The Murder of Morgan Harrington
Morgan Dana Harrington was a 20-year-old student studying at Virginia Tech. Morgan was a rock music fan who loved going to concerts and listening to her favourite bands. She had aspirations to become a teacher.
On 17th October 2009, Morgan and three friends went to the John Paul Jones Arena at the University of Virginia to attend a Metallica concert. While the opening act were playing, Morgan told her friends she needed to use the bathroom. When she didn't return they called her phone at 8.48 pm; she told them she could not get back into the concert because of its no re-entry policy. Morgan reassured her friends that she would find a way home and that they should stay and enjoy the concert and not worry. Witnesses claimed to have seen her hitchhiking nearby at 9.30 pm and in the company of three men after she left the arena. Morgan was not seen or heard from again.
Morgan was reported missing by friends and family and her ID, phone (with its battery removed), and other belongings were found in an RV lot after her disappearance. On 26th January 2010 ten miles (16km) away from the arena in a remote farming area, Morgan's body was found. Police stated they believed her killer to be familiar with the area. The official cause of death was not made public but Morgan's parents confirmed she had been violently murdered and that bones were broken, her mother also confirmed her daughter had been raped.
In April 2010 the Pantera T-shirt Morgan wore to the concert was confirmed forensically to be the shirt found in November 2009 outside an apartment building about a mile and a half from the arena. The murder was also linked to an abduction and sexual assault case from 2005. The DNA evidence from this assault allowed experts to investigate links between Morgan's murder and other cases.
In September 2015, Morgan's murder was formally linked to the murder of Hannah Graham. Jesse Matthew, a UVA student and the main suspect in the latter case, was named a suspect in the murder of Morgan Harrington. Matthew was charged with first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile. In March 2016 Matthew pleaded guilty to both murders and was sentenced to 4 consecutive life sentences, under his plea agreement he cannot appeal and will not be eligible for geriatric release. In May 2019, Matthew was diagnosed with cancer and transferred to receive treatment.
