BREAKING: Suspect identified in nearly 30-year case of murdered child Morgan Violi, US Attorney’s office says
DEVELOPING UPDATES AS MORE INFORMATION IS MADE AVAILABLE:
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) — Federal and local authorities announced a major development Friday in the nearly 30-year-old abduction and killing of 7-year-old Morgan Jade Violi, calling it one of the most significant actions taken by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in at least a decade.
Friday morning, according to Kyle G. Bumgarner, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, Robert Scott Froberg has been identified as a suspect in the murder investigation of Violi dating back to 1996.
“Morgan’s family never gave up on her,” Kyle Bumgarner said. “Nor did this community give up on Morgan, but this community was also changed by Morgan’s abduction 30 years ago. We remember when she was abducted. We remember the outpouring of support, but we also remember the fear. We remember that we were concerned about our kids in the driveway, innocently riding a bike or playing basketball. We feared our kids might be next.”
According to Kyle Bumgarner, on Thursday, Feb. 26, the agency filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, charging Froberg with kidnapping resulting in death.
Kyle Bumgarner said the charges will be filed under 18 U.S.C. § 1201, which is defined as kidnapping in the unlawful seizing, confining or carrying away of a person for ransom, reward or otherwise, when transported across state/foreign borders, within federal jurisdiction, or targeting officials. It carries penalties of up to life imprisonment, with the death penalty possible if the victim dies, according to the DOJ.
What Led to Froberg’s Arrest
Authorities said evidence, thanks to new DNA technology, tied Froberg to the long-unsolved case, marking a significant step forward in the investigation into Violi’s 1996 kidnapping and murder. Forensic evidence initially was gathered in 1996 from a maroon Chevrolet van abandoned at a truck stop just south of I-65 in Williamson County, Tennessee, according to Kyle Bumgarner. He said law enforcement confirmed that van had been entered as stolen out of Dayton, Ohio just days before.
He says evidence, a fiber found in Morgan’s hair, ultimately tied both Morgan and Froberg to the van. The lab determined “the fiber was consistent with the seat cushion in the abandoned van,” he says. The suspect remained unidentified for many years.
With recent advancements and forensic testing of DNA evidence, the FBI sent a strand of hair recovered from the van for testing, and the FBI found a DNA profile extracted from the hair was associated with Froberg, according to Kyle Bumgarner.
During the press conference, Froberg’s criminal history was mentioned, declaring Froberg had been an escaped Alabama prisoner in 1996 and had been serving a 40-year sentence for robbery.
On April 3, 1996, Kyle Bumgarner says Froberg escaped prison, ultimately making it to Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. On May 20, 1996, Froberg was reported to have been in a treehouse making contact with a 7-year-old boy, officials say. That child ran home and told his parents, who called the police, who encountered Froberg, who then fled, according to Kyle Bumgarner.
Froberg was arrested and incarcerated at the Northumberland County Jail in Pennsylvania. On July 16, 1996, officials say Froberg escaped that jail.
According to officials, seven days later, the maroon van, later tied to Morgan’s abduction, was stolen from Ohio. The van was stolen less than half a mile from where Froberg’s parents resided, Kyle Bumgarner says.
Morgan was abducted around 12:30 p.m. on July 24, 1996, from the parking lot of her family’s apartment at Colony Apartments in Bowling Green. Witnesses reported seeing a white man driving an older maroon 1978 Chevrolet van grab the child and force her into the passenger side of the vehicle before speeding away. Investigators said the van had been stolen the day before in Dayton, Ohio and was later recovered in Franklin, Tennessee.
“Froberg admitted that he escaped the Alabama prison…Froberg admitted that he traveled south through Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Huntsville, Alabama, where he intended to hide at the residence of a male nurse he met while in the Alabama prison system,” said Kyle Bumgarner while walking through how Froberg said his escape and eventually the situation with Violi allegedly unfolded. “Froberg admitted that he pulled off I-65 in Bowling Green to find drugs. He turned into the Colony Apartments just off of Scottsville Road, where he spotted Morgan. Froberg admitted to abducting Morgan and throwing her in the back of the van. Froberg admitted that with Morgan in the back of the van, he traveled south until he pulled off the interstate in White House, Tennessee. All the while, Morgan fought. She screamed. She resisted. Morgan was a fighter.”
According to Kyle Bumgarner, Froberg admitted to parking in a wooded area in White House, Tennessee, where he climbed in the back of the van and ultimately caused her death before leaving her body in the woods.
Her remains were found three months later, on Oct. 26, 1996, in Robertson County, Tennessee. Investigators previously said a white, older-model Ford van with a louvered window was seen parked near the location a day after the abduction, roughly 100 feet from where her remains were discovered.
“In 1996, Morgan really became a household name, a cautionary tale and a reminder that even in a community such as ours, evil and tragedy could reach out and touch us,” said Kori Beck Bumgarner, Warren County commonwealth’s attorney.
The suspect was described at the time as a white male in his 20s with collar-length sandy brown hair, a slender but muscular build, facial hair and a sharp, distinct nose. Based on that description, the suspect was said to be between approximately 49 and 59 years old now.
It would take several decades before a suspect would be identified through evidence.
The press conference was held at the Bowling Green Police Department with representatives from the FBI’s Louisville Field Office, the Bowling Green Police Department, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 8th Judicial Circuit and the Robertson County Sheriff’s office.
William Curtis, FBI Supervisory Special Agent, said during the press conference, “Not a week has gone by in the last 30 years that we haven’t received tips and information related to Morgan’s abduction.”
“For almost three decades, we have not forgotten the name Morgan Violi,” current Bowling Green police chief Michael Delaney mentioned.
Froberg is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Officials said the investigation remains ongoing.
