Kelly Currin Morris is missing *murdered*

[Unamused Cat]

Stem, N.C. — Granville County police are investigating the disappearance of a Stem mother of two whose car was found abandoned the same day her house caught fire.

Sheriff David Smith said Saturday the remains of Kelly Morris, 28, were not found in the ashes of her burned home.

Authorities found Morris' s burgundy 2005 Honda Accord (North Carolina license plate TXP-5917) Thursday afternoon about a mile away from her home in an undeveloped subdivision. Smith said it was "a short time" after firefighters responded to the blaze at 3220 Tum Wilkins Road.

Morris' keys, purse and cell phone were inside the car, Smith said, and no one was at home at the time. Her husband, Scott Morris, was at work; their two children were at school.

Investigators have not established a cause for the fire, and the State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to assist with the case. Search and rescue dogs were also on hand Friday to search the home and the area where the car was found.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3492807/

[OMalley]

This doesn't look good for her...pretty lady, too. Sounds like someone took her.

Hopefully they find some evidence, like fingerprints, inside her car.

[Moroanca]

If you are near by Granville County, N.C... Please help us in the search for Kelly by calling the Granville County Sheriffs office at 919-693-3213 tomorrow morning at 8:30 am to get info on meeting place to search. I heard about this case from a patient of mine that grew up with Scott, the husband of Kelly yesterday. Below is the latest on Missing Kelly Currin Morris:


STEM, NC (WTVD) -- Granville County Sheriff David Smith says his department will get some outside help in its search for a missing mother.

Law enforcement from other agencies will assist in a major search on Friday for Kelly Currin Morris, according to the sheriff.

The mother of two went missing last week Thursday, the same day her home mysteriously caught fire off Tump Wilkins Road in Stem. The SBI and the ATF are still investigating the exact cause of the blaze. Investigators won't say whether the fire is linked to her disappearance. Morris' husband was said to be at work at the time of the blaze while their daughters were in school.


Kelly Currin Morris' vehicle was discovered less than a mile from her home with her purse, keys and cell phone locked inside. Investigators said her husband William Scott Morris was the last to see her before her disappearance. She was reportedly wearing denim jeans and a t-shirt.

"We're still treating it as missing person case, " said Sheriff David Smith when asked whether foul play was a factor in Morris' disappearance. "As time goes on, we'll take a look at the situation."

Smith said his investigators are also paying close attention to community speculation about the case.

"We know when tragedy happens there are rumors," Smith added, saying it could hurt the investigation if he disclosed details about the case. Instead he encouraged the community to have confidence in law enforcement and to help with the search.

Six detectives are assigned to the case. They spent the day searching several undisclosed locations on Thursday. A special K9 unit will likely be used on Friday as part of the multi-agency search.
Edit/Delete Message

[Moroanca]

By Gerrick Brenner

STEM (WTVD) -- Kelly Currin Morris, the Granville County woman who vanished last week after her house caught fire is still missing Friday night but investigators have ruled the house fire from her house, arson.

The Granville County Sheriff's department has called in help to re-focus this search for Kelly. Eight days after she went missing they are, in effect, are starting over. About 120 people, professionals and volunteers, are searching for Kelly.

Danny Roberts, a family friend, offered, "It's been unusual because it's tugged at a lot of people's hearts."

Kelly went missing September 4th, the same day her house went up in flames. Her car was found locked a few blocks away with her purse, cell phone, and keys locked inside.
Story continues below
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Kelly is married with two children.

Friends are convinced she would not run away.

Lynn Carden, a long time friend, stated, "To me she's a family oriented person. She wouldn't leave her two little girls."

Some of Kelly's friends are starting to wonder about her husband, Scott Morris, who has not been seen in the search effort.

One of them approached us with posters of Kelly's picture, as we knocked at the home of Scott's parents and stated, "He's probably the only one that knows anything."

Arson investigators were back at the Morris home today. But search organizers say weather has hindered the effort.

Kelly's friends remain hopeful, even as she has been gone for 8-days

Searchers and investigators hope that by the close of operations tomorrow, they will have eliminated a three mile radius around the residence stating that at this point they have no clues.

It really saddens me to see the media in our area not cover this missing person case as much as they should. I helped with the search for Kelly today and I would really love to see more able bodies help with our search tomorrow.
Family and friends of Kelly Morris, along with any volunteers will be meeting tomorrow Saturday, September 13th at 9am
Granville Central High School‎ -
2043 Sanders Road, Stem, NC
for continued search.
Thank you for your help
-Kim

[Unamused Cat]

I'm eye-balling the hubby in this one. He hasn't even helped in search for Kelly. The house fire has been declared arson.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?se...cal&id=6387918

[crickett]

I'm eye-balling the hubby in this one. He hasn't even helped in search for Kelly. The house fire has been declared arson.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?se...cal&id=6387918

I'm sorry but not a good feeling about this one. How far away is the hubby's place of employment. Was he actually at work ALL day? Did he or did the mom get the children off to school?
Not a good feeling...

[crickett]

From True Crime Stories:
I have a Really Bad Feeling.....we all know she's dead I just pray that they will find her. I pray that her husband (Fucking Psychopath!, HOW could he kill her? The mother of his children. HOW could he do this to their precious little children?) does NOT get away with this. And may God protect their children.


Looking for the Dog: The Disappearance of Kelly Currin Morris
Posted at 2:28 AM Sep 13, 2008
The last time anyone saw 28-year-old Kelly Currin Morris was Wednesday, September 3. "A family member" gave NBC 17 in Chapel Hill, NC an interesting statement about Kelly's disappearance. According to said "family member," Kelly's husband Scott said that his wife went to look for the family dog and simply never came home again. On September 3, 2008.

On September 4, 2008, there was a fire at the Morris residence on 3220 Tump Wilkins Rd. in rural Granville County, NC.

The authorities were actually alerted to the young woman's disappearance because they'd been called to put out the fire. The search for Kelly began on the 4th.

They found her 3-year-old Honda Accord that day. It was a mile from the house. The car was locked. Kelly's purse, cell phone, and keys were inside.

More people joined the search for the mother of two. Five days after the fire, at least 50 volunteers were wending their way through the woods near the Morris homestead. Speaking to NBC 17, one volunteer said, "Everybody is praying non-stop saying all the prayers they can say..."

The same volunteer -- a long-time acquaintance of the missing woman's -- stated that leaving on a whim was just something the "family oriented" Kelly would never do.

On September 10, Granville County Sheriff David Smith made a public statement about the search. "We've gone back [and] double-searched [and] triple-searched," he said. While everyone still held onto "a dim light" of hope that Kelly might be okay, Smith admitted that the idea that something bad happened to Kelly "would be in the back of your mind."

Wanda Hollis, Kelly's mom, eventually made her own statements to the press. And Wanda's "gut feeling" was that her daughter was dead. According to Hollis, her daughter would have contacted her if she was still alive.

Hollis was asked about seeing her daughter's burned home. She said, "It was hard at first, but it’s been hard to cope with things for the last year, too."

Wanda Hollis didn't elaborate on that statement.

Eight days after the search for Kelly began, nine days after she allegedly began her search for the missing dog, investigators announced that the fire at the Morris residence was an act of arson.

So... on September 3, a young woman supposedly goes to look for her dog. On September 4, her house burns. Her car is found a mile away, most of her necessary personal effects inside.

Her mother refers to a difficult year of coping with something, but will not go into detail. Police, when asked if husband Scott Morris is a suspect in connection with his wife's disappearance, simply say that everyone is a suspect.

Searchers, number more than 100 by September 12, wonder why Scott Morris hasn't been a part of the effort. One of them speaks to reporters with WTVD in Raleigh Durham and says that Scott is "probably the only one that knows anything."

Based on statistics about these sorts of things, I'd imagine that is true. But Scott Morris hasn't been called a suspect, or anything. So for now, we'll just act as if he isn't.

It is worth it to note, however, that there's a weird pattern to the disappearances of many women. The ones who are married, sometimes in difficult marriages, often disappear while "jogging," or doing some other kind of outdoor activity.

Laci Peterson did. She supposedly went for a walk. Her purse, keys, and cell phone were left behind.

Lori Hacking vanished while jogging. She never came home, never went to work.

Kelly Currin Morris went to find a dog. She left her keys, cell, purse behind. Never came back, never returned to work. And then her house burned. Fire deliberately set.

We can't write the rest of Kelly's story yet, because we don't really know what's happened to her. But don't you get the feeling the script has been written, and that the next acts will be horribly predictable? I know I do. One person may think this story isn't predictable. But just as time passed and the fire was proven to be arson, a few more days will go by and we'll hear the police making less neutral-sounding statements. They know this script, too. They're just building a strong-enough case to bring it to its proper denouement.

If you have any tips about this case for the True Crime Report, my e-mail address is embedded in my name on the right side of the page.

[NBC17.com, NewsObserver.com, HendersonDispatch.com, WTVD, ABC in Raleigh-Durham, NC.]

View Comments (16) | Post Your Comment

Categories: missing persons, unsolved
Tags: arson, Granville County, Kelly Currin Morris, Scott Morris, Sheriff David Smith, Wanda Hollis, William Scott Morris

Comments
Kat said:
Steve, I live less than 20 miles from where this is taking place and I have to say the information about this case is very strange. When she was first reported missing the media indicated she went missing on the 4th, and that her husband was at work and her children were in school. Then we find out she was last seen on the 3rd, reported to have left to find the dog which I have heard was so attached to her that it would never have left the property without her. North Carolina already has 3 other cases of murdered wives where the spouse is a 'person of interest', however no arrests have been made (some after several years of investigation). Hopefully this case will be solved soon, and whatever the outcome, Kelly's family and friends will have a chance to know what happened to her so they can have some type of closure.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 09:43:00 AM
Melly said:
Does NC have particularly difficult divorce laws? Or perhaps listening to news about other cases sparks ideas in husbands' minds? Just seems like there are a lot of publicized cases in NC where a wife disappears/dies under suspicious circumstances that point to the husband, who basically stands untouched with a "well, I didn't do it..."

Posted 09/13/2008 at 10:15:05 AM
Colleen S said:
It seems this will have an unhappy ending. My question is ....
did the dog return home or found?
I can't find any articles that mention that.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 01:02:04 PM
Kat said:
I don't think the divorce laws are any stricter than most states. It is hard to figure out why there are so many domestic violence murders here. I am a transplant to this area, but it has been this way since I moved here. As for Colleens question about the dog, I have been trying to find out if the dog returned home (if it ever left), or if it is also missing.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 01:10:00 PM
Colleen S said:
I keep thinking that if my husband had gone out to find a missing dog and did not come back my first reaction would be to start looking around, calling friends, police and ambulance. That is fishy in itself.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 01:13:53 PM
John said:
Melly said:

"Does NC have particularly difficult divorce laws?"

Of all the states I'm aware of, NC does have one of the longer separation requirements, so perhaps that is a factor (although I doubt it's the driving force in these husbands' minds) - you have to be legally separated (and living apart) for one year before the divorce can be finalized.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 04:46:00 PM
A Voice of Sanity said:
Laci Peterson did. She supposedly went for a walk. Her purse, keys, and cell phone were left behind.

Her cell phone didn't work - bad battery. Her purse was found back in the house. It contained the grass clippings described by Karen Servas as being on the leash. She wouldn't need her keys to go to the house opposite her, the one that was being burgled at the time she was abducted.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 05:49:21 PM
Diane said:
In this WRAL video, a neighbor said Scott Morris retrieved the dog from her yard when the home was on fire. She asked him did Kelly know it was burning and he said he hadn't been able to reach her (by phone). The reporter also interviewed a store owner who said the couple were having marital problems.
www.wral.com/news/local/video/3493040/

Posted 09/13/2008 at 05:52:05 PM
Nana said:
to A Voice of Sanity:

You're kidding, right? I didn't realize there were still active Scott Peterson groupies.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 07:30:04 PM
Steve Huff said:
Nana, this person is not kidding. They will leave a comment on EVERY SINGLE POST OR ARTICLE allowing comments regarding Scott Peterson if they can. No reference to the Peterson case is too tangential for AVoS. Please, just do as I have learned to do and don't feed the troll.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 07:34:10 PM
kat said:
ABC Channel 11 in Raleigh just announced that the sheriff has finally stated that the husband is a 'person of interest'. They also said the search for tomorrow has been called off, but did not give a reason.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 07:51:20 PM
Steve Huff said:
Well, that's a "less neutral-sounding" statement, ain't it? We all know this script. It still amazes me when the guys who re-write the script act as though they think they're original enough that they won't be caught.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 07:55:41 PM
Colleen S said:
Why, why, why do people think the only option is (alleged) murder to end an unhappy domestic situation?
I know there isn't an answer but I just had to ask.


Posted 09/13/2008 at 08:24:22 PM
Soobs said:
Remind me never to move to N.C. if I am having marital problems. Seems all these "men" are working from the same handbook.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 09:02:16 PM
beachbunny said:
I live a few houses down from Scott and Kelly...our kids grew up going to the same pre-school across the street from their home. Locals talk...so this is what is being said around the "local store." Apparently there is talk that Scott got off with murder in 2000...don't know if that's true or not. Also...a good friend of Kelly's said that he was always making comments to her that he could drop her in a well and no one would ever find her body. I mean, they have been all up and down this road with horses and 4-wheelers and on foot...it's not looking too good. they're searching ponds, lakes, wells, etc...using helecoptors...and STILL no Kelly. I just don't understand why Scott wouldn't help with the search. It's not making any sense. If she went looking for the dog the night before the fire and didn't come home that night, why didn't he start to worry? It's so sad. Kelly is a great mom to those kids and to think the worse right now...it breaks my heart.

Posted 09/13/2008 at 10:26:18 PM
oxfordmom said:
This is the second time that I've heard this about him getting away with murder on a previous occasion. Does anyone know anything about him, is he from durham, butner? I dont think he grew up in granville county.? Does anyone know more about this previous trouble he may or may not have been in?

Posted 09/13/2008 at 11:03:58 PM

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Looking for the Dog: The Disappearance of Kelly Currin Morris

[SoUncool]

OK, so I want to know the status of the dog too.

[petrina]

and i wanna know about the previous murder talk.

[Moroanca]

Husband of missing Stem woman now 'of interest'

From staff reports
The Herald-Sun
Sep 15, 2008

STEM -- The husband of a missing 28-year-old southern Granville County woman has been named a "person of interest" in her disappearance and a fire at the couple's house.

Granville County Sheriff David T. Smith said Sunday that the investigation into the death of Kelly Currin Morris, missing for more than a week, is ongoing.

"We'll regroup tomorrow and see what direction we go from here," Smith said.

Granville County officials would not say Sunday night whether they had spoken with her husband, Scott Morris, since naming him a person of interest in the case.

Arson has been ruled the cause of a fire at the Morris house on Tump Wilkins Road, southeast of Stem.

Morris' car was later found abandoned about a mile away in a future subdivision. A cellular phone, keys and a purse were found.

Granville County officials said Sunday that the search for Kelly Morris is continuing.

This is an eye-opener "Death" is now mentioned by the LE. They indeed know more than they have been telling us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moroanca]

Husband of missing Stem woman now 'of interest'

From staff reports
The Herald-Sun
Sep 15, 2008

STEM -- The husband of a missing 28-year-old southern Granville County woman has been named a "person of interest" in her disappearance and a fire at the couple's house.

Granville County Sheriff David T. Smith said Sunday that the investigation into the death of Kelly Currin Morris, missing for more than a week, is ongoing.

"We'll regroup tomorrow and see what direction we go from here," Smith said.

Granville County officials would not say Sunday night whether they had spoken with her husband, Scott Morris, since naming him a person of interest in the case.

Arson has been ruled the cause of a fire at the Morris house on Tump Wilkins Road, southeast of Stem.

Morris' car was later found abandoned about a mile away in a future subdivision. A cellular phone, keys and a purse were found.

Granville County officials said Sunday that the search for Kelly Morris is continuing.

This is an eye-opener "Death" is now mentioned by the LE. They indeed know more than they have been telling us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.heraldsun.com/index.html
After thinking about this post I made this morning with the article from the Herald Sun newspaper, I decided to call the news manager "Nancy" (did not make out her last name) and found out that the reporter used the word "death" a bit loosely.

"Granville County Sheriff David T. Smith said Sunday that the investigation into the death of Kelly Currin Morris, missing for more than a week, is ongoing."

She stated that this will be "retracted" in tomorrows paper and the sheriff did not make that statement after all.

[Unamused Cat]

Well, it has been two months that Kelly has been missing. No new leads and the search has been scaled down.

[Guccimama]

Here is a link to an update from 11/21. As we already felt, they are pursuing the husband further. I mean, LE always looks at the spouse....why do these people think they wouldn't be considered....I just can't fathom this.

http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_...ment.html#more

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Still no sign of her...

Family and friends of Kelly Currin Morris will gather Sept. 3 to offer prayers and memories of the Granville County mother. Morris was last seen at her Stem home one year ago on that date.
[...]

Her father Pat Currin has pushed to keep Kelly’s story alive. He and his wife, Juanita – Kelly Morris' stepmother – have searched relentlessly to find her.

"Kelly's got two small girls, 5 and 8 years old. They need to know where their mama is – obviously as bad or worse than we do," he said. "My determination is driven because of her children."

As the Currins search, authorities continue to look into what might have happened to her.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5856841/

Website: http://www.KellyCurrinMorris.com/

[Hellsbells]

The Granville County Sheriff's Office has charged Scott Morris with first-degree murder in the death of his wife Kelly Currin Morris. The sheriff's office said Wednesday that searchers found a human skull on some property near Sam Moss Hayes Road in Creedmoor on Monday.

The State Medical Examiner's office used dental records to identify the body. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?se...cal&id=7124790

[Hellsbells]

Slaying nets husband 13 years

In a plea deal Monday, William Scott Morris admitted to murdering his wife, Kelly Morris, in exchange for a sentence that will put him behind bars for at least 13 years.

Granville County District Attorney Sam Currin said Scott Morris pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder and was sentenced to 13 to 16 years.

Currin said there "were a number of reasons" his office decided to offer a plea deal, one reason being consideration for the couple's two young daughters.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/...-13-years.html

What a fucking lame sentence he will be out in 6 years or less

[VXIII]

Thank you HellsBells for following through with an update, was her body ever found?

[Hellsbells]

was her body ever found?

They found some of her bones

The first came in September 2008, when the then-28-year-old disappeared without a trace. The second came 14 months later, when her partial skeletal remains were found discarded in a remote wooded area.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...is_Family_Home

[princessgrandma]

Thirteen years. What a total crock of shit.

So, with good behavior, maybe he'll serve even less time. This is outrageous. He'll get out, get a new wife and start all over again. Was anything more said about the mention of his getting off previous murder charges? I'd like to know more about this. This asshole could be a freakin serial killer or something.

Sometimes I hate living in NC.