| Columbia County Sheriff's Office |
David W. Harrison, Jr., SHERIFF James R. Sweet, UNDERSHERIFF
| Copyright ©2006 Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Hudson, NY 12534 |
Jury finds Morgan guilty of killing wife
By Andrew Amelinckx
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
HUDSON — Arthur Morgan Jr. sat stone-faced in Columbia County Court in Hudson Wednesday as the forewoman read
the verdict. “We find the defendant guilty of murder in the second-degree,” she intoned.
The jury had been out for more than seven hours deliberating in the case of a husband accused of murdering his wife.
The body of Angela Morgan was found April 9 by Columbia County Sheriff’s investigators underneath a mobile home at
5659 Route 9H, where the couple had resided. Arthur Morgan was arrested two days later and charged in his wife’s
death.
The sixth day of the trial of the 37-year-old Claverack man saw the defense and prosecution give their summations.
David Seth Michaels, the defendant’s court appointed attorney, went first.
“Arthur Morgan didn’t murder his wife,” he began. “The prosecution hasn’t proven he did.”
Michaels told the jury that in order to find his client guilty they would have to “disprove every reasonable hypothesis”
concerning the defendant’s innocence.
“Right now Arthur Morgan has to be presumed innocent,” he said.
Michaels said the prosecution’s case had a “lot of props,” but not much else.
The prosecution, led by District Attorney Beth Cozzolino, had shown the jury photographs of Angela Morgan, a large
diagram of the trailer where the body was found and a chart with DNA evidence. This was what Michaels was referring to
in his summation.
According to Michaels the only things they truly knew in the case was that Angela Morgan’s body was found under the
trailer and that she had some “bad bruises” on her body.
Michaels pointed out that no definitive cause of death had been established for Angela Morgan. Albany County Medical
Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, who performed the autopsy on the victim testified last week that he determined that the
death was a homicide, but couldn’t specifically say what killed her. He said there were ways of dying that wouldn’t
necessarily show up on a post-mortem exam, including suffocation. Michaels said that the prosecution hadn’t provided
any proof of that.
The defense attorney had another theory on how Angela Morgan died — a cocaine overdose.
Michaels also proffered the possibility to the jury that someone else could have killed Angela Morgan. He said that much
of the DNA evidence in the case wasn’t able to be positively identified as that of Arthur Morgan, but only as that of a male.
Lisa McNabb, a forensic scientist for the state police crime lab who testified last Thursday, said all the evidence she
tested “could be accounted for by the DNA of either Angela or Arthur Morgan,” but that some evidence didn’t have
enough DNA to be considered an exact match.
Michaels also mentioned that when Arthur Morgan was interviewed by investigators he always said he was innocent of
killing his wife.
Michaels said that the alleged confession of Arthur Morgan to his brother John Morgan wasn’t plausible.
John Morgan had told the court that on April 9 his brother had told him he put the body under the trailer, and that he had
no choice in where he placed the body.
John Morgan also testified that his vehicle had been wired with an audio recording device by the Sheriff’s Office during a
third conversation with his brother April 11. On that occasion Arthur Morgan denied killing Angela Morgan.
According to Michaels the DA’s case was full of pieces of evidence that “don’t have anything to do with anything.”
Cozzolino then summed up her case.
She began by making a loud slapping noise with her hand. “I’m going to kill you,” she said, repeating words alleged to
have been said to Angela Morgan by her husband.
April Roney, the victim’s friend, took the stand Dec. 10 and told the jury she stayed with the Morgans between Dec. 30,
2006 and Jan. 6, 2007 and witnessed several fights.
Roney said she heard Arthur Morgan tell his wife he would kill her and bury her body so she wouldn’t be found. She said
there was a loud slapping sound and heard Angela Morgan beg her husband to “stop.”
Cozzolino said this incident was just one of many abusive episodes in the relationship between Arthur and Angela
Morgan.
Cozzolino told the jury that Arthur Morgan killed his wife and covered it up.
“He came up with a pretty good story, but he made mistakes,” she said.
Cozzolino said Arthur Morgan told several different stories about what had happened that night and that there were many
holes in those stories.
One of these was where he had gone after allegedly leaving their trailer during the fight. He told investigators that he left
the trailer at around 4 a.m. and was picked up by his parents near the trailer around 12:30 p.m.
“He walked around for nine hours?” she said questioningly.
She said that during one interview with Sheriff’s Investigator Mark Dunspaugh April 8 Arthur Morgan said he went to a
friend’s house, but then claimed he just walked around.
According to the DA Arthur Morgan told four different people four different stories about the last night he saw his wife
alive.
He allegedly told Paula Trela in a phone call at the end of March 2008 that he had to “take care of” his wife.
“He told me he heard from friends that Angela was cheating [on him] and wanted to know if it was true,” Trela told the
court. “I told him it was true.”
Trela said Arthur Morgan called back 10 minutes after their first conversation and asked if she knew whether Angela had
had sex with Trela’s friend Jeff Knott. She told him she didn’t know.
The conversation ended, according to Trela, with Arthur Morgan telling her that Angela had left and that he wanted
nothing more to do with his wife.
During cross-examination Trela said that she and Angela Morgan had had a falling out and that she hadn’t spoken to her
in about eight months when she received the phone call from Arthur Morgan.
“He told Paula that she left,” said Cozzolino.
She said that Arthur Morgan told a different story to Graziano the first time they spoke. The DA said the defendant told
Graziano that Angela was sleeping when he left the trailer.
She said the defendant’s parents received a different story as well. “He told his mother and father that she was doing
laundry,” she said.
In the taped interview with Graziano and Skype, Arthur Morgan said that Angela told him that everything was fine and that
they would talk when he got back.
“Four different versions of what Angela was doing when he left,” said the DA.
Cozzolino also pointed out that Morgan never reported his wife missing to police.
The DA also poked holes in the defendant’s allegations that other people had seen his wife alive after their argument on
March 30.
Frank Levesque and Ella Mae Van Wagner both said they saw Angela, but on March 29, the day before the couple’s
argument.
According to Cozzolino the testimony of Arthur Morgan’s brother John included information that he wouldn’t have
otherwise known about.
This included Arthur Morgan’s conversation with Trela, the fact that he had had sex with his wife the night of their
argument and the fact that the body was found under the trailer.
“Who knew these details? Only the police and the defendant knew that information [at that time],” said Cozzolino.
She believes that Arthur Morgan probably denied what he told his brother during the third conversation because he had
been tipped off — possibly by his mother who knew that John Morgan had told Sheriff’s investigators about the previous
conversations.
She said that serology and DNA proved that no one else was at the trailer.
“Only Arthur and Angela’s DNA was found at the scene,” she said. “His DNA was on her and in her.”
She said that in regard to the DNA that the forensic scientist wasn’t able to identify still could have been Arthur’s.
The DA also said that if Angela Morgan had left the trailer after the argument March 30, she wouldn’t have had Arthur
Morgan’s DNA on her person.
Cozzolino also countered Michael’s assertion that Angela Morgan could have died from a drug overdose.
Wrapping up her summation, she asked the jury a question: “Who do you believe? All these witnesses or the defendant
who never admitted hitting his wife?”
After the verdict was read Arthur Morgan was led away in handcuffs and shackles.
Judge Jonathan Nichols, will sentence Arthur Morgan Feb. 17. Michaels said he plans to appeal the conviction.
After the verdict was read the family of the victim hugged each other as well as the DA.
As the victim’s family walked out of the courtroom they held one another tightly.
“I’m relieved that [Arthur Morgan] will pay for this,” said Angela’s mother, Lorrie DeLyser, as tears streamed down her
cheeks.
By Andrew Amelinckx
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
HUDSON — Arthur Morgan Jr. sat stone-faced in Columbia County Court in Hudson Wednesday as the forewoman read
the verdict. “We find the defendant guilty of murder in the second-degree,” she intoned.
The jury had been out for more than seven hours deliberating in the case of a husband accused of murdering his wife.
The body of Angela Morgan was found April 9 by Columbia County Sheriff’s investigators underneath a mobile home at
5659 Route 9H, where the couple had resided. Arthur Morgan was arrested two days later and charged in his wife’s
death.
The sixth day of the trial of the 37-year-old Claverack man saw the defense and prosecution give their summations.
David Seth Michaels, the defendant’s court appointed attorney, went first.
“Arthur Morgan didn’t murder his wife,” he began. “The prosecution hasn’t proven he did.”
Michaels told the jury that in order to find his client guilty they would have to “disprove every reasonable hypothesis”
concerning the defendant’s innocence.
“Right now Arthur Morgan has to be presumed innocent,” he said.
Michaels said the prosecution’s case had a “lot of props,” but not much else.
The prosecution, led by District Attorney Beth Cozzolino, had shown the jury photographs of Angela Morgan, a large
diagram of the trailer where the body was found and a chart with DNA evidence. This was what Michaels was referring to
in his summation.
According to Michaels the only things they truly knew in the case was that Angela Morgan’s body was found under the
trailer and that she had some “bad bruises” on her body.
Michaels pointed out that no definitive cause of death had been established for Angela Morgan. Albany County Medical
Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, who performed the autopsy on the victim testified last week that he determined that the
death was a homicide, but couldn’t specifically say what killed her. He said there were ways of dying that wouldn’t
necessarily show up on a post-mortem exam, including suffocation. Michaels said that the prosecution hadn’t provided
any proof of that.
The defense attorney had another theory on how Angela Morgan died — a cocaine overdose.
Michaels also proffered the possibility to the jury that someone else could have killed Angela Morgan. He said that much
of the DNA evidence in the case wasn’t able to be positively identified as that of Arthur Morgan, but only as that of a male.
Lisa McNabb, a forensic scientist for the state police crime lab who testified last Thursday, said all the evidence she
tested “could be accounted for by the DNA of either Angela or Arthur Morgan,” but that some evidence didn’t have
enough DNA to be considered an exact match.
Michaels also mentioned that when Arthur Morgan was interviewed by investigators he always said he was innocent of
killing his wife.
Michaels said that the alleged confession of Arthur Morgan to his brother John Morgan wasn’t plausible.
John Morgan had told the court that on April 9 his brother had told him he put the body under the trailer, and that he had
no choice in where he placed the body.
John Morgan also testified that his vehicle had been wired with an audio recording device by the Sheriff’s Office during a
third conversation with his brother April 11. On that occasion Arthur Morgan denied killing Angela Morgan.
According to Michaels the DA’s case was full of pieces of evidence that “don’t have anything to do with anything.”
Cozzolino then summed up her case.
She began by making a loud slapping noise with her hand. “I’m going to kill you,” she said, repeating words alleged to
have been said to Angela Morgan by her husband.
April Roney, the victim’s friend, took the stand Dec. 10 and told the jury she stayed with the Morgans between Dec. 30,
2006 and Jan. 6, 2007 and witnessed several fights.
Roney said she heard Arthur Morgan tell his wife he would kill her and bury her body so she wouldn’t be found. She said
there was a loud slapping sound and heard Angela Morgan beg her husband to “stop.”
Cozzolino said this incident was just one of many abusive episodes in the relationship between Arthur and Angela
Morgan.
Cozzolino told the jury that Arthur Morgan killed his wife and covered it up.
“He came up with a pretty good story, but he made mistakes,” she said.
Cozzolino said Arthur Morgan told several different stories about what had happened that night and that there were many
holes in those stories.
One of these was where he had gone after allegedly leaving their trailer during the fight. He told investigators that he left
the trailer at around 4 a.m. and was picked up by his parents near the trailer around 12:30 p.m.
“He walked around for nine hours?” she said questioningly.
She said that during one interview with Sheriff’s Investigator Mark Dunspaugh April 8 Arthur Morgan said he went to a
friend’s house, but then claimed he just walked around.
According to the DA Arthur Morgan told four different people four different stories about the last night he saw his wife
alive.
He allegedly told Paula Trela in a phone call at the end of March 2008 that he had to “take care of” his wife.
“He told me he heard from friends that Angela was cheating [on him] and wanted to know if it was true,” Trela told the
court. “I told him it was true.”
Trela said Arthur Morgan called back 10 minutes after their first conversation and asked if she knew whether Angela had
had sex with Trela’s friend Jeff Knott. She told him she didn’t know.
The conversation ended, according to Trela, with Arthur Morgan telling her that Angela had left and that he wanted
nothing more to do with his wife.
During cross-examination Trela said that she and Angela Morgan had had a falling out and that she hadn’t spoken to her
in about eight months when she received the phone call from Arthur Morgan.
“He told Paula that she left,” said Cozzolino.
She said that Arthur Morgan told a different story to Graziano the first time they spoke. The DA said the defendant told
Graziano that Angela was sleeping when he left the trailer.
She said the defendant’s parents received a different story as well. “He told his mother and father that she was doing
laundry,” she said.
In the taped interview with Graziano and Skype, Arthur Morgan said that Angela told him that everything was fine and that
they would talk when he got back.
“Four different versions of what Angela was doing when he left,” said the DA.
Cozzolino also pointed out that Morgan never reported his wife missing to police.
The DA also poked holes in the defendant’s allegations that other people had seen his wife alive after their argument on
March 30.
Frank Levesque and Ella Mae Van Wagner both said they saw Angela, but on March 29, the day before the couple’s
argument.
According to Cozzolino the testimony of Arthur Morgan’s brother John included information that he wouldn’t have
otherwise known about.
This included Arthur Morgan’s conversation with Trela, the fact that he had had sex with his wife the night of their
argument and the fact that the body was found under the trailer.
“Who knew these details? Only the police and the defendant knew that information [at that time],” said Cozzolino.
She believes that Arthur Morgan probably denied what he told his brother during the third conversation because he had
been tipped off — possibly by his mother who knew that John Morgan had told Sheriff’s investigators about the previous
conversations.
She said that serology and DNA proved that no one else was at the trailer.
“Only Arthur and Angela’s DNA was found at the scene,” she said. “His DNA was on her and in her.”
She said that in regard to the DNA that the forensic scientist wasn’t able to identify still could have been Arthur’s.
The DA also said that if Angela Morgan had left the trailer after the argument March 30, she wouldn’t have had Arthur
Morgan’s DNA on her person.
Cozzolino also countered Michael’s assertion that Angela Morgan could have died from a drug overdose.
Wrapping up her summation, she asked the jury a question: “Who do you believe? All these witnesses or the defendant
who never admitted hitting his wife?”
After the verdict was read Arthur Morgan was led away in handcuffs and shackles.
Judge Jonathan Nichols, will sentence Arthur Morgan Feb. 17. Michaels said he plans to appeal the conviction.
After the verdict was read the family of the victim hugged each other as well as the DA.
As the victim’s family walked out of the courtroom they held one another tightly.
“I’m relieved that [Arthur Morgan] will pay for this,” said Angela’s mother, Lorrie DeLyser, as tears streamed down her
cheeks.