Suspect in Ore. double homicide captured in Va.
DUMFRIES, Va. – A man suspected of killing his mother and her boyfriend earlier this month in Bandon, Ore., has been captured in Virginia, according to the Prince William County police department in northern Virginia.
Gabriel Morris, 33, and his wife and daughter became the subjects of a manhunt after the bodies of Morris' mother, Robin Lynn Anstey, 62, and her partner, Robert William Kennelly Jr., 48, were discovered Feb. 10.
The hunt for Morris was featured on Saturday's episode of "America's Most Wanted." Two counts of aggravated murder had been filed against Morris, while his wife was sought as a material witness.
About the suspect
Morris graduated from Brigham Young University and was involved in ROTC. He worked as a patrol deputy from 2005 until 2007 in Idaho. He quit, then took a job at Gold's Gym in Blackfoot, Idaho, where he worked for a year. He then worked as an insurance broker until he moved with his wife and daughter to Oregon several months ago.
Last week, authorities said surveillance video showed Morris was at a business in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday with his wife and their 4-year-old daughter. Police had previously tracked him to San Diego. A Prince William County Police spokesperson says they also have Morris' wife and daughter at the station. "They are fine," said public information officer Kim Chinn.
Investigators believe Anstey and Kennelly were killed in Bandon, Ore., on Monday, Feb. 8. Their bodies were found two days later after a sheriff's deputy tracked an abandoned truck to a Coquille home and found the bodies inside.
Morris' arrest
A press release from Prince William County Police reports the following:
"On Feb. 22, around 9 a.m. the Prince William County Police Department received information that a wanted person may have been staying in a residence in the 3900 block of Dominion Drive in Dumfries, Va. The resident became suspicious of the suspect and looked his name up on the Internet and found that he was wanted in Oregon for two murders. Officers from the SWAT team stopped the suspect's vehicle as he left the residence at about 12:15 p.m. He was arrested without incident."
ABC News reporter Jamie Scott provides this update:
Gabriel Morris was driving when police spotted his white Ford with Oregon license plates. The resident who called police was a woman who met Morris on TheGame.com, a video game Web site.
"She even said she felt real uncomfortable around him," one of her friends told Scott. "He was talking about things that normal people don't talk about, [like] taking people off the earth. "
And here's the irony: "We actually watched ['America's Most Wanted'] on Saturday but we didn't pay attention," the friend said. "[But] something didn't sit right with me about this guy. He was too observant, too nervous for me"
The US Marshals Service reports that its US Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Task Force made the arrest in Dumfries, Va. At the time of the arrest, Morris reportedly was armed with a .45 caliber handgun and was driving in a Ford Explorer accompanied by the female homeowner of the residence where he was staying. Morris' wife, Jessica, and their daughter were located in the Ford Taurus. Both vehicles were leaving the residence together when arrested.
What next?
Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier and several Coos County detectives will be flying from Oregon to Virginia to conduct further investigations "as needed." Frasier said he anticipates that Gabriel and Jessica Morris will be held in custody and they will be entitled court hearings in Virginia.
According to a Coos County press release, "It is not known when they will be returned to Coos County. If they decides to contest extradition, it could be several weeks or months before they are returned. If they waive extradition, then their return could be in as little as a couple weeks."