Two families say they have closure after a Campbell County inmate confessed to two homicides that remained unsolved for 19 years.
Robert Morgan was sentenced Monday to 60 years in prison – 30 years for each crime – after admitting he killed 41-year-old Jackie Bonner and 60-year-old Vera Harrison in 1996.
Morgan is a convicted sex offender from Dayton, Ky. Guilt, he said guilt was the reason he called CrimeStoppers from jail in July 2014 to confess to the slayings. He officially pleaded guilty five months later in December.
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Morgan murdered Vera on Feb. 21, 1996. He told investigators he forced his way into her Dayton, Ky. home, stabbed her twice, strangled her, beat her and dragged her between her dining room and kitchen. Morgan said he killed Jackie in August of 1996 after a drug-fueled argument in the 1100 block of Vineyard Ln. in Melbourne, Ky. Morgan said he and Jackie were both high at the time, and he thought he killed her after their fight. He said he then dumped her body in a well nearby on Gunkel Road in Camp Springs. Jackie was still alive and died in the well, investigators said.
In court Monday, Morgan apologized to the victims’ families.
Jacinta Bonner, Jackie’s daughter, said her family is at peace knowing Morgan has faced justice for his crimes and was thankful he admitted to the crime.
“He did not have to tell us that he did it,” Jacinta said. “If he hadn’t, we’d still be the family watching these cold case shows, asking, ‘What if they looked into my mother’s case?'”
Jacinta directly thanked and forgave Morgan while addressing him in court.
Clinton Harrison, Vera’s son, wasn’t as open to granting Morgan pardon. He said he would never thank the killer for anything.
“I never will be able to forgive him,” Harrison said. “I know I’ll never forget.”
