Thursday, March 13, 2008
Jurors' debate of Morva's fate will start today
A psychiatrist testifying for the defense said Morva has a personality disorder and tends to be narcissistic.
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ABINGDON -- William Morva may learn today whether he will live or die.
The sentencing phase of his trial in Washington County Circuit Court is nearly complete, with jurors having heard from both the prosecution and the defense -- but not from Morva or any of his family members.
Today they will receive their instructions and hear closing statements before retreating to determine the fate of the man they have already found guilty of three counts of capital murder.
Through testimony, the jury got a glimpse Wednesday of a Morva they haven't seen before, one who was friendly and socially conscious in high school but who later developed a personality disorder and narcissistic tendencies.
Of the 13 witnesses called by defense attorneys, two were doctors who have evaluated Morva since he was jailed in August 2006 for escaping a Montgomery County deputy's custody and using the deputy's gun to kill two men.
Dr. Bruce Cohen, a forensic psychiatrist who teaches at the University of Virginia, was the last to take the witness stand.
Cohen said he has interviewed Morva several times. He has also interviewed his mother and his sister and studied his school, medical and police records.
Morva, he said, has schizotypal personality disorder, which affects the way he views the world.
"He has trouble just seeing things from other people's point of view," Cohen said.
When asked how he believed people in Blacksburg perceived him, Cohen said, Morva described himself as "that cool barefoot guy who hangs out at the coffee shop and talks about life."
In reality, Cohen said, people said they thought Morva was bizarre.
Morva often thought other people were talking about him and "that the police had it in for him"; thought of himself as especially perceptive; was preoccupied with his body and went on a diet of only meat and nuts; was suspicious of his lawyer, his family and other people around him in jail; and couldn't name many people he has had close relationships with since high school, Cohen said as he described the personality disorder.
Stress, life environment and genetics all could play a role in the disorder, Cohen said. Morva's grandmother, he said, was treated in the 1950s for schizophrenia.
"His personality, and the way he views the circumstances, plays a role in helping to understand -- not excuse, but helping to understand -- how he ended up acting the way he did," Cohen said.
Cohen and Scott Bender, a forensic neuropsychologist who also teaches at UVa, said Morva's IQ falls in the superior range. He tends toward narcissism, they said.
Under cross-examination by Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch, Bender said people with narcissism commonly have trouble being empathetic, have a sense of entitlement and tend to feel that usual rules don't apply to them.
Finch fired one question after another at Bender, ending each with the words, "Isn't that correct, Dr. Bender?"
Morva's mother, Elizabeth Morva, was expected to testify Wednesday but she did not. She has been kept outside the courtroom and not allowed to watch the trial because she was expected to be called to the witness stand.
The defense called several people who knew William Morva when he was a student at Blacksburg High School before he dropped out his senior year.
Some of them told stories about Morva that made him smile, and a few mouthed words to him from the witness stand.
Maria Rott, who lives in Blacksburg and went to high school with Morva, described him as a "very, very caring person" who was against guns and was involved in Amnesty International and groups that promoted the rights of minorities.
"We tended to be some of the more artsy kids" and didn't always fit in, but Morva always stood up for his friends, she said.
Rott began to cry as she talked about how she and Morva would hang out in downtown Blacksburg.
When defense attorney Tom Blaylock asked if Morva was known for going without shoes, Rott laughed and Morva smiled.
Blaylock gave the jurors photos of Morva smiling and embracing his high school friends.
But the testimony of one of the defense's witnesses may have worked instead in the prosecution's favor.
Amber Erbschloe, a former Virginia Tech student, testified that she allowed Morva to stay at her home for about two weeks several years ago.
He didn't look for work or try to contribute, though, so she asked him to leave.
Asked by Finch if it would be fair to say Morva tried to use people and take advantage of them, Erbschloe said yes.
Jurors also got an idea Wednesday of what prison life has been like for Morva.
A captain at the New River Valley Regional Jail testified that Morva is in lockdown 23 hours a day.
During the remaining hour, he can shower, make a phone call or receive a visitor.
