Friday, February 05, 2010
Police: Harrington's killer unwittingly left clues
Investigators say Morgan Harrington's killer is familiar with the terrain where she was found, and they hope residents of the area will be able to come up with more tips.
Photos by MEGAN LOVETT | Daily Progress
Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader is asking for information from residents about anyone with a connection to Anchorage Farm in Albemarle County.
This aerial photo shows the area state police were investigating a week ago, after Morgan Harrington's body was found.
Related
Timeline
Matt Chittum | The Roanoke Times
From this week's papers
- Morgan Harrington's death ruled a homicide
- Vigil held for Morgan Harrington: "She should not be forgotten"
Ongoing coverage
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Morgan Harrington's killer unwittingly offered a clue to his identity when he chose to leave her in a remote hayfield of an Albemarle County farm, according to state police investigators. They now say they believe he is someone familiar with the rural terrain.
The streams, fences and rugged landscape of Anchorage Farm, where the 20-year-old Roanoke County woman's body was found last week, would have deterred anyone who did not know the farm or surrounding land, said state police Lt. Joe Rader on Thursday.
"We don't believe those are challenges someone unfamiliar with the area would confront," Rader said, adding that the body's location is the "most significant" aspect of the investigation so far.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon in which he expressed confidence that investigators would solve the case, Rader said the person who left Harrington's body in waist-high grass on the farm passed up "more convenient and accessible" locations.
"Investigators believe the person may have traveled, worked, recreated, visited or periodically passed through the farm or nearby area," Rader said. "You could not have just walked in there without having to be able to negotiate things. You had to be familiar with the layout."
So important is the location to the investigation that police have set up a new tip line, 434-709-1685, specifically for residents of the area to report anything notable or out of the ordinary they might have seen or heard. Other callers are still being urged to use the original tip line, 434-352-3467.
Harrington, a student at Virginia Tech, disappeared Oct. 17 after leaving the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, where she had gone with friends to hear the rock band Metallica. She was last seen south of the arena, trying to hitch a ride on the Copeley Road bridge.
The owner of Anchorage Farm, David Bass, found Harrington's skeletal remains Jan. 26 while riding a tractor across his 742-acre farm, which is in the rural North Garden area of Charlottesville, about 10 miles south of where the young woman was last seen. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond has ruled her death a homicide.
On Thursday, Rader said criminal profilers, both in and outside Virginia, have helped investigators come to six conclusions:
- The person responsible for Harrington's death was familiar with the farm or the immediately surrounding area.
- "Past experience" at the farm may have "inclined" the person to come there with Harrington during what was likely a time of great stress.
- Residents of the area "through no fault of their own" know the person, or know someone who passed through at a crucial time.
- The person has "specific knowledge" of the area and is comfortable there.
- The person chose the farm site instead of other areas considered less risky, such as the side of a road.
- "This particular location would have been a high-risk location unless you're familiar with that area," Rader said.
State police said the discovery of Harrington's body has generated tips, but investigators hope for more clues from residents who might have previously considered information they have too inconsequential to report.
"We will solve this," Rader said. "It's really going to be important that we listen to people who know the area."
Harrington's parents have scheduled a Mass at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Roanoke for 3:30 p.m. today, followed by a celebration of her life at the Hotel Roanoke. The public relations firm helping the Harringtons get information to the media said the Mass will take place even in bad weather.
