E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
AP
Artist rendering of suspect in the 2009 death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, who went missing after attending a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Metallica is helping law enforcement authorities try to find the killer of a Virginia Tech student who disappeared from an October 2009 concert by the heavy metal band in Charlottesville, Va.
As part of an FBI multimedia campaign announced Wednesday, Metallica lead singer James Hetfield appears in an online video appealing to the public for tips in the death of Morgan Harrington.
Virgina State Police / AP
The body of Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, of Roanoke County, Va., was found on a farm.
Harrington, 20, was last seen leaving a Metallica concert on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Oct. 17, 2009, and trying to hitch a ride. Her skeletonized body was found three months later in a hayfield on a remote farm in Albemarle County, Va., about 10 miles south of the concert venue.
Authorities have not said how she died. A crystal necklace Harrington was wearing and camera that she had that night have never been recovered.
The FBI says it has DNA evidence linking the unknown suspect to a sexual assault in Fairfax, Va., in 2005. In that case, a 26-year-old woman was attacked at night while walking home from a grocery store. The attacker was scared away by a passer-by. The victim got a good look at the man, enabling a Fairfax city police artist to produce an initial sketch of the attacker.
Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com
The FBI on Wednesday released new, enhanced sketches of the suspect and said there is a reward of up to $150,000 – $100,000 from the Harrington family and $50,000 from Metallica -- for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the Harrington case.
“Bringing renewed attention to the case will get people thinking about it again,” Virginia State Police Special Agent Dino Cappuzzo said in a statement. “Our hope is that someone will come forward and provide a crucial piece of information that will help us solve the murder.”
The multimedia campaign launched Wednesday includes information on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, a YouTube public service announcement by Metallica and electronic billboards in Virginia and along the East Coast.
"If you’ve seen the person in this sketch or have any information about this case, or any others, please contact your local police or submit your information online,” Hetfield says in the online video. “Remember, any information, no matter how small you might think it is, could be that crucial piece that investigators need to help solve the case.”
Law enforcement agencies are asking anyone with information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Virginia State Police Tip line at 434-352-3467.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
Hope they find this guy and he gets to "Ride The Lightning"!
Even then, he'd be Unforgiven. He might even find Death Magnetic. Perhaps we should give him a dose of The Thing That Should Not Be: Cyanide. Then it would all Fade to Black. But as long as they catch him, Nothing Else Matters. But if he were to meet Creeping Death at the hands of the Phantom Lord, it would be Justice For All.
I applaud you, Her Peas.
People can fantasize about executing criminals all they like, but in the real world, you cannot reconcile the practice with morality. Why? Because it isn't.
Life in prison is good enough. There is no need to compromise ourselves for some added measure of punishment that doesn't even serve the purposes for which we enacted it.
@ Andrew - I don't think you quite get it.
Metallica ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! Now in many more ways then music.
It's like that KISS comic book but this time it's real!
I wonder what Lars' superpower is?
We need more people like Metallica in our world, they take my soul and slay it..Turn the page.
Live long and prosper my friends.
Andrew547
Maybe you should spend a little time in San Quinton or Super Max! Bet You money You would come out with a whole new attitude. There are SOME people who do not desire the gift of Life.
i hope they find this guy, no one has a right to take a life, I'm more a Metallica fan because of this, Rest in Peace Morgan
jeez quit killin hot young girls will ya?
In this day even though the photo of her is old there is really no excuse for MSNBC or law enforcement to have not removed the red eye from her photo so that perhaps her image would be a bit more memorable to people... Geeze!
Another Black on White crime.
Brilliant deduction--figure that out all by your redneck little self?
That's awesome that Metallica is assisting with a reward. That should enlighten some fans and encourage them to help.. Good luck!
Sad, sad sad..not all that long ago, many of us long-time fans hitch-hiked from concert to concert between cities that were close by the other. There have always been bad people out there, and after a couple of uneasy hitches, I quit thumbing. It's not safe for anybody, guys included. Too bad there isnt a fan fund to contribute to for the reward.
Yeah, but only $50,000 towards the reward??? That's a drop in the bucket for major recording artists. C'mon, Mr. Hetfield, you can do better than that! I think Metallica can afford to match the $100,000 the family is putting up...and can probably afford it more than the family. C'mon guys!
Ummm.... put some long hair on that composite sketch, and it's their bassist, Robert Trujillo.
No, seriously, Google some pictures of him.
Yeah, I agree. They really should confirm the whereabouts of his hair at the time of the attack.
buh zing
Go gettem James.! Nice thing he is doing.
Awesome of Metallica to help. I just hope that this psycho is caught and given the justice he deserves... a bar of soap & Bubba... then meet his Maker....
Maybe this is wrong of me but $50,000 seems low for Metallica, especially considering the family is offering twice to three times that much. It seems a bit insulting. Why offer anything at all, if all you can offer is what is considered pocket change to you? Why not at least match the family's offer? Not that they're obligated, but it would be no skin off their backs.
Yes it is wrong of you. You are right they are not obligated to do ANYTHING, yet you have the gall to complain about the amount they are offering?
I actually am going to agree with you... I mean, 50,000 and offering a video and a few tweets to help, where as it is gracious of them to do so, seems a little low compared to the royalties they make. You can't really put a price on a life or what it's worth. But I'd like to expect more from such a 'classic' metal band.
The bands may be making royalties and money from their tours and record sales BUT, they still have to pay their roadies, their managers, the merch sales people, the facilities that are holding the concert, the recording companies...the list goes on and on. These guys are a band that have worked hard, went through hell and back and paid their dues. That they are offering any kind of reward towards the capture of this person is huge and shouldn't be overlooked.
If it means so much that there should be a bigger reward, perhaps the people who are judging should dig into their own pockets and put money towards the reward to help increase it or donate to their local Crime Stopper program.
You have some f........ nerve.They try and do the right thing with James at the helm and you have something negative to say about it.If they did nothing at all you d complain they were just another self centered rock stars.Suggest that to James and you would realize what it would be like to be in a Master/puppet relationship.
I agree, Joe P - Metallica did not have to do SQUAT but are trying to help and that speaks louder than money.
How much you want to be that the politics of those complaining about amount that Metalllica is offering is in line with the current POTUS?....considering he loves to tell the country that the rich aren't paying their fair share.
So John D, aside from you determining how other people spend their own money, how about you sending $50 which is probably no skin off your back? That my be one of the most insulting posts that I've ever seen. And Zeke-the same to you since you have no idea what they make or what their expences are to play a gig. It's getting unbelievable the kind of dimwitted d-bags being drawn to forums.
Hey John, I hadn't read far enough down to see you have basically the same comment as myself. (See above.) While I agree that it's great of Metallica to do and they didn't have to do a thing, I truly think it's not very much for them, and they should at least match the family's contribution. Charity isn't really charity if it doesn't hurt you a little bit to give, in my opinion. It shouldn't feel like spare change, it should be significant (for you, whatever your station in life.) For all those who disagree, don't you think Morgan's life should be considered VALUABLE? I think so, and I don't know her or anyone involved.
I really find this very Admirable of Metallica to offer to help find the killer/rapist of this young lady. Life is still to short and hard to live without looking over your shoulder at every corner. Every year that I live, I see things going down the toilet. Never did I have to worry about being out at night. Now I worry about my own children just walking home 2 blocks from school. WHERE IS THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY PEOPLE!! YOU SEE SOMETHING? SAY SOMETHING!!! FIND THIS JACKASS!! BE AWARE. STOP TURNING YOUR HEAD AND THINKING IT'S SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL CALL THE POLICE. WAKE UP WORLD!!!
Long live Metallica, I hope we're able to find te girl alive; either way the scum should be made to pay dearly and the family can be at peace.
her skeleton was found in a hay field ........shes gone bro
As always these types of stories are sad beyond words. I pray that this scumbag is found and convicted. On a separate note, is it just me or does this sketch look like someone in the White House?
It's just you.
Class act James great job and thank you we, Metallica fans love you guys all and have the deepest sympathies for the Harrington family. Now lets collectively find this piece of @!$%# predator and give this beauityful girls soul peace!!!!!
It's Tiger Woods.
How can I collect my reward?
and how about you going and screwing yourself
LOL headhunter. I think you need to lighten up a bit. Seems you're quite touchy. I assume you aren't Tiger Woods, and you've never met Tiger Woods, and in all likelihood all you know of Tiger Woods is what you see on TV and read in the paper...so your touchiness is particularly curious given your lack of standing, and even if you did have standing, I suspect you might have just missed the fact that my comment was not a dis on Tiger Woods.
What a great thing to do! A true class act by Metallica. I hope it helps to find the killer before he gets to rape and kill again.
I would love to catch and kill this scum. It amazes me these people blend into society without being noticed. It also amazes me how people that know who this suspect his keep quiet. Maybe next time he will do something to them just as brutal for there loyalty.
Metallicas' participation and contribution to this case is commendable. It is rare that celebrities get involved in such a personal matter involving one of their fans. I do, however, have to agree that, THEY chose to get involved and because of their financial stature, can easily afford to at least match the familys reward amount.
As far as the Napster case, there used to be a time I could record songs from the radio using a cassette recorder. Everybody did without affecting the incomes of the recording artists. If anything, it probably increased the incomes received from the sales of recordings. So how is downloading music, by those who can't afford it, hurting their bottom line?
Food for thought:
Morgan Harrington was last seen at the concert arena--on Virginia State government property--standing next to a black car with four white men whom none of the witnesses thought were suspicous. The men got into the car and drove away, and she was no longer standing there.
Witnesses saw no black men anywhere near that parking area.
Six days later, one anonymous caller claimed to have seen her some two-thousand feet away on a bridge hitch-hiking, and no other witness saw anyone near there at all, and saw no one there who could have been the anonymous caller.
The Virginia State Police then claimed that two 'profilers' decided that she had been abducted, raped, murdered, and her dead body transported to 'remote farm country'.
They claimed the killer is a serial abductor, serial rapist, serial killer, and a long-time local Charlottesville resident, 'with intimate knowledge of the surrounding rural farms'. They stated all of this months before her body was found.
Weeks after her disappearance, the 'Pandora' t-shirt she'd worn to the concert was found draped over a shrub in front of an apartment building which houses UVA atheletes--miles away to the south of the arena.
Months later, her skeleton was found on an Angus cattle farm some twenty minutes away from the arena to the south-west.
Months after that, the State Police announce that they believe she was killed by an unidentified black man who had attempted a rape six years earlier in Fredrickburg, Va--hours drive to the north.
They also stated they had 'forensic evidence' which could link the two crime scenes.
Two years later the 'forensic evidence' is stated as 'DNA'.
It is now June 2012 and none of the four white men she was last scene with have come forward to speak to anyone to make statements.
The State Police investigation has seemed from day one to be a farse and is filled with the smirking State Police contradicting themselves, and we see the results: people around the world looking for an invisible phantom black guy.
Whatever happened--a crime, an accident, a mistake--no one has begun to investigate as the State Police commandeered the case from day one and have done nothing but proclaim an invisible man is guilty, guilty, guilty.
The police have recieved pay-raises.
I'm just finding out about this case now, so I'm quite ignorant of the facts. Can you please provide some sources for all of the information provided in your comment? I've done a few casual Google searches, but haven't seen anything like what you stated. Thanks.
Moose-I live in VA and while I cannot say all this guys is stating is wrong (can't verify myself and never heard part of it), I know some of the stuff is wrong. Like the assault was in Fairfax, not Fredericksburg (Fairfax is Northern VA, a approximately 50-60 miles north of Fredericksburg). I wouldn't trust much of what this guys says, sounds like he is trying to turn it into a race thing.
What's not to like about Metallica? GREAT music, and now a hand in this case. I can't imagine losing a loved one like this and I'm sure your efforts are very appreciated. You guys ROCK!
Clearly a hate crime.
Jeeseeeeeeeeeeeee.....................
oh, forget it only whites are capable of hate crimes, right Jesse ?
This murder must clearly have been some other motivation because blacks that kill anybody are not capable of hate.
R.I.P. pretty girl
People who kill, and not in self defense, are always haters. Why they had to make up something stupid as "hate-crime" shows the mentality of people who run things. First off, how can you say what is in someone else's heart when they do something. You know they hate if they kill anyone. I guess it's a different crime if you hate someone of the same race or sex and kill them. That doesn't count. Wow. I hate haters. Can I do that?
Not that I am saying that they are doing a bad thing now, but why didn't murders bother them when they were playing free concerts to them? Where was it, San Quintion?
How can you people make such degrading remarks about Metallica. They are not resposible for this young ladies death. She was hitchhiking, anyone in their right mind would know that this is extremely dangerous in this day and age. If someone driving to their concert and died in an accident would you hold them responsible? I think it is noble of them to offer any reward and incouragement for people to help in finding the perpetrator of this crime.My hats off to them and any other who is involved even in the smallest way.Maybe if she had been your friend,workmate or sister you'd have a different attitude. Shame! What has happen to the hearts of people?
P Lawson - I find myself asking "what has happened to the hearts of people" a lot lately. Compassion has become a dirty word. People are finding it too easy to release their personal frustrations and anger on others, as if it's a great new pass time. They need to put on some good heavy metal (like Metallica) and chill. Find the pockets of joy.
Bush did it. <_<
Rofl
anything intelligent to say?
it's not hard to find a sexual predator, they're everywhere, report any and all evidence of behavior unbecoming of a gentleman.
youtube: marine 6 FDNY
...if they have the perp's DNA associated with another assault, you can bet he is a serial criminal with more then two victims in his past...
Kudos to Metallica in their assistance in trying to nail this bastage...
Good for you, James. Good for you!
Yer Pal Always,
Thee