Posts Tagged ‘virginia’
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Remembering Aveion Lewis
Investigators confirm the body they found at the Smith Gap Landfill in Roanoke, Virginia is in fact the body of 3-year-old Aveion Lewis. Police told me they tracked the trash collected along the 2100 block of King Charles Avenue, and that is what led them to the discovery. Thankfully, the trash company keeps very good records, and police were able to locate the truck in route to the landfill before it made a deposit. The truck emptied its contents in an isolated area at the landfill, and investigators sifted through the garbage. At this time, Roanoke police say they have not moved forward with homicide charges against Brandon Lockett, but that may change in the near future. He is scheduled to appear in court in March.
Investigators charged Aveion’s step-father, Brandon Lockett, with improper disposal of a human body, obstruction of justice, and felony child neglect after a false report was filed that Aveion was abducted. Police canceled an Amber Alert for the child after Lockett admitted Aveion was dead before the bogus abduction took place. Authorities say they were able to get this information and come to this conclusion after conflicting statements were given to authorities early on. Although police say Lockett admitted Aveion was dead before the Amber Alert was issued, investigators early on did not know exactly where the child’s body could be.
Tags: Amber Alert hoax, aveion lewis, brandon lockett, confirmed body, court, identity, March, remains found, search teams, smith gap landfill, virginia
Posted in amber alert, missing child | 1 Comment »
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Remembering Morgan (family photo)
As the world waits to learn more about Morgan Harrington’s official cause of death, the support for the Harrington family keeps growing. On Friday night, many friends from the virtual world gathered in front of the Harrington’s home to honor Morgan with a candlelight vigil on Friday night. Internet tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Morgan’s website were the same some of the places supporters organized an effort for Morgan and her family. Many people who gathered at the Harrington household in the cold say they never met Morgan in person, only to know her by her beautiful pictures and words from her family and friends, but their souls were touched by her spirit.
Last week, police confirm remains found on a Virginia farm are in fact those of Morgan Harrington. I spoke to State Police officials today, and they say they are working to determine Morgan’s cause and time of death. I spoke with the Medical Examiner’s in Richmond last week, and they say in normal cases an autopsy to include toxicology reports normally take 24 hours, but in this case, it could take weeks. State police investigators were at the ME’s office later last week working with the pathologists as they took x-rays and gathered information. Authorities are on the farm for days conducting a grid search, and gathering as much evidence as they could. Police say Morgan’s body could have been on the farm for as many as 100 days.
Tags: college student, concert, Harrington family, john paul jones arena, metallica, missing adult, morgan harrington, vigil, virginia
Posted in missing adult, murder | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Remembering Aveion Lewis
Investigators say they found the body of a small child today in a landfill in Roanoke, Virginia. I spoke with police earlier this afternoon and they told me early on in the investigation they tracked the trash collected along the 2100 block of King Charles Avenue. The trash company keeps very good records, and police were able to locate the trash truck in route to the landfill. The truck emptied its contents, and over the last few days, investigators combed through the garbage. Today, just after 12 p.m. the body of a small child, believed to be Aveion was located. The body was sent to the Roanoke Valley Medical Examiner’s office, and at this point, we are awaiting 100% confirmation. At this time, Roanoke police say they have not moved forward with homicide charges against Brandon Lockett, but that may change in the near future.
Tags: aveion lewis, body found, smith gap landfill, virginia
Posted in amber alert, missing child, murder | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
MORGAN HARRINGTON MISSING
Investigators say they are confident the remains found on a Virginia farm are the remains of missing college student Morgan Harrington. Skeletal remains were found earlier today on a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. According to a press release issued on the Virginia State police website, “State police were notified at 9:59 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, by an Albemarle County resident of the discovery. At this time, the remains and scene are being evaluated by forensic technicians.” The location is Anchorage Farms, more than 700 acres of pasture and woods about eight miles away from Interstate 64.
Nancy and David Bass have owned this farm for more than 30 years. I spoke with Nancy earlier today and she says the pasture is empty in the winter, but where the body was found is a place they do farming. There is a subdivision that is close by to their land, and sometimes people trespass, hunt, and go biking on their property. Nancy is not certain the exact place where the remains were found, and she hasn’t had a chance to speak to her husband about the body because he’s been swamped with calls. I have a call into David, and hope to bring you more shortly. Investigators said in a press conference David found the remains earlier today while he was on a tractor in a field. The hayfield was cut in August, and since that time her body could have sat under rain, sleet and snow. More than 600 tips have come in on this case, and once the medical examiner confirms what authorities believe to be true, this case may shift to a homicide investigation. I spoke with the CUE center for Missing Persons and they had a search scheduled at the end of this month in the exact area where Morgan was found.
Tags: 5 p.m., 700 acres of pasture, Anchorage Farms, Charlottesville, homicide, missing, morgan harrington, nancy and david bass, press conference, remains found, virginia
Posted in missing adult, unsolved murder | 5 Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Brandon Lockett (booking photo)
Investigators and volunteers were forced to stop searching for Aveion’s body today due to inclement weather in Roanoke, Virginia. Investigators have charged Aveion’s step-father, Brandon Lockett, with improper disposal of a human body, obstruction of justice, and felony child neglect. Police canceled an Amber Alert after they say Lockett admitted the child was dead before the alleged abduction on January 14, 2009. Authorities say they came to this conclusion because of conflicting statements given, and as time went on investigators were advised an abduction did not occur. Sadly, at this time, police do not know where Aveion’s body could be, but they have expanded the ground search to find the toddler. According to a police press release, “the department has investigated the reported abduction and received varying degrees of cooperation from key persons in the investigation; which lead police to question the validity of information received from some individuals. As a result, investigators began to focus on the possibility that Brandon Lockett, Aveion’s step-father was not providing accurate details.”
Remembering Aveion Lewis
Tags: Aveion Lewis missing, brandon lockett, CHIP, court system, judicial process, step-father charged, virginia
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Christopher Speight suspect
Virginia state police say Christopher Speight, 39, is finally in custody after a killing spree yesterday. Investigators believe Speight allegedly murdered eight people at a home in Appomattox County, Virginia. Police say this man is so brazen that he even shot at a police helicopter, and it had to make an emergency landing. Thankfully, no one inside the chopper was injured. Speight apparently knows all of the victims, but investigators won’t say his connection to them yet. Police say Speight spent the night in the woods, and finally surrendered earlier this morning without incident, and was immediately taken into custody. Police say at this point they are working on victim identification, family notification, and working to process the crime scene. Thoughts and prayers to those killed and their families they leave behind.
Tags: appomattox county, christopher speight, emergency landing, killing spree, police helicopter, surrendered, virginia, virginia state police
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Morgan Harrington MISSING
The CUE Center for Missing Persons announced they are joining the effort to find Morgan Harrington. CUE has assisted in more than 8,700 cases nationwide to help families during their most difficult times. In addition to these efforts, this Saturday, January 16, 2009 at the Hat Factory in Richmond, Virginia, a benefit concert is being held to raise funds to help find Morgan. Tickets are $15.00 a person, and the money will go to directly to the fund. Metallica the band is graciously offering a $50,000 reward in this case.
BACKGROUND:
Investigators say Morgan vanished on October 17, 2009 while attending a Metallica concert outside the John Paul Jones arena in Virginia. State police officials report Morgan was last seen by the ticket office on the University Hall side of the building. On the weekend of November 6, 2009, The Laura Recovery center helped to organized a three day search for Morgan, volunteers from all over assisted with this amazing effort.
Tags: benefit concert, cue, CUE center for missing persons, hat factory, investigations, john paul jones arena, metallica, morgan harrington missing, richmond, vanished, virginia, virginia state police, walking
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
John Muhammad mugshots
NOVEMEMBER 10, 2009: EXECUTION 9 P.M.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine denied a last-minute clemency request.
John Muhammad, 48, the man behind the Washington metropolitan sniper attacks in 2002, and dubbed The DC Sniper died by lethal injection tonight at a state prison in Virginia. John Muhammad continued to profess his innocence, however, Prosecutors have said all along the killings were to cover up his real goal targeting his ex-wife Mildred and taking his three children.
Mildred shares a courageous story on her website, including how her life was impacted by domestic violence and how her personal circumstances have helped abuse survivors, law enforcement, counselors, social workers, and military members.
Over the last few years, I have had the great pleasure of talking to Mildred over the phone about ways we could help get her word out and last night in the green room at CNN in Washington, D.C. I got to meet her in person. I was walking out of the studio, and she was sitting right there. We each knew immediately who the other was, and sat and talked for a few minutes. I told her it was hard to believe that it had been seven years, and that she was almost near the end. She told me, we are in the final moments now, and that she was in the process of preparing her family as to what will happen tonight.
Tags: dc sniper, domestic violence, execution day, john lee malvo, john muhammad, survivor, virginia
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Morgan Harrington Missing
HELP FIND MORGAN HARRINGTON
Morgan Harrington has been missing since October 17, 2009. Investigators say she vanished while attending a concert outside the John Paul Jones arena in Virginia. State police officials report Morgan was last seen by the ticket office on the University Hall side of the building. Right now, her family and friends need your help, the reward in this case is up to $150,000. The band, Metallica, graciously added $50,000 of their own money to this reward fund.
A search is organized for this weekend, and a planning meeting for those interested in helping will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2009, inside the Jefferson Room of the Charlottesville Cavalier Inn in Charlottesville, VA.
Virginia State Police have set up a tip line, please call them with any information: (434) 352-3467
This timeline is taken directly from www.helpfindmorgan.com, and was given to them by the Virginia State Police:
- 8:20 – 8:48 PM: Someone matching Morgan Harrington’s description was seen outside John Paul Jones Arena parking lot by the ticket office and on the University Hall side.
- 8:48 PM: Morgan calls a friend inside the arena, discusses trying to get back in. Tells her friend that she will get a ride home from friends around Charlottesville.
Tags: metallica, missing, missing people, morgan harrington, student, virginia
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
