THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270426
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Deborah Lynn Morris wanted more than just companionship when she married a retired man nearly twice her age, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
She wanted financial security and, ultimately, the freedom to enjoy it.
On May 27, 1987, the indictment says, Morris, then 37, lured her husband of two months from his Buckroe rooming house. She called to tell him her car had broken down and she needed his help. He was never seen again.
Investigators say Morris won the heart of 73-year-old Eugene Bryce Morris, a World War II Navy veteran, in order to bilk him of everything he had worked for - $95,000 in retirement benefits - and ultimately to rob him of his life.
Secret Service agents and Hampton police arrested Morris on Tuesday at the Buckroe Motel, said Larry Kumjian, agent in charge of the Norfolk Secret Service office. Morris was charged with multiple counts of fraud and obstruction of justice.
The indictment says Morris, after trying to have her husband involuntarily committed to a hospital for mental illness, lured him to his death, then emptied his bank accounts and lived on his retirement benefits.
Deborah Morris was not charged with murder, apparently because her husband's body has never been found. Her brother, who - according to the indictment - actually committed the murder, died in a fishing accident three weeks ago.
``This is the most bizarre case I've worked in 20 years in the Secret Service,'' said Special Agent Darryl Daniels, a 20-year veteran. ``She's the most cold-hearted person I've ever dealt with. They killed Mr. Morris, and he didn't deserve it.''
Investigators moved swiftly after learning that Deborah Morris had taken up with another elderly man. They got a sealed indictment Monday and arrested Morris on Tuesday at the motel, where she was living with her new boyfriend.
Motel owner Amrat Patel said the man, like Eugene Morris, was a retired veteran getting benefits. Deborah Morris' latest boyfriend declined to be interviewed.
Eugene Morris' disappearance fueled eight years of suspicions, rumors and theories of murder and intrigue. Federal authorities acted on tips several times, launching massive searches in the Grandview Beach area with cadaver-sniffing dogs.
The Secret Service began an investigation after learning that $95,000 had been withdrawn from Eugene Morris' account.
Secrecy still surrounds the indictment, which says Deborah Morris was involved in the murder of her husband but does not spell out what evidence points to her.
``This is exactly what I've been telling everybody,'' said the victim's 74-year-old brother, Robert L. Morris. ``Why would a woman that age marry a man of that age if it wasn't for the money?''
The indictment says Deborah Morris' brother, Michael L. Russell, killed the World War II Navy veteran after purchasing three handguns from an arms dealer in Hampton. In a bizarre twist, Russell himself was killed three weeks ago in a fishing accident when he was mangled in a winch on a scallop boat.
Deborah Morris is charged with mail fraud, obstruction of justice and larceny of government property. If convicted, she faces up to 50 years in prison and fines of up to $1.75 million. She is in jail awaiting a bond hearing Friday morning in Newport News.
Deborah Morris met her husband while working as a waitress at Clyde's Restaurant, a Phoebus bar frequented by veterans. At the time, Morris rented a room on Hunlac Avenue in the city's Buckroe section.
Eugene Morris had retired as a maintenance man for the School Board, his brother said. He had served on a Navy destroyer in the Pacific during World War II.
Deborah and Eugene Morris were married on April 1, 1987. The day after the wedding, the indictment said, ``Ms. Morris obtained the signature authority over a bank account she maintained with Mr. Morris.''
Into the account were deposited Newport News retirement benefits, Social Security payments and veterans benefits. Because Eugene Morris' death had never been proven, the Veterans Affairs Department continued to issue disability checks for about $260 a month for years after his disappearance. Newport News deposited about $185 every month.
On May 12, 1987, six weeks after the wedding, Deborah Morris obtained a power of attorney from her new husband and petitioned to have him involuntarily committed to a hospital.
On May 27, her brother bought three handguns. That same day, Deborah Morris phoned her husband and told him her car had broken down. An hour later, she showed up at his rooming house wanting to know where her husband was.
She denied calling him earlier, published reports say. Instead, she told police her husband had been suicidal.
For the next eight years, Morris collected her husband's benefits, the indictment says. When the City of Newport News inquired about Eugene Morris, the indictment says, Deborah Morris responded by forging her husband's signature on a series of letters to the city.
In the letters, she told the city her husband was dying of liver cancer and was living with her and in desperate need of his pension money. Four charges of mail fraud stem from the letters.
Friends and relatives said Morris was a likable man.
``He was very sociable and liked everybody,'' his brother said. ``He was easygoing, drank quite a bit. He was kind of easy when it came to women.''
Federal agents said the arrest of Deborah Morris at the motel Tuesday was uneventful. Motel owner Patel said Morris and her new boyfriend never caused any trouble.
``They drink a lot of Miller beer,'' Patel said. ``They're very quiet. They just drink in their room and watch TV. There have been no complaints. They don't bother anyone.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
THE VICTIM
Investigators say Deborah Morris won the heart of Eugene Bryce
Morris in order to bilk him of everything he had worked for.
Color photos
THE SUSPECTS
Deborah Morris, left, lured her husband of two months from his
rooming house, the indictment says. She called to tell him her car
had broken down and she needed his help. He was never seen again.
Her brother, Michael L. Russell - who, the indictment says, actually
committed the murder - died in an accident three weeks ago.
KEYWORDS: MURDER ARREST by CNB