Suspect in Morgan Violi murder case formally charged
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Nearly 30 years after the death of a Bowling Green child, the suspect in her kidnapping and murder case appeared in court Wednesday facing charges.
On Wednesday, March 18, Robert Scott Froberg appeared in court and was formally charged by a grand jury with kidnapping resulting in death.
The court appearance follows the kidnapping and death of 7-year-old Morgan Jade Violi, a case dating back to 1996 that has heavily weighed on the Bowling Green community for decades.
According to the indictment, Froberg “did unlawfully seize, confine, inveigle, kidnap, abduct, carry away and hold Morgan Violi for ransom, reward, or otherwise, and, in committing or in furtherance of the commission of the offense, willfully transported Morgan Violi in interstate commerce from Kentucky to Tennessee, and Morgan Violi’s death resulted.”
Just last month, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky announced Froberg was tied to Violi’s case through DNA evidence and modern DNA technology.
Earlier this afternoon, the federal grand jury for the Western District of Kentucky returned a one-count indictment against Robert Scott Froberg, charging him with kidnapping Morgan Violi, transporting her across state lines, and her death resulting from those actions. This charge carries two possible sentences, either life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Morgan’s family has waited thirty long years for answers to their worst nightmare. Today marks another step in the legal process of giving them those answers and, most importantly, bringing justice for Morgan.
In the coming days, my office will seek a writ of extradition from the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, which brings Froberg into federal custody to face the charge levied against him today. Once the writ is signed, it will quickly be sent to governor of Alabama for her consideration. We anticipate it will be approved and Froberg will soon thereafter be transferred to federal custody where he will be afforded the right to an attorney, the opportunity to review discovery, and contest this charge if he so chooses.
Seeking justice for Morgan and her family will remain one of the highest priorities of my office.
As with any indictment, this indictment against Robert Scott Froberg contains only allegations. Froberg remains innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky Kyle Bumgarner
Robert Scott Froberg | Photo source Alabama Department of Corrections
The timeline of this case
April 3, 1996:
Kyle G. Bumgarner, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, said Froberg escaped an Alabama prison, ultimately making it to Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania.
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 Bumgarner. Froberg was arrested and incarcerated at the Northumberland County Jail in Pennsylvania.
July 16, 1996:
Froberg escaped the Northumberland County Jail in Pennsylvania, according to officials.
July 23, 1996:
Investigators say a van, which would later be recovered in Franklin, Tennessee, was stolen from Dayton, Ohio. According to Bumgarner, that same van was stolen less than half a mile from where Froberg’s parents resided.
July 24, 1996:
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.
“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,” Bumgarner stated during a February 2026 press conference.
According to 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 Violi’s death before leaving her body in the woods.
October 26, 1996:
Violi’s remains were located in Robertson County, Tennessee, roughly three months after her disappearance.
Froberg was later arrested in association with his prison escapes and a robbery and remained incarcerated on a 40-year prison sentence in Alabama.
February 2026:
According to Bumgarner, on Thursday, February 26, 2026, the agency filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, charging Froberg with kidnapping resulting in death.
Authorities said evidence, thanks to new DNA technology, tied Froberg to the long-unsolved case. Forensic evidence initially was gathered in 1996 fromthe maroon Chevrolet van abandoned at a truck stop just south of I-65 in Williamson County, Tennessee, according to Bumgarner.
He said 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 said. 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, Bumgarner said.
The next steps
Bumgarner has stated 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.
News 40 will continue to bring the latest developments in this case.
