Journal: 'Kill Johanna. She must Die'

[blackie]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/08/connecticut.shooting.arrest/index.html


MIDDLETOWN, Connecticut (CNN) -- Police investigating the slaying of Wesleyan University junior Johanna Justin-Jinich discovered a composition book with an entry, "Kill Johanna. She must Die," an arrest affidavit said.

The composition book is believed to belong to murder suspect Stephen Morgan, the affidavit said.

The entry is dated May 6, the day Justin-Jinich, 21, was shot and killed at a Middletown bookstore near the Wesleyan University campus.

The entry also mentioned "seeing all of the beautiful and smart people at wes," adding, "I think it okay to kill Jews and go on killing spree at this school," the arrest affidavit quoted the composition book as saying.

The arrest affidavit was made public as Morgan, 29, appeared Friday morning in a Connecticut courtroom for a brief arraignment. Morgan has been charged with first-degree murder in Justin-Jinich's death.

He stood silently in a blue jumpsuit as his bond was increased to $15 million. Afterward, Morgan's sister cried and was comforted by family.

Police launched a nationwide search for Morgan after Wednesday's shooting, but he turned himself in at the Meriden Police Department at 9:14 p.m. Thursday, and was transferred to nearby Middletown.

Police also said they discovered in searches a brown-colored wig, eyeglasses, a dark-colored baseball cap, a T-shirt, a laptop and a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.

Police spoke briefly to Morgan immediately after the shooting, a law enforcement source told CNN on Thursday.

Morgan was one of several people who gathered Wednesday afternoon outside Broad Street Books after the Wesleyan junior was shot to death in the bookstore's cafe, the source said. Morgan gave his name to investigators, the source said.

At that early stage of the investigation, the source said, police had no reason to suspect Morgan.

Earlier, Morgan's sister urged him to turn himself in to "avoid any further bloodshed."

"Steve, turn yourself in right now to any law-enforcement agency, wherever you are, to avoid any further bloodshed," Diana Morgan said through the news media. "We love you, we will support you in every way and we don't want anyone else to get hurt."

Police told the community and university on Thursday that Morgan might have been targeting Wesleyan University and the town's Jewish residents.

"Evidence uncovered overnight suggests that Mr. Morgan may be focused on the Wesleyan community campus as well as the Jewish community," said Baldoni, who did not elaborate.

A university statement alleged that Morgan had written threats against "Wesleyan and/or its Jewish students" in his personal journals.

The slain Wesleyan student was Jewish, according to the Middletown mayor, but there was another connection between her and her alleged killer, authorities said.

In July 2007, the woman filed a harassment complaint against Morgan while the two were taking the same six-week summer course at New York University, school spokesman John Beckman told CNN.

The complaint, in which Justin-Jinich said she was receiving harassing e-mails and phone calls from Morgan, was filed with the university's public safety department toward the end of the course, Beckman said.

The public safety department brought in the New York Police Department and, after conversations with Morgan and Justin-Jinich, the woman declined to follow up or press charges, Beckman said.

Beckman said the two were not living in the same student residence house during the course. Additional details were not immediately available.

Another law enforcement source also told CNN that in one of the e-mails sent to Justin-Jinich, Morgan wrote, "You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any (expletive) criticism, Johanna."

Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said the connection between Morgan and Justin-Jinich may "go back to Colorado." No further details were available.  Watch how the suspect and victim knew each other »

Concern for the Wesleyan community and the Jewish community "developed out of evidence that the police may have gotten when they executed search warrants on his car, on the motel room he was staying in," Giuliano said. "Something turned up that caused them to believe that there might be a threat beyond her or a threat to the larger communities she belonged to."

Before Morgan was arrested, Wesleyan University urged its students, who are finished with classes and getting ready for final exams, to stay inside.

Justin-Jinich was shot Wednesday afternoon at the Red & Black Cafe in Broad Street Books, the campus bookstore, the university said.

She worked at the cafe, the cafe said on its Web site. It said her killing had left employees "devastated."

Down the street, Congregation Adath Israel, Middletown's lone synagogue, canceled all activities for the next day, said its president, Eliot Meadow.

He said police told him that they do not think Morgan is part of a larger anti-Semitic organization.

About 200 families attend the synagogue, Meadow said, and he added that Wesleyan, a private university with about 3,000 students, has a substantial Jewish population.

Middletown is a central Connecticut city with a population of about 48,000.

[davann]

I bet scorn played into this. Such a waste, she was pretty.

[patrickj]

Based on the composition notebook entry's, it sounds to me like the shooter has mental issues that could have contributed to it.  It seems like he was talking to himself, and justifying his actions to himself.

[blackie]

I like "the tunnels" at Wesleyan. I spent a lot of time there when I was in highschool. My senior year I took over one of the storage rooms and used it as a band practice room. It was like a free apartment.

http://wesleyanargus.com/2007/11/16/underground-tunnels-remain-mysterious-enticing/

Underground tunnels remain mysterious, enticing
By Anna Mageras, Contributing Writer

When you push open that heavy metal door, you enter a subterranean labyrinth. Follow the metallic rainbow of tags, slogans, and insults that adorn the walls ever deeper into the maze. Inhale the distinct bouquet of spray-paint and stale air. Take the time to relish your descent into the bowels of Wesleyan University.

Though the graffiti of past generations has been obliterated by numerous paintjobs, the tunnels remain an eternal source of fascination and even pride for the student body.

“Students always went down into the tunnels,” said Reference Librarian Erhard Konerding, who has been working at the University for over 30 years.

Stories about the tunnels include first-hand accounts of personal expeditions. Others have been passed on by word of mouth over years, many with some kernel of truth to them and some springing from pure speculation.

One rumor maintains that a couple of undergraduates moved into the tunnels under the Butts a few years ago to avoid paying the housing fees. Another posits that there was a shooting range down there at some point. Rumors regarding the contents of the countless underground storage rooms abound.

At least one theory about these rooms is true. The top floors of Judd Hall held a Wesleyan Museum from 1871 until 1957, displaying fossils, stuffed birds, fish, mammals, and a mummy. When the museum was closed, parts of the collection were given away, while others were put into storage under the Foss Hill dorms. Apparently, tunnels-aficionados found them—stuffed mammals, including a giant buffalo, began materializing around campus.

“I remember seeing a kangaroo out on Foss Hill, and someone had stuck a broom in its paws,” said Konerding. “I think all that stuff has gotten more secure, though. I think those creatures still exist, but I don't think they're down in any of those tunnels anymore.”

Those well—versed in Wesleyan lore will also have heard at least one of two legends relating to Russell House. Samuel Russell (1789-1862) commissioned the building's construction in the 1820s and 30s. A Middletown native, he was the founder of Russell & Company, a rampantly successful American merchant business. According to University brochures, he imported silk, tea, and “other goods” from China.

Supposedly, tunnels underneath the former residence were used to transport opium to the Connecticut River. However, Russell actually had the house constructed while he was in Asia and didn't move in until he retired from the company in 1836. The business carried on without him and, presumably, without the services that a passageway under his house might have rendered.

The second myth regarding the mansion pinpoints the tunnel as part of the Underground Railroad. It has been impossible, however, to verify the existence of such a tunnel.

As much as people love to romanticize the tunnels, many can't help feeling somewhat uneasy at the thought of them. In fact, mystery writer Richard Forrest named them one of the top places in Connecticut to commit a murder. University alumna Michelle Gagnon recently published her mystery novel, “The Tunnels,” about a serial killer who roams the catacombs of an esteemed New England college.

Jason Bitterman ’10 has a spine-tingling story to tell of his adventure into the depths of Butt B's underground last year. He and a friend stumbled across an unlocked door that led to a room piled high with burlap sacks of unknown contents. They used a piece of chalk to keep the door open, worried about getting trapped inside. As they approached the mound of sacks, they were frightened by an eerie noise.

“We took the chalk with us to erase evidence of our presence, and then we ran as fast as our legs would take us,” Bitterman said.

Fearless student explorers have developed methods for breaking almost any lock and entering almost any passage, including those filled with asbestos. One student even pocketed a ring of keys that a Public Safety officer had left in a lock in the tunnels.

“It's off-limits, it's interesting,” said a source who wished to remain anonymous. “There's something about seeing what the school doesn't want you to see. They want you to see Fauver, Usdan and the admissions office. It's all too pretty. There's just something about a space that has been shaped by students.”

haha. I drew the Ian come home cat.