Murder charge dismissal expected

A millionaire property owner accused of killing his wife's lover and suspected by authorities in the dis­appearances of three other people will be a free man come Dec. 17.

That's when prosecutors are expected to drop a lone charge of first-degree murder against David Morgan for the 1979 death of Gabriel Vincent.

The change in Morgan's fortune came about after prosecutors learned their key witness, Morgan's former employee Fred Hackett, died in Florida of natural causes about a year ago. He was thought to be in his 80s.

Hackett's 2006 confession to Las Vegas police that he saw Morgan shoot Vincent and helped bury his body near Indian Springs 33 years ago led to Morgan's arrest.

It may have been the only direct evidence in the case after a January 2007 excavation by investigators looking for Vincent's bones on Morgan's property produced nothing.

"I have no comment," Morgan, who is 77, said via phone Friday. Morgan has been on house arrest since he was first charged in 2007.

The trial date was delayed five different times in the case, the first in December 2008, again in 2009, twice in 2010, and once in 2011. The trial was set to go forward last month before Judge Carolyn Ellsworth when prosecutors sought to dismiss the case.

While trial delays are a normal occurrence in first-degree murder cases, it may have been a legal strategy by Morgan's lawyer, longtime defense attorney Thomas Pitaro.

Prior to a jury trial, a case against a defendant must first be approved by either a grand jury or a judge at a preliminary hearing. While the presentation to a grand jury is a closed hearing, a preliminary hearing is open to the public and a defendant's lawyer is allowed to cross-examine witnesses.

The result is that a witness' testimony during a preliminary hearing is preserved and can be presented to a jury in the event the witness dies or cannot be found at the time of the trial.

Prosecutors considered Hackett's age and health and sought to take the case to a preliminary hearing and preserve his testimony for a jury.

But Hackett never got the chance to testify.

Pitaro, in a deft legal maneuver, waived Morgan's preliminary hearing and swiftly moved the case to District Court where he sought trial delay after trial delay. Court records show Pitaro sought the delays because of his heavy caseload.

The lawyer declined to comment for this story but has previously called the prosecution's case against his client "laughable" and described Hackett as a disgruntled former employee who stole from Morgan.

Veteran prosecutor David Stanton said last week that he ethically couldn't move forward with the case because he doesn't have the evidence to prove Morgan's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Hackett was the main witness in the case.

Stanton said the charge will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning if new evidence arises prosecutors could bring back their case against Morgan.

Morgan has lived in Las Vegas since 1961 and in 2007 he owned property in the valley worth more than $20 million.

Police think that in 1979 Vincent had an affair with Morgan's wife, Marie, and tried to blackmail him leading to the killing, although the body was never found.

Police also think David Morgan was involved in the disappearances of Marie Morgan, who vanished in 1980, his girlfriend Diana Leone, who disappeared in 2000, and a former business associate, Donald Richard Cowan. He disappeared in 1982.

Police also had a signed statement from David Morgan's sister, Deloris Morgan, who is also deceased, saying she believed her brother was involved in Cowan's death. She also told detectives that her brother forced her to help dispose of Marie Morgan's body.

Morgan had a history of domestic violence arrests but no convictions.

Meanwhile, Morgan is expected to be released from house arrest once the case is dismissed. He will also be given back his passport and allowed to travel outside the United States. At the time of his arrest, Morgan had a wife and property in Brazil.

It's unknown whether Morgan plans to leave Las Vegas. But barring the unlikely discovery of new evidence or witnesses in the case, there appears to be no reason for him to disappear.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at
fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.