MORGAN HARRINGTON - 19 yo (2009) - Charlottesville VA

Missing UVA Student Hannah Graham's Case Similar to 2009 Murder, Mom Says

Sep 18, 2014, 1:58 PM ET
By MARK MOONEY and MEGHAN KENEALLY

The mother of a Virginia student who was abducted and slain in 2009 sees eerie similarities between her daughter's death and the current disappearance of Hannah Graham.

Gill Harrington knows the agony that Graham's parents are enduring. Her daughter, Morgan, was a Virginia Tech student who disappeared from a Metallica concert in Charlottesville in 2009. Her body wasn't found until months later and the murder remains unsolved.

What is also upsetting are the similarities to her daughter's death.

Hannah was seen for some of the time fairly close to where Morgan’s shirt was found maybe three weeks after her abduction," she told ABC News.

She said there are other "coincidences" between the two students.

"College town, same town, same kind of look of a girl, same time of year," she said. "Is this a pattern?"

Harrington said it would be "too speculative," but she wondered whether the time of year is a trigger for a "predator" in the Charlottesville area "to go out and hurt somebody."

"We know there's one predator who killed Morgan," she said. Harrington said the 2005 abduction and rape of a woman in Fairfax, Va., has been linked by DNA to her daughter's killer.

Gil and Dan Harrington have helped create an organization called Help Save the Next Girl. It offers advice and tracks the disappearance and unsolved murders of girls. The group's site lists five girls, including her daughter and Graham, from the Charlottesville area who have disappeared or have been killed since 2009. It also lists the cases of seven other Virginia women who disappeared or were killed in unsolved murders.

"Obviously they are not all connected, but it doesn’t seem normal. There's either some connection of a serial predator or a crime spree gone crazy," she said.

Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo conceded earlier this week there are similarities between the death of Morgan Harrington and Graham's disappearance. "Both of them occurred within the proximity of the University of Virginia. Both of them are young girls,” the chief said.

Charlottesville police Capt. Gary Pleasants today would not make any connection to the deaths or disappearance of the other women.

"We said all along there is no criminal activity yet. At this moment we still don't know that there is any (criminal activity)... because we don't know what happened yet," Pleasants said.

Gil Harrington said she and her husband Dan are praying for Graham's family. "Our hearts go out to them," she said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-uva-student-hannah-grahams-case-similar-2009/story?id=25599055

Possible sighting of suspect in Morgan Harrington case

Web Staff, WDBJ7, news@wdbj7.com
POSTED: 09:58 PM EDT Sep 16, 2014
UPDATED: 12:19 PM EDT Sep 17, 2014

LEXINGTON, Va - The Lexington Police Department is looking into the possible sighting of a person of interest in the abduction and murder of Virginia Tech student, Morgan Harrington.

On Tuesday, students at Washington and Lee University received a public safety notice about a “possible sighting of a male subject” matching the description of a suspect in the Harrington case.

Harrington disappeared in October 2009 after leaving a concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Her body was found three months later.

Lexington police have not been in contact with anyone matching the description.

Police say the apparent sighting happened two weeks ago off campus, but they wouldn't say why the person waited so long to report it.

Here’s the news release from Washington and Lee University:

On September 15, 2014, the Department of Public Safety received information from the Lexington Police Department that they had received a report of the possible sighting of a male subject identified as a person of interest in the abduction and murder of a Virginia Tech student, several years ago, who was visiting the UVA campus.

According to the information received from Lexington PD, the report they received came several days after the sighting of the individual had occurred and they have not been in contact with any individuals matching that description or sketch.

If you believe you observe this individual, or would like to report a crime or any suspicious activity, please contact the W&L Department of Public Safety or the Lexington Police Department immediately at the following numbers:
W&L DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY – (540) 458-8999
LEXINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT – 911 or (540) 463-9177
GENERAL SAFETY AND SECURITY TIPS:
• AVOID WALKING ALONE AT NIGHT. CONTACT PUBLIC SAFETY (540-458-8999) FOR AN ESCORT OR USE TRAVELLER (540-458-8900 ORTRAVELLER.WLU.EDU)
• ALWAYS WALK IN WELL-LIT, HIGHLY VISIBLE AREAS. STAY IN FAMILIAR AREAS AND AVOID SHORTCUTS WHEN POSSIBLE.
• BE ALERT AND AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
• REPORT SUSPICIOUS PERSONS OR ACTIVITY TO PUBLIC SAFETY IMMEDIATELY

TO REPORT AN INCIDENT:
Contact Public Safety at (540) 458-8999
Contact Lexington Police at (540) 463-9177

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS?
CONTACT ETHAN KIPNES, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY EKIPNES@WLU.EDU (540) 458-8427.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/lexington-rockbridge/possible-sighting-of-suspect-in-morgan-harrington-case/28095082

Forensic evidence links Hannah Graham suspect to murdered Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington

POSTED 9:43 AM, SEPTEMBER 29, 2014
UPDATED AT 01:22AM, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
BY LAURA FRENCH, SCOTT WISE, ALIX BRYAN, NICK DUTTON AND WEB STAFF

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The man suspected of abducting 18-year-old Hannah Graham from the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month is forensically linked to the 2009 disappearance of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, sources close to the investigation confirmed to CBS 6 reporter Laura French.

Those sources indicated that forensic evidence belonging to Graham suspect Jesse Matthew Jr., matched forensic evidence collected during the Harrington investigation.

The sources would not indicate what Matthew may or may not have done with Harrington, however the sources indicated that the forensic evidence match showed Harrington had some sort of contact with Matthew the night she disappeared outside John Paul Jones arena on October 17, 2009. Her remains were found in January 2010 on an Albemarle County farm.

“For the past five years, the Virginia State Police has been aggressively pursuing the investigation into the disappearance and death of 20-year-old Morgan D. Harrington of Roanoke, Va,” Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller wrote in an email following the CBS 6 News report. “Last week, the arrest of Jesse L. Matthew Jr., 32, of Charlottesville, Va., provided a significant break in this case with a new forensic link for state police investigators to pursue. There is a still a great deal of work to be done in regards to this investigation and we appreciate the public’s patience as we move forward.”

“We worked five years to get to this point, so we are relieved,” Morgan Harrington’s mother Gil said. Harrington added it was now time for her to take a step back and let investigators do their job and find Hannah.

“We are heartbroken for her family. We know what they’re going through,” Harrington told WTVR.com in the days after Graham disappeared. “Police need information. They need to process tips. Please reach out to police and do not be the filter. Even if you think it does not make sense, let police be the filter.”

Two years after Morgan Harrington’s remains were found, the FBI released a sketch of the man they said had contact with the Virginia Tech student. The sketch was released after investigators found forensic evidence that linked a 2005 sex assault in Fairfax to Harrington’s disappearance.

“Throughout the past nine years our detectives have worked continually and diligently to positively identify a suspect in this case,” Fairfax Police spokesman Sgt. Natalie Hinesley wrote in a statement about the status of the sexual assault investigation. “Details of the investigation and any related evidentiary information will not be disclosed at this time in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and any possible prosecution.”

Charlottesville community relieved

There was a palpable sense of cautious relief through the Charlottesville community and on grounds of UVa. as news spread of the link between Matthew and Harrington.

“Hearing this connection it’s a start,” said one UVa. student. “We want to make sure everyone around grounds is safe.”

Another student said that since the mystery man has finally been caught she feels less on edge.

“He’s not out there anymore, so it is a great relief,” said one student. “My mom has been really worried about the safety of Charlottesville and it’s really reassuring now to know that the guy who is suspected of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington cases — he’s been caught.”

Students at colleges across the state are now coming together to show their support for Graham. In fact, a candlelight vigil will take place at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland on Tuesday at 8 p.m. outside the student center.

In the Alexandria neighborhood where Graham’s family lives, yellow ribbons line the streets where Graham’s parents live as a show of support for the family from the community.

Despite having a suspect behind bars, many people are still searching for the missing 18-year-old.

Where is Hannah?

Hannah Graham was officially reported missing on September 14, though she was last seen the early hours of September 13.

Jesse Matthew’s car and apartment were searched five days later, on September 19, after police reviewed video and spoke with witnesses. The next day Matthew was reported to have sped away from the overt surveillance Virginia State Police had on him.

He was next named a suspect, after police received more forensic evidence.

On September 24, police in Texas were alerted to a suspicious man camping on the beach in Gilchrist on the Bolivar Peninsula, approximately 1,300 miles from Charlottesville. When they ran his license plate number around 3:30 p.m., they found out he was wanted in Virginia.

Matthew was charged with giving false information to a police officer. A federal law enforcement source confirmed a phone call made from a borrowed cell phone in Louisiana, to Virginia, is how police first discovered Jesse Matthew was out of the state and on the run.

Matthew was flown back to Virginia on September 26 and taken to Albemarle County Jail. He is expected to make an initial court appearance on Thursday where he will face an abduction with intent defile charge.

Anyone with information regarding Graham’s whereabouts should call (434) 295-3851 or 1-800-THE-LOST.

http://wtvr.com/2014/09/29/hannah-graham-morgan-harrington-connection/