With no history of mental illness on record, this father told the mother of his 2-year-old daughter that he was taking her to see a movie when he picked her up from the home of his ex.
Instead, he drove to a bridge where there was a creek below, stopped his car, removed the child and her car seat and threw her over the bridge into the water below.
In court on Wednesday to face his charges, he apologized…but not for murdering the baby.
Moments before he was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in prison, Arthur Morgan III apologized to the child’s mother for the breakdown of their relationship.
“I want to say I’m sorry for the deterioration of what I thought was a beautiful friendship between the two of us that blossomed into a daughter,” Morgan told Imani Benton. “For anybody that was truly affected by this, I hope we can all heal from this situation, knowing Tierra is in a better place.”
Morgan is seen winking at the camera as he is being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. This was apparently an earlier court photo because he did get a chance to explain himself and his actions to Superior Court Judge Anthony Mellaci Jr.
Arthur Morgan III winks as he leaves courtroom. Inset photo of 2-year-old Tierra.
Arthur Morgan III winks as he leaves courtroom. Inset photo of 2-year-old Tierra.
In this “explanation” Morgan complained about pictures in the media that made him look inappropriately angry or happy, and said had he known he would be criticized for his attire, he would not have worn designer clothing to court. He attempted to justify the courtroom wink following his conviction as a reassurance to his sister that he was not upset at the verdict.
Morgan was found guilty in April of murdering Tierra Morgan-Glover by tossing her into a creek, strapped into a car seat and weighed down by a tire jack, in November 2011.
The child’s mother wore a dress embroidered with her daughter’s name and photos attached to it in court. She says that she hopes Morgan suffers in prison.
“I don’t understand why she was taken from me,” Benton said. “It does give me peace to know that she is in Heaven with God, and (Morgan) will pay for what he did to her, to me and to everyone else. No good will come to him.”
Both the prosecutor and the judge lamented that New Jersey has abolished the death penalty.
“You’d be candidate No. 1 for its imposition,” Mellaci told Morgan. “Your actions were horrific, unthinkable and appalling.
Making sure the court was aware that the child suffered before she finally succumbed to the water, prosecutors alleged Morgan killed the girl because he was angry that Benton had broken off their relationship.
