

April 8, 2010

Rainy skies were not enough to dampen the spirits of a local group determine to “rid the night” of violence and sexual predators.

“Taking Back the Night” is a rally, march and vigil aimed at inciting action.
The nationwide even encourages silent victims to come forward.

There were 21 reported rapes in 2009 according to Albemarle County Police. So far this year, only one rape has been reported. Speaker and rape victim Liz Seccuro says, there many more sex crimes that go un-reported.

Seccuro knows what it’s like to be silenced as a victim of a sex crime. She was silent for 20 years before her rapist came forward and confessed.

Seccuro says, Morgan Harrington’s killer will eventually come forward, like her attacker did. “Those people who have information and are hiding it from law enforcement, we will find you. One day it will become too much to bear for them.”

Dan Harrington is connected to these victims. He is a victim himself, often defending his dead daughter. People have accused Morgan on blogs and internet sites of dressing provocatively and drinking, implying she was “asking” for crime to happen.

“She had a T-shirt that covered her, she had a mini-skirt, she had leggings and black boots. The only skin showing was her hands and face,” Harrington says.

But the accusations go beyond the web. Harrington tells CBS19 that certain law enforcement officials have suggested that Morgan was dressed provocatively, which is why she was abducted and killed.

Harrington says, his daughter is blamed, much like other victims of sexual violence are blamed for the crimes committed against them.

Charlottesville\'s Take Back the Night

A controversial group is picketing Virginia Tech two weeks before the three-year anniversary of the shooting massacre. The Westboro Baptist Church says God sent the killer. They will also speak out about Morgan Harrington.

Carlos Vergara spoke to Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of Fred Phelps, the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Church is a known hate group that usually targets gays. Now, somehow, they are finding a way to blame the 32 victims of the Virginia Tech massacre for their own deaths.

But the group doesn’t stop there. On Friday, they’ll try to claim that Morgan Harrington was somehow responsible for her own death as well. The 20-year-old’s remains were found on an Albemarle County farm in January. She had been missing months earlier after attending a concert at the John Paul Jones Arena.

Harrington’s mother, Gil Harrington, says she refused to call the group a church. She says they are terrorists and zealots. Harrington says she won’t be at Virginia Tech on Friday. She’ll be attending a ground-breaking ceremony for the dedication of a school medical wing named after Morgan Harrington’s volunteerism to education.

Full Story at: http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/89945127.html

A group calling themselves ‘Morgan’s Warriors’ are keeping alive the memory of murdered 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

About 20 members added painted rocks to the memorial at the Copeley Road Bridge in Charlottesville Saturday afternoon. Harrington disappeared in October following the Metallica concert nearby at the John Paul Jones Arena. Her body was found on an Albemarle County farm in January. 

Full Story at:http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=12252255