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, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, Froberg has been identified as a suspect in the murder investigation of Violi dating back to 1996.
Robert Scott Froberg
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.
Authorities said new evidence has been identified in the long-unsolved case, marking a significant step forward in the investigation into Violi’s 1996 kidnapping and murder.
During the press conference, Froberg’s criminal history was mentioned, declaring Froberg as the same escaped Alabama prisoner in 1996, serving a 40-year sentence for robbery.
“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 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…Morgan was a fighter….She screamed. She resisted.”
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.
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.
Authorities did not say whether charges have been filed but described the newly identified evidence as a critical breakthrough in the decades-old case.
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.
