Break in Harrington murder?
State Police investigate link to ’05 Fairfax case
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Investigators are pursuing a forensic connection between the disappearance and death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington and an unsolved 2005 abduction and sexual assault in Fairfax.
Forensic evidence recovered during the course of the Harrington investigation has confirmed the link to the Fairfax assault, the State Police said Thursday. In September 2005, a Fairfax woman was abducted and sexually assaulted, and Fairfax Police detectives were able to create a composite sketch based on the victim’s description of the suspect. However, the suspect may have changed his appearance over the course of the past five years. Read more
Month six: Update on Harrington investigation
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Morgan Harrington was last seen alive outside the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville the night of Oct. 17, 2009. We’re nearing the six-month mark since her disappearance, and are still not any closer to learning what led to her death. Read more
Location of ‘greatest significance’ in Harrington investigation
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The Albemarle County farm where the remains of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington were discovered on Jan. 26 are of “the greatest significance” in unraveling the mystery of her Oct. 17 disappearance, a Virginia State Police investigator said Thursday.
Investigators believe that the person or persons responsible for her homicide is or are likely to have traveled, worked, recreated or lived in close proximity to the historic Anchorage Farm located in southern Albemarle County.
“Of all the events that transpired between Morgan and the person or persons responsible for this tragic incident, the person(s) responsible had complete control of deciding to choose the specific farm where Morgan was discovered. Therefore, investigators need to understand who knows this area,” said Lt. Joe Rader of the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox field office. Read more
State Police: Remains in Albemarle appear to be Harrington
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The Virginia State Police is saying that human remains found on a farm in southern Albemarle County appear to be those of Morgan Harrington, 20, a Virginia Tech student who was reported missing after attending a concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville on Oct. 17.
“We’re fairly confident that the remains are those of Morgan Dana Harrington,” said Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty at a news conference in Charlottesville Tuesday afternoon.
The remains have been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Richmond for identification and an autopsy, Flaherty said. “Until we receive word from the autopsy, we can’t say with 100 percent certainty that this is truly Miss Harrington. However, there were some significant items of evidence that makes us confident that that scientific procedure will confirm that ID,” Flaherty said. Read more
Breaking: Human remains found in Albemarle
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
Virginia State Police and Albemarle County Police are currently on the scene of the discovery of skeletal remains in Albemarle County.
State Police were notified at 9:59 a.m. this morning by an Albemarle County resident of the discovery, according to a news release from the State Police.
At this time, the remains and scene are being evaluated by forensic technicians. There is no further information to release at this time, according to the State Police report.
Interest is high in the investigation with the possibility that the remains could be related to the missing-person case involving Morgan Harrington, 20, a Virginia Tech student reported missing in Charlottesville on Oct. 17.
Investigator: Harrington case not ‘cold’
State Police still pursuing leads; ‘We have to keep plugging away’
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The case of missing Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, who hasn’t been seen since she left a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville the night of Oct. 17, is “not anywhere near” the level of being labeled a cold case, a Virginia State Police investigator said today.
“A cold case is when you’re not actively pursuing a case, you’ve exhausted all your leads, you’re not putting a whole lot of effort into it. This isn’t anywhere near that. We’ve been working on this every day since we started with core investigators as well as other resources. It’s very much active,” State Police Lt. Joe Rader said on the Harrington case, which has gone cold in one respect, as the media attention on Harrington has gone into decline after an initial period of several weeks of intense coverage of the investigation.
New leads and tips have also slowed, Rader said, with the activity in that arena in recent days being from psychics and remote viewers, “not really people who were there who have concrete information,” Rader said. Read more
Timeline, other new details in Harrington case
As the search and investigative efforts continue for missing college student Morgan Harrington, state and local investigators are now able to release additional details concerning the night of her disappearance. Miss Harrington disappeared Oct. 17, 2009, during a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.
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 Field athlete parking lot, which is also used for RV parking. At around 9:30 p.m., she was seen walking on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road. Read more
