Wesleyan Murder Suspect Wrote 'Kill Johanna,' 'OK to Kill Jews' in Journal, Police Say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The man police say shot a Wesleyan University coed to death wrote "Kill Johanna. She must Die" and "I think it's ok to kill Jews and go on a killing spree" in his journal and left it at the crime scene, according to an arrest warrant.
Stephen Morgan, 29, was charged with one count of murder and made his first court appearance Friday in the killing of 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich — whom he allegedly shot dead on Wednesday while she was working at a bookstore cafe near campus.
A lawyer for Morgan said his client will plead not guilty. Morgan denies targeting "the Wesleyan campus or anyone else," his attorney said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The warrant says Middletown, Conn., police found Morgan's journal at the scene, along with a wig he allegedly wore during the shooting and a gun.
His father described him as a loner who kept a diary and was known to make anti-Semitic comments, according to the warrant.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Morgan wore a blue prison jumpsuit and handcuffs during his Friday morning arraignment in Middletown Superior Court. At times during the proceedings, he hung his head, frowned or nodded.
Morgan's bond was increased from $10 million to $15 million. Another hearing was scheduled for May 19.
His family attended the brief hearing in which a judge increased his bond to $15 million. One sister wept as Morgan was escorted from the courtroom.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}His composition book also had an entry dated May 6 at 11 a.m. — about two hours before Justin-Jinich was killed — that mentioned seeing all of the beautiful and smart people at Wesleyan, which is an elite private university, police said.
Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colorado, came from a Jewish family, and her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. The pair met two years ago during a summer program at New York University.
Morgan was arrested Thursday night after he saw his photo in a newspaper and asked a convenience store clerk to call police.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Officers found him standing outside the store, 10 miles from where a man wearing a wig opened fire on Justin-Jinich about 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Authorities in New York said Morgan and Justin-Jinich had known each other since at least 2007, when Justin-Jinich filed a harassment complaint against him while they were enrolled in a summer class at New York University.
In the complaint filed in July of that year, Justin-Jinich said Morgan called her repeatedly and sent her insulting e-mails.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One of the e-mails warned: "You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any (expletive) criticism, Johanna." Both were interviewed by university police, but Justin-Jinich decided not to press charges.
Police said they found a red 2001 Nissan Sentra — with Colorado license plates and registered to Morgan — in the bookstore parking lot. They said there was a handgun case partially opened in the vehicle and two handgun magazines.
One witness, Susan Gerdhart, 22, told police she was paying for a salad when she heard four loud popping noises. She turned to see smoke in the air and bullet casings on the ground and faced the suspect, who fired three more shots, according to the warrant.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Gerdhart noticed that the female behind the counter was no longer standing and the suspect was standing over the counter with a gun in his hand pointed at the floor," the warrant states.
Police responding to the scene found the victim moaning and shaking on the floor.
In the basement, police discovered a baseball cap, glasses, a laptop computer and a brown colored wig on the floor, they said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seven shell casings were found at the scene with the gun.
Detectives had interviewed Morgan outside the bookstore Wednesday without realizing he was a suspect.
An official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that police stopped Morgan shortly after the shooting, spoke to him and let him go.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The shooting and journal entries prompted fears that Morgan was bent on a repeat of the 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech, in which a deranged student killed 32 people and himself.
Police and administrators at Wesleyan immediately locked down the 3,000-student campus and stepped up patrols as authorities launched a hunt for the killer.
Morgan's brother Greg told the AP that Morgan wasn't anti-Semitic. His family issued a statement earlier Thursday pleading with Morgan to turn himself in "to avoid any further bloodshed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a statement read to reporters outside his parents' home in Massachusetts, the Morgans said they were "shocked and sickened by the tragedy" and extended their condolences to the victim's family.
Greg Morgan did not immediately return calls from the AP after police announced the arrest. There was no answer at the home of Morgan's father.
A woman answering the phone for Justin-Jinich's father said the family had no comment Thursday night on Morgan's arrest. She would not identify herself.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.