Post by hi224 on Feb 24, 2021 21:56:06 GMT
disappearances of four separate people?
Part 1: Diana
In October of 2000, a woman named Diana Leone was reported missing by a family member. The 35-year-old was last seen approximately eight months earlier at an unspecified location in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diana had lived in Las Vegas with her long-term boyfriend, David Dale Morgan, and their two children, aged seven and 14.
David, who was 34 years Diana’s senior, was a millionaire landowner who owned multiple businesses. The couple first met in 1981 when he was 50 and she was 16. Shortly after meeting, Diana gained employment at Abacus Mini-Storage, one of David’s businesses, and moved in with him.
Over the course of their relationship, David was extremely abusive towards Diana, having been arrested on numerous occasions on account of his violence towards her. David was even charged with attempted murder after badly beating Diana with a pipe in 1989. Unfortunately, Diana refused to testify against him in court and all the charges against him were subsequently dropped.
When questioned by police in November of 2000, the couple’s 14-year-old son stated that "all he knows is that his father told him that his mother ran off with another man," whereas their seven-year-old daughter recounted a graphic fight between her parents the night before Diana went missing. Their daughter recalled seeing her father shoving Diana through “a plate glass window in the patio area of the home” and then “smashing Diana's head into the refrigerator” - the fight supposedly being caused by Diana’s alleged infidelity.
Investigators found no evidence of an affair on Diana’s part, nor did they find evidence to suggest she disappeared of her own accord. She is thought to have been murdered, with David being the prime suspect.
Unnervingly, Diana’s disappearance and presumed death is not the first to which David is connected - but the fourth.
Part 2: Gabriel
From what I can gather, this story first begins in 1979. David Dale Morgan, then aged 48, lived with his wife, Marie, at Abacus Mini-Storage. Abacus Mini-Storage was also home to two of David’s employees, Fred and Avis Hackett.
David, having earned a reputation as a “tough” businessman that would throw away his customers’ belongings over missed rent, also rented out a facility to 55-year-old Gabriel Vincent. It is unclear whether Gabriel also lived at Abacus Mini-Storage, or whether he simply used his facility for storage purposes.
At some point in 1979, Marie Morgan began an affair with Gabriel. Wanting to blackmail her husband, Gabriel took pictures of him and Marie engaged in sexual activity, which reportedly infuriated David. Shortly after David learned after the affair, Gabriel allegedly took off in his 1970 Dodge van without picking up his last paycheck, never to be seen again. The date of Gabriel’s disappearance is given as November 15, 1979.
Part 3: Marie
Soon after Gabriel’s disappearance, Marie started living at the Women’s Crisis Centre in order to escape her husband’s abuse. In June 1980, the shelter reported Marie missing. When questioned by police about his wife’s whereabouts, David stated that she had run off with her lover, Gabriel. It is important to note that due to his “drifter” lifestyle, Gabriel was not officially reported missing.
At some later point in 1980, David allegedly called his sister, Deloris, and asked her to come over. He explained that he killed Marie as she was going to leave him, and buried her body by the highway past Indian Springs. David then supposedly threatened Deloris at gunpoint, demanding that she help him move Marie’s body into a deeper grave. Deloris agreed, and the pair drove out to mile marker 124 on Highway 95 where Marie’s body was wrapped in a blanket, and then buried her further out in the desert. Deloris alleges that, months later, David forced her back to the site where Marie’s body was buried in order to pour cement over the top.
In the same year, David allegedly told Marie’s sister, Kim, that he had killed Gabriel. He explained that, after learning of his affair with Marie, he hid in some bushes on the grounds of the Abacus Mini-Storage building and ambushed Gabriel, torturing and killing him before burying his body and covering it with quicklime. Kim recounted this event to detectives in 1980 - the same year Marie went missing - but it was seen as unsubstantiated.
Part 4: Donald
Two years after Marie goes missing, a former business associate of David’s, Donald Cowan, leaves his home and is never seen again. Unfortunately, I cannot find any more information about this case, other than police suspect David may have something to do with it.
What happened next?
In 1985, Deloris Morgan told police her account of being forced to assist her brother into moving Marie’s body. Unfortunately, Deloris could not locate Marie’s gravesite when trying to show police, and further searches in the general location produced no leads. Deloris died in 1987.
Fred Hackett told police about hearing gunshot wounds in the Abacus Mini-Storage building shortly before Gabriel’s disappearance. He also admitted that David asked for his help in disposing of Gabriel’s body, and that the two men drove it in Gabriel’s van to the desert off U.S. 95 at the Mount Charleston exit, where he was subsequently buried.
In 2007, David was arrested and charged with the murder of Gabriel Vincent, but the charges were ultimately dropped in December of 2012 after Fred Hackett died of natural causes, because there was insufficient evidence for a trial without his testimony.
David Dale Morgan died on November 11, 2018. His obituary has two messages, one of which reads:
“David was real man, loved beating women, scaring his own kids and killing people. and was always up for a little bullying. Suspected Fed rat and I would have done something about the guy myself but they would have known...”
Do you believe that David was responsible for the disappearances of Diana Leone, Gabriel Vincent, Marie Morgan, and Donald Cowan? If so, do you believe he waited until his late forties to start killing those who crossed him? Do you think there is any weight in the obituary message above? If I have missed any details, please let me know.
Reference List:
www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/murder-charges-dropped-against-one-time-millionaire/
www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-25-mn-30003-story.html
lasvegassun.com/news/2001/feb/27/police-believe-missing-woman-killed/
charleyproject.org/case/diana-l-leone
charleyproject.org/case/gabriel-vincent
www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/28352?nav
www.carpenterandford.com/obituaries/David-Morgan-18/
Part 1: Diana
In October of 2000, a woman named Diana Leone was reported missing by a family member. The 35-year-old was last seen approximately eight months earlier at an unspecified location in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diana had lived in Las Vegas with her long-term boyfriend, David Dale Morgan, and their two children, aged seven and 14.
David, who was 34 years Diana’s senior, was a millionaire landowner who owned multiple businesses. The couple first met in 1981 when he was 50 and she was 16. Shortly after meeting, Diana gained employment at Abacus Mini-Storage, one of David’s businesses, and moved in with him.
Over the course of their relationship, David was extremely abusive towards Diana, having been arrested on numerous occasions on account of his violence towards her. David was even charged with attempted murder after badly beating Diana with a pipe in 1989. Unfortunately, Diana refused to testify against him in court and all the charges against him were subsequently dropped.
When questioned by police in November of 2000, the couple’s 14-year-old son stated that "all he knows is that his father told him that his mother ran off with another man," whereas their seven-year-old daughter recounted a graphic fight between her parents the night before Diana went missing. Their daughter recalled seeing her father shoving Diana through “a plate glass window in the patio area of the home” and then “smashing Diana's head into the refrigerator” - the fight supposedly being caused by Diana’s alleged infidelity.
Investigators found no evidence of an affair on Diana’s part, nor did they find evidence to suggest she disappeared of her own accord. She is thought to have been murdered, with David being the prime suspect.
Unnervingly, Diana’s disappearance and presumed death is not the first to which David is connected - but the fourth.
Part 2: Gabriel
From what I can gather, this story first begins in 1979. David Dale Morgan, then aged 48, lived with his wife, Marie, at Abacus Mini-Storage. Abacus Mini-Storage was also home to two of David’s employees, Fred and Avis Hackett.
David, having earned a reputation as a “tough” businessman that would throw away his customers’ belongings over missed rent, also rented out a facility to 55-year-old Gabriel Vincent. It is unclear whether Gabriel also lived at Abacus Mini-Storage, or whether he simply used his facility for storage purposes.
At some point in 1979, Marie Morgan began an affair with Gabriel. Wanting to blackmail her husband, Gabriel took pictures of him and Marie engaged in sexual activity, which reportedly infuriated David. Shortly after David learned after the affair, Gabriel allegedly took off in his 1970 Dodge van without picking up his last paycheck, never to be seen again. The date of Gabriel’s disappearance is given as November 15, 1979.
Part 3: Marie
Soon after Gabriel’s disappearance, Marie started living at the Women’s Crisis Centre in order to escape her husband’s abuse. In June 1980, the shelter reported Marie missing. When questioned by police about his wife’s whereabouts, David stated that she had run off with her lover, Gabriel. It is important to note that due to his “drifter” lifestyle, Gabriel was not officially reported missing.
At some later point in 1980, David allegedly called his sister, Deloris, and asked her to come over. He explained that he killed Marie as she was going to leave him, and buried her body by the highway past Indian Springs. David then supposedly threatened Deloris at gunpoint, demanding that she help him move Marie’s body into a deeper grave. Deloris agreed, and the pair drove out to mile marker 124 on Highway 95 where Marie’s body was wrapped in a blanket, and then buried her further out in the desert. Deloris alleges that, months later, David forced her back to the site where Marie’s body was buried in order to pour cement over the top.
In the same year, David allegedly told Marie’s sister, Kim, that he had killed Gabriel. He explained that, after learning of his affair with Marie, he hid in some bushes on the grounds of the Abacus Mini-Storage building and ambushed Gabriel, torturing and killing him before burying his body and covering it with quicklime. Kim recounted this event to detectives in 1980 - the same year Marie went missing - but it was seen as unsubstantiated.
Part 4: Donald
Two years after Marie goes missing, a former business associate of David’s, Donald Cowan, leaves his home and is never seen again. Unfortunately, I cannot find any more information about this case, other than police suspect David may have something to do with it.
What happened next?
In 1985, Deloris Morgan told police her account of being forced to assist her brother into moving Marie’s body. Unfortunately, Deloris could not locate Marie’s gravesite when trying to show police, and further searches in the general location produced no leads. Deloris died in 1987.
Fred Hackett told police about hearing gunshot wounds in the Abacus Mini-Storage building shortly before Gabriel’s disappearance. He also admitted that David asked for his help in disposing of Gabriel’s body, and that the two men drove it in Gabriel’s van to the desert off U.S. 95 at the Mount Charleston exit, where he was subsequently buried.
In 2007, David was arrested and charged with the murder of Gabriel Vincent, but the charges were ultimately dropped in December of 2012 after Fred Hackett died of natural causes, because there was insufficient evidence for a trial without his testimony.
David Dale Morgan died on November 11, 2018. His obituary has two messages, one of which reads:
“David was real man, loved beating women, scaring his own kids and killing people. and was always up for a little bullying. Suspected Fed rat and I would have done something about the guy myself but they would have known...”
Do you believe that David was responsible for the disappearances of Diana Leone, Gabriel Vincent, Marie Morgan, and Donald Cowan? If so, do you believe he waited until his late forties to start killing those who crossed him? Do you think there is any weight in the obituary message above? If I have missed any details, please let me know.
Reference List:
www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/murder-charges-dropped-against-one-time-millionaire/
www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-25-mn-30003-story.html
lasvegassun.com/news/2001/feb/27/police-believe-missing-woman-killed/
charleyproject.org/case/diana-l-leone
charleyproject.org/case/gabriel-vincent
www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/28352?nav
www.carpenterandford.com/obituaries/David-Morgan-18/