Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 2, 1995 TAG: 9510020079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
Deborah Morris, charged with fraud and property crimes, has a history of befriending older men and trying to gain control of their money or have them killed, a federal agent has testified.
A federal magistrate ordered Morris held without bond, apparently out of concern for her boyfriend, a retired military veteran.
Morris - who has not been charged with murder or solicitation to murder - was charged last week with fraud and property crimes after she allegedly plotted with her brother to kill her husband to receive his retirement benefits of nearly $95,000, Secret Service Agent Darryl Daniels testified at Friday's bond hearing in federal court.
Her husband, Eugene Bryce Morris, disappeared May 27, 1987, after walking to a church near his rooming house to help his wife fix her broken-down car.
Deborah Morris, 45, was 37 at the time. Her husband - a World War II Navy veteran - was 73.
``I think she poses a risk to society,'' said U.S. Magistrate James E. Bradberry. ``All these crimes arise from the fact that her husband disappeared. I believe there's a connection between her control of his property and his disappearance ... Her present relationship seems parallel to that of Mr. Morris.''
Earlier this week, agent Daniels testified, Morris said in front of her boyfriend, ``He doesn't have any property worth killing over.''
Daniels' testimony, which was based on interviews with witnesses, also indicated:
Morris hired a hit man to kill a boyfriend for $1,500, allegedly paying him $750 in advance, with the balance due when the slaying was confirmed. The hit man left the state with the cash, later telling investigators he never intended to kill anyone.
Morris gave a ``brass-knuckle knife'' to another hit man so he could kill a bag lady who had jewelry Morris wanted. Morris offered to split the jewelry with the killer. The hit man had a conversation with the bag lady but never committed the crime, Daniels testified.
Morris gave yet another hit man a billy club to kill a crack cocaine dealer, again offering to split the crack and the money.
Finally, and most recently, she tried to hire someone to help her get power of attorney for her current boyfriend. She had used the same tactic with her husband, who also was retired from the military.
In her husband's case, within six weeks of their marriage, Morris allegedly obtained signature authority over his bank account, in which three retirement checks totaling about $1,000 were deposited monthly, according to a federal indictment returned last week.
After she became the beneficiary on his insurance policy and gained power of attorney, she tried to have her husband involuntarily committed to a hospital. When that didn't work, she plotted with her brother, Michael L. Russell, to kill him, the indictment said.
Russell ``told a witness several times that he shot Morris in the back of the head with a handgun and left his body in the woods for wild dogs to eat,'' Daniels testified Friday.
``He said it was at the request of his sister and that they would split the money. Two other witnesses ... said Russell told them Deb buried the body.''
Russell died three weeks ago when he was mangled by a winch on a fishing boat.
Daniels testified that Morris told several people Eugene Morris was dead at the same time she was allegedly forging letters from him to the city of Newport News so retirement benefits would continue.
Morris' attorney, Kevin Shea, said Morris did not kill anyone. ``She has a lot of trashy friends who are spreading rumors. Mr. Morris is not dead. He just left, disappeared.''
by CNB