On 4 October 1980, Harold George Morgan, of Williamstown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, was shot to death at the home of Grant D. Morris of Williams Township, Dauphin County. Morris, who reported to the police at Lykens that he had shot Morgan, but claimed self-defense. Subsequently, Morris was charged with murder and tried in Dauphin County Court in May 1981. The jury found him guilty of third-degree murder.
The story of the murder and trial is presented here as it was told in area newspapers.
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From the Pottsville Republican, 7 October 1980:
WILLIAMSTOWN MAN MURDERED
WILLIAMSTOWN – A local man has been arrested on charges of murder in connection with the shooting death of Harold George Morgan, 49, of the Greenfields section of Williamstown, following an incident that occurred near here late Saturday.
Officials said that Grant D. Morris, 57, 117A E. Market Street, Williams Township, allegedly shot Morgan while the two were involved in a quarrel at the Morris residence.
State police at Lykens learned of the incident when Morris went to the barracks and reported it, police said.
Upon an investigation of Morris’s residence, police found Morgan, who was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:02 a.m. Sunday by Deputy Coroner Mark A. Miller, police said.
Morgan apparently died of a single gunshot wound of the head. An autopsy was performed Monday at Polyclinic Medical Center, Harrisburg, but officials in the Dauphin County coroner’s office could not be reached today for the results of the operation.
Morris was arraigned on the murder charge before Dauphin County District Judge Francis Reichenbach and committed to Dauphin County Prison without bail, police said. A preliminary hearing before Reichenbach is scheduled for October 14.
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Obituary of the victim from the Pottsville Republican, 7 October 1980:
Harold George Morgan
Harold George Morgan, 49, of the Greenfields section of Williamstown, died Saturday in Williamstown.
Born in Lykens area, he was a son of the late Alvin Morgan and Carrie [Fetterhoff] Morgan.
He was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean conflict.
Surviving are his wife, Evelyn E. Morgan; two daughters, Barbara P. Michaels, Fredericksurg, and Ellen L. Michaels, Williamstown; four sisters, Martha Deitrich, Wiconisco; Verna Keider, Halifax area, Betty Husic, Dillsburg, and Carol Warfield, Rife; four brothers, Marlin Morgan, Wiconisco, Herman Morgan, Williamstown, Alvin Morgan, Muir, and John Morgan, Downington, and two grandchildren.
Services will be held Wednesday afternoon from the John M. Shultz Funeral Home, Lykens, with the Rev. Joseph F. Brady, pastor of Calvary and Wesley United Methodist churches, Wiconisco, officiating. Interment will be in Calvary United Methodist Cemetery, Wiconisco.
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From the Pottsville Republican, 16 October 1980:
Held for court
Grant D. Morris, 57, of 117A East Market Street, Williams Township, is being held for court after a preliminary hearing before District Justice Francis Reichenbach, Elizabethville, this week.
Morris was arrested in connection with the slaying of 49-year-old Harold Morgan, of Williamstown, on October 4. The shooting occurred about 10 p.m. at the Morris’ residence and according to officials was allegedly the result of an argument between Morris and Morgan.
Morris charged with one count each of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and voluntary manslaughter. He was returned to Dauphin County Prison where he is being held without bail. Lykens State Police investigated the fatal shooting.
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From the Pottsville Republican, 14 May 1981
Morris claims self defense in shooting
A Williams Township man charged with the murder of a Williamstown man testified Wednesday that he shot the victim in self defense after being struck by a fire poker.
Grant D. Morris, 57, of the 100 block of Market Street, said Harold Morgan, 49, of Williamstown, in an intoxicated state, hit him on the the head with the poker before Morris fired two shots from a .22-caliber rifle into Morgan’s left cheek.
The defendant testified he was in his upstairs bedroom when he heard Morgan enter his residence without knocking. He said the victim requested a $50 loan “to tie a good one on,” but he refused him.
At this point, Morris said Morgan grabbed the poker and knocked him to the floor. While on the floor, Morris said that he grabbed a loaded rifle leaning against a nearby wall and fired the shots.
Morgan, he said, staggered backward about eight feet into a chair.
The prosecution, led by Deputy District Attorney Todd Hoover, presented two witnesses who testified they thought it more probable Morgan was shot while seated in the chair.
Dr. Frank R. Rudy, a pathologist at Polyclinic Medical Center, Harrisburg, who performed an autopsy on Morgan, said there was a very profuse bleeding from the head wounds.
Rudy noted there would probably have been blood stains in the immediate area in which Morgan was shot and said it was unlikely the victim would have had the mobility to stagger into a chair.
State police told the jury Tuesday the only blood found in the Morris living room was in the immediate vicinity of the chair on which the body was found.
Stuart H. James, an expert in blood stain analysis from new York, said after studying photographs of the crime he believed the victim was shot in a sitting position.
The fact that blood stains were found on Morgan’s pants, but only above the knees indicates the victim was seated, James concluded. He also said that the force of the gunshots would probably have resulted in blood “spatters” on objects near the area where Morgan was shot.
If the body had staggered backwards, as Morris testified, James said body movement in itself should have resulted in blood being thrown on the walls or furniture.
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From the Pottsville Republican, 16 May 1981:
Third degree murder verdict given by jury
A Williams Township man was convicted of third-degree murder Thursday night by a Dauphin County Court jury in connection with the slaying of a Williamstown man October 4.
The guilty verdict against Grant D. Morris, 57, of the 100 block Market Street, was reached by a jury of six men and six women after almost seven hours of deliberation.
Morris was accused of shooting and killing an associate of his, Harold G. Morgan, 49, Williamstown, twice in the left cheek with a .22-caliber rifle. Morris, who testified during the trial, claimed self defense during the trial, claimed self defense saying the shooting was precipitated by Morgan’s attacking him with a fire poker.
The Williams Township man is facing a maximum sentencing of 10-20 years in prison for the murder which too place in his home. Common Pleas Judge Clarence C. Morrison presided over the trial.
During the four-day trial, the prosecution called upon to testify state police from the Lykens barracks, to whom Morris turned himself in, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Morgan, and a blood stain analysis expert.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, 15 May 1981:
Dauphin man guilty in slaying
HARRISBURG – A Williamstown area man has been convicted of third-degree murder in the shooting death of a friend last November.
Grant D. Morris, 57, was convicted by a Dauphin County Court jury after seven hours of deliberation Thursday.
Morris claimed self defense for the death of Harold Morgan, 49, Williamstown, and said he did not intend to shoot.
According to testimony, Morris said Morgan came to his home and asked for a $50 loan. When he was refused, Morgan picked up a fireplace poker and struck him.
Then, according to Morris, he obtained a loaded .22-caliber rifle from his bedroom with the intention of scaring Morgan.
Morris later turned himself in at the Lykens state police barracks and was subsequently charged.
The third-degree verdict carries a sentence of 10 to 20-years.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.
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