William Morva

Case record: William Morva

STATUS and sentencing

William Morva was sentenced to death on June 23, 2008.

Background

William Charles Morva (born c. 1982) lived in the Midlothian, Virginia area until his father, Charles Morva, retired and moved the family to Blacksburg. Charles Morva worked as a substitute teacher at Blacksburg High School and as a barista at a local coffee shop until moving back to the Richmond area with his wife, Elizabeth. Charles Morva died in April 2004.

Acquaintances said they saw a decline in William Morva’s behavior after the death of his father. Morva had been a drifter without a permanent fixed address prior to his initial arrest in 2005. He was a self-professed survivalist and was almost always without shoes. He spoke of spending nights in the woods around Blacksburg.

The offence

Morva was responsible for the two shooting deaths of Sheriff’s deputy Cpl. Eric Sutphin and hospital security guard Derrick McFarland, in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, near the university campus of Virginia Tech.

Morva shot and killed Derrick McFarland, a hospital security guard who was running to the deputy’s aid. Morva also shot and killed sheriff’s deputy Cpl. Eric Sutphin on the Huckleberry Trail near the Virginia Tech Campus.

Morva was found guilty of killing two in Montgomery County in August 2006.

At the time of the shootings and his escape, Morva was an inmate at Montgomery County Jail. He was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital on Aug. 20, 2006, for treatment of minor injuries.

Morva beat a deputy, took his .40-caliber Glock pistol, and used it to shoot McFarland in the face. McFarland was described as being unarmed and holding out his hands, palms up, in a posture a witness described as passive.

Morva shot Sutphin in the back of the head as Sutphin took part in a massive manhunt for Morva in Blacksburg. Sutphin’s body was found along the wooded Huckleberry Trail, near where deputies later found Morva hiding with the pistol.

Investigation and manhunt; campus and community disruption

The hospital guard’s death and Sutphin’s death prompted a manhunt for Morva. The escape and shootings led police to evacuate and search Squires Student Center on the campus after someone fitting Morva’s description was seen inside. The sighting proved unfounded.

Virginia Tech canceled classes and closed campus after the shootings and during the manhunt.

During the hunt, Virginia Tech canceled the first day of fall classes and closed the campus. The manhunt prompted shutdown and evacuation of Virginia Tech, with many undergraduates staying in their dormitories. Messages eventually told buildings to be locked from the inside, and most buildings were locked from the inside.

The search was described as beginning around 2 a.m., and police used a helicopter and dogs. Police also closed sections of Blacksburg and surrounded Tech’s Squires Student Center.

Arrest and capture

While Morva was in jail awaiting trial for attempted armed robbery, he was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital on August 20, 2006 for a sprained ankle and wrist.

After using a hospital bathroom, Morva assaulted and knocked a deputy unconscious using a metal toilet-paper container. He seized the deputy’s gun and shot Derrick McFarland, who died from his wounds.

On the morning of August 21, 2006, Morva shot and killed Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy Cpl.

After a manhunt, Montgomery County police reported over the police scanner that Morva was captured and taken into custody at 3:36 p.m. EDT August 21, 2006.

Morva was found hiding in a briar patch about 150 yards from where Sutphin was fatally shot. Officers had already searched the area without finding him but he was located on a second pass.

People involved

William Morva

William Morva was a fugitive and was described as being almost always without shoes and speaking of spending nights in the woods around Blacksburg. He was described as a drifter without a permanent fixed address prior to his initial arrest in 2005. He was described as bare-foot and, at one point in the manhunt, wearing shorts but no shoes or shirt.

A number of witnesses and accounts portrayed Morva as eccentric. High school friends described him as caring and gentle. A psychiatrist testified that he exhibited nearly all of the traits of schizotypal personality disorder, making him an intense, inflexible person unable to see the perspective of others. Defense testimony portrayed him as an eccentric free spirit with a personality disorder. The defence also argued that his fear of returning to jail led to the killings.

Victims

Cpl. Eric Sutphin was born 1966 and served as an officer for a total of 13 years. He had survived a prior shooting in May 2003, which killed officer Scott Hylton and led Sutphin to quit the police force; he returned after just six months away. At the time of his death, Sutphin was participating in a search/manhunt as part of the response to Morva.

Sutphin survived by his wife, Tamara, and his seven-year-old twin daughters.

Derrick McFarland was a hospital security guard. He died from his wounds after Morva shot him.

In some accounts, McFarland was 26, and in other accounts he was described as 32. In other narrative, he was described as 33 and living in Christiansburg.

McFarland’s widow was Cindy McFarland. His father was Harold McFarland.

Family and other related people

Morva’s father was Charles Morva.

Morva’s mother was Elizabeth (also referenced as Elizabeth Morva).

Morva’s brother was Michael Akos Morva. Michael Morva was booked into Montgomery County jail on charges including possessing marijuana and conspiring to escape. Michael Morva later faced charges according to online court records including attempting to commit burglary, conspiring to commit burglary, and attempted grand larceny; the dates for the offences matched charges against William Morva related to attempted thefts last year. Michael has denied any connection with Morva’s August 2006 escape from police custody.

Michael Morva was charged with conspiring to escape. The alleged conspiracy occurred in January 2006 when both brothers were in jail on charges related to attempted thefts.

Other named individuals and officials

Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch announced charges and indicated he would seek the death penalty. The trial also involved Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bradley W. Finch.

Judge Ray Grubbs presided and ruled that the trial could not be held in Montgomery County and that it could be held elsewhere. Judge Ray Wilson Grubbs was also named in connection with formal sentencing timing.

Defense attorney Tony Anderson argued that the killing spree was spawned by Morva’s fear of returning to jail and that life in prison would be more severe punishment than death. Defense attorney Tony Anderson also made closing-argument statements in court.

Judge Ray Wilson Grubbs set the execution date for October 21, 2008, but Morva had an automatic appeal.

Morva’s defense attorney is also referenced as Thomas DeBusk in connection with the robbery/burglary convictions and pretrial decisions.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine issued a statement condemning the killing of Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric E. Sutphin and noted the ongoing search for Morva.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker and Sheriff Tommy Whitt were named in accounts about campus closure and the manhunt.

Police lieutenant Joe Davis, county spokesman Robert Parker, and professor Daniel B. Thorp were named in reporting about the manhunt and campus conditions.

Timeline

• April 2004 — Charles Morva died.
• 2005 — Morva was arrested initially; he had a history of attempted armed robbery charges.
• August 20, 2006 — Morva was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital for a sprained ankle and wrist and escaped custody after assaulting a deputy.
• August 21, 2006 — Morva shot and killed Cpl. Eric Sutphin on the Huckleberry Trail near the Virginia Tech Campus; police announced Morva was captured and taken into custody at 3:36 p.m. EDT.
• March 31, 2007 — A jury recommended that Morva spend 38 years in prison for his role in botched attempts to rob one Blacksburg business and break into two others in 2005.
• September 17, 2007 — Morva’s trial hearings began in Montgomery County for two counts of capital murder and one count of attempting to commit murder with a firearm.
• September 20, 2007 — Judge Ray Grubbs ruled that the trial could not be held in Montgomery County.
• March 13, 2008 — Morva was sentenced to death.
• March 14, 2008 — A jury recommended the death penalty.
• June 23, 2008 — Morva’s sentence was death and he was scheduled for formal sentencing on this date.

Trial and related proceedings

Charges and counts described

Morva faced capital murder and firearm-related charges tied to the shooting deaths of Derrick McFarland and Cpl. Eric Sutphin.

On August 29, 2006, Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch announced Morva would be charged with capital murder and use of a firearm in the shooting death of McFarland. A second capital murder charge would be sought in the shooting death of Sutphin, to be decided on at the grand jury meeting on October 10, 2006. Finch also stated that he would seek the death penalty for Morva.

Morva’s case included multiple charges referenced as:

• two counts of capital murder,
• one count of attempting to commit murder with a firearm,
• three counts of capital murder in connection with killing McFarland, killing Sutphin, and committing two murders in less than three years,
• two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony,
• one count of assault and battery of a police officer,
• one count of escape with force.

Motions on trial venue

Morva’s defense attorney requested a change of the trial location for Morva’s original robbery charges. The cases included the failed armed robbery of the Blacksburg Deli Mart and attempted burglaries of Blacksburg’s Freedom First Credit Union, Food Time and Burger King.

The trial was to be held at Montgomery County Circuit Court, but Morva’s attorneys argued that it would be impossible to find an impartial jury in Montgomery County due to publicity received since his escape and the subsequent murders. Morva’s attorney was quoted as saying, “I don’t think there (have) been this many cases that have gotten nearly as much attention.”

Judge Ray Grubbs ruled on September 20 that the trial could not be held in Montgomery County.

Sentencing and jury recommendation

A jury recommended the death penalty after deliberating for about three hours. The jury recommended that Morva be executed rather than be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Morva was convicted of capital murder for shooting McFarland and Sutphin. The jury recommended death for all three counts described as capital murder.

Members of the victims’ families and Morva’s mother wept after the verdict. Morva snapped his fingers and slightly smiled after the reading of the verdict and as jurors learned his fate.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch called for the death penalty in his closing statement. Defense attorney Tony Anderson argued for life in prison rather than death.

Verbatim quotes

• Jeaneen Sutphin, the mother of Montgomery sheriff’s deputy Eric Sutphin, said:

  “My son gave his life for the justice system, and this is what he would have wanted,”

• Cindy McFarland, widow of hospital guard Derrick McFarland, said:

  “I’m extremely happy; I’m very happy,”
  “I believe he deserved it. He feels no remorse whatsoever. He took two innocent people who didn’t deserve to die, and now he deserves to die.”

• Harold McFarland, Derrick McFarland’s father, said:

  “I’m not really a proponent of the death penalty, but in certain cases I agree with it, and this is one of them,”
  “This guy showed no remorse. He reacted [to the jury’s decision] as if he’d won the lottery. He snapped his fingers and spoke to the lawyer as if he’d won.”

• Harold McFarland said:

  “This is one of them,”

• Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch called for the death penalty in his closing statement, saying:

  “He is both extremely intelligent and extremely violent,”
  “That is a deadly combination.”
  “He showed no mercy” when he shot McFarland in the face from two feet away.
  “It did not faze him,”
  “That is depraved.”

• Defense attorney Tony Anderson urged jurors and said:

  “Lock that jail and throw away the key,”
  “Don’t let your hands unlock the chains, open the door and allow Mr. Morva to escape again.”

• Defense attorney Tony Anderson argued:

Outcome

Morva was sentenced to death and had an automatic appeal. Judges in Virginia could lower a jury’s sentence but rarely did.

Aftermath and related incidents

Capital murder announcement and potential further counts

Finch stated he would seek the death penalty.

Related robberies and burglary matters

Morva faced robbery and burglary matters described as:

• failed armed robbery of the Blacksburg Deli Mart,
• attempted burglaries of Blacksburg’s Freedom First Credit Union,
• attempted burglaries of Food Time and Burger King.

In March 2007, a jury recommended a 38-year sentence for Morva’s role in botched attempts to rob one Blacksburg business and break into two others in 2005. The jury found him guilty of seven related charges and not guilty of one count of destruction of property.

Sister business, alleged ride, and communications during the manhunt

Mary Jane Smith said she believed she gave Morva a ride about half an hour after the fatal shooting of a Montgomery County Sheriff’s officer. She reported the incident to authorities. Authorities could not immediately confirm her account.

Morva’s escape resulted in reported campus activity including evacuation and closure of buildings, cancellation of practices, and closures of business activity and city services during the manhunt.

Brother charged with conspiring to escape

Morva’s brother Michael Akos Morva had been charged with conspiring to escape, alleged to have occurred in January 2006 when both brothers were in jail on charges related to attempted thefts. Michael denied any connection with Morva’s August 2006 escape from police custody.