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“Morgan in her own way lived very authentically,” McNally said, noting her community service efforts with the youth and the mentally disabled. “She had the grace to do things that were very mature for her age.”
Dan remembered that Morgan had not enjoyed her first year while at Tech, saying she was frequently homesick.
“I knew the Smart Bus schedule pretty well,” Harrington joked, referring to the shuttle that drives from Blacksburg to Roanoke. However, Harrington said his daughter’s enjoyment of school increased over time, especially after moving off-campus, where she shared an apartment in the Foxridge community.
“She started to like Tech a lot more.” he said. Dan Harrington said he was impressed with his daughter’s rising maturity.
“She grew a lot to the point we had an adult relationship,” Harrington said.
With Morgan Harrington receiving what Gil called a “proper burial,” many questions remain on how Morgan died.
The remains of 20-year-old Harrington, a junior education major, were found Jan. 26 by a farmer at Anchorage Farm property, approximately 10 miles from Charlottesville’s Copeley Road Bridge, where she was last seen alive. Virginia State Police confirmed Wednesday that Morgan’s death was a homicide. There has been no determination on a cause or time of Harrington’s death.
Dan Harrington said he checked internet blogs along with a Facebook memorial page made for his daughter for updates on Morgan’s case frequently. Harrington said his daughter’s death had left him “numb.”
“How could somebody murder this?” Harrington said, pointing to the large projector screen displaying a picture of Morgan. “She was a good daughter, and we loved her.”
Gil Harrington said her main goal was to find her daughter, and less to seek revenge.
“He’ll receive his punishment,” Harrington said of her daughter’s unknown assailant. “I’m confident they will find him.”
Dan Harrington also spoke highly of the newly formed scholarship in his daughter’s name for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, along with charity drive for Orphan Medical Network International, for which Gil Harrington, a nurse, had been to Zambia several times to assist with the group’s medical efforts.
OMNI recently announced it would rename a portion of the George Compound near Ndola, Zambia the “Morgan Harrington Educational Wing.”
For the time being, those who knew Morgan will find solace in her memory.
“She was so unique, words fall short of describing her,” said friend Maggie Herrick.
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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 9 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 6 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.
Harringtons -Be Strong. You've been so dignified and courageous.
We believe in you and are so sorry for your loss.
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My name is Bill Thomas. I am the brother of Cathleen Thomas, who was one of the first two victims in the so-called Colonial Parkway Murders, which claimed 8 young people in and around Williamsburg, Virginia. These crimes remain unsolved.
I am so sorry to hear the news about Morgan Harrington's murder. Clearly, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), the FBI and local law enforcement need to be looking at the pattern of murders in this area over the last 23 years.
Starting with the Colonial Parkway Murders, which claimed 8 young people, including my sister Cathleen Thomas and her friend Rebecca Dowski from 1986 to 1989, the Route 29 Murders, the killing of the Williams and Winans women in the Shenandoah National Park in 1996, the murder of the two Virginia Tech students in August 2009, and now Morgan Harrington in October 2009, and others, there is a distinct pattern of unsolved murders in that part of Virginia. With the exception of the two Virginia Tech students, all of these murders happened within a two hour drive of one another. Perhaps it is time for you to be asking if it is time for the Commonwealth of Virginia to step up and create a Task Force to break these cases?
Bill Thomas
Brother of Cathleen Thomas
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Ther pattern to all these murders is they occurred in isolated areas of out public view the killer(s) possibly knew.
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