During a brief press conference today at Copeley Bridge near John Paul Jones Arena, the parents of Morgan Harrington said that DNA tests conducted on the remains of their daughter will likely take five to six months before they provide information about her death. Dan Harrington said, however, that the family’s pursuit of justice and presence in the community would persist.
"Going forward, I think our focus will be on safety," he told reporters. "Campus safety is an important issue."
During the press conference, Gil Harrington distributed cards from her daughter’s memorial service at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Roanoke, along with copies of a poem, "Morgan, Music Fan." Lines from the poem include: "He was checking the scene planning a murder" and "Now I have felt the heft of her skull in my palm."
Gil Harrington has also posted several poems on FindMorgan.com. One describes the return of a bracelet: "Tarnished now, rusty and black/ It’s the one I had as a girl/ The one you wore as you left this world." Asked whether she had received a bracelet worn by her daughter the night she disappeared, Gil Harrington rolled up her sleeve and presented it.
While Morgan Harrington’s death has been classified as a homicide, a cause of death is yet to be released.
