Repeat Rapist Guilty in Gruesome O.C. Murder

It took a jury just two hours Thursday to convict Edward Patrick Morgan Jr. of the mutilation murder of a woman outside an Orange nightclub--a verdict that could bring a death sentence for the convicted rapist.

Morgan, 30, of Orange, looked straight ahead and had no visible reaction as the Orange County Superior Court jury pronounced him guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault in the death of Leanora Annette Wong on May 20, 1994.

The same jury returns Tuesday for what is expected be another two weeks of testimony and deliberation to determine whether Morgan should be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The first phase of the trial, lasting just three days, was as unusual for its brevity as for its gruesome nature. Members of Wong’s family sobbed and squeezed their eyes shut as the prosecutor showed jurors photographs of the victim’s horribly battered face and body.

The case sparked widespread outrage at the time of Morgan’s arrest among many who believed the system had failed to protect society against the man, who had been convicted of raping three young women in the previous decade.

He was first convicted of two unrelated rapes in 1984, and was allowed to plead guilty to a reduced charge for a third rape in 1990, when his arrest on the more serious charge of rape involving “force or fear” was lowered to statutory rape.

Following his arrest for a fourth rape in 1993 that could have put him away for a dozen years, prosecutors elected not to put him on trial but instead let prison authorities revoke his parole, which put him behind bars for only 12 months.

It wasn’t long after his release from this prison stay that Morgan encountered his last victim in that nightclub in Orange.

During the trial, Morgan’s defense lawyer admitted his client killed Wong, 23, of Huntington Beach, but said it was a “rage killing” that lacked premeditation. Defense lawyer Julian W. Bailey said Morgan should be convicted of a lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Bailey summoned no witnesses, adding to the surprising speed of the trial’s guilt phase. Morgan, advised by the judge of his right to testify, declined.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis Rosenblum said Morgan led Wong, whom he had just met, to a secluded area of the parking lot and beat her, stomping hard enough to leave his boot print on her skin and smashing her skull against a concrete wall. A pathologist testified that Wong also showed signs of strangulation.

Pathologist Richard Fukumoto concluded that during the attack, a portion of which was captured by a surveillance camera, Morgan mutilated Wong’s pelvis with a knife or steel reinforcement bar.

Rosenblum apologized to jurors before showing them grisly crime-scene photographs of Wong, a UC Riverside graduate who was assistant manager of a footwear store near South Coast Plaza.

“It’s a photograph you’re never going to forget,” Rosenblum said during his closing argument earlier Thursday. “I want you to see what this man did to this woman.”

Rosenblum portrayed Morgan as a cunning womanizer who somehow persuaded Wong to leave the club just two hours after they first met. A cocktail waitress at the club testified that Morgan also had grabbed her that night and propositioned her with a trip to Las Vegas.

“A real charmer isn’t he--Mr. Morgan? A real ladies’ man,” Rosenblum said.

Bailey argued that despite the horrific wounds, there was no evidence Morgan planned the killing. Bailey told jurors the wounds suggested a murder that took place in a “horrible fit of rage” lasting only a few minutes. He denied allegations that the killing occurred during a kidnapping or sexual attack with a foreign object. Those allegations, included in the guilty verdict, make Morgan eligible for the death penalty.

Rosenblum countered that the extensive injuries showed Morgan intended to kill Wong. He said the attack could have lasted up to 17 minutes--the amount of time the surveillance camera captured the movements of two people near a concrete enclosure where Wong was found dead.

The videotape, played back in court, shows two indistinct figures in the darkness. Morgan is seen at one point dragging his victim in full view of the mounted camera and later lying down near the victim. Several times, he is seen leaving the enclosure and returning.

Morgan also left a bloody palm print on a radiator pipe near where Wong lay dead.

“This was a cold, calculating killing and kidnapping of this young woman,” Rosenblum said.

Wong’s body was found near the now-defunct Australian Beach Club later that morning.

Morgan’s roommate, who accompanied him to the bar on the night of the killing, grew suspicious and notified police after seeing news accounts carrying a description of the killer. The roommate, Robert Bogard, said Morgan drank at least three beers but appeared coherent before leaving.

Morgan was arrested three days later in Northern California. He initially denied any role to police investigators and maintained his innocence in interviews with reporters.

Authorities described Morgan as a sexual predator whose likable demeanor helped him persuade several of his victims to trust him even though they just met.

Longtime friends who watched Morgan grow up in La Palma described him as charming, but also a powder keg of anger that exploded into view at times in confrontations with his parents. As a teen, he was a wrestler and dreamed of being a professional bodybuilder.

At the time of the killing, Morgan was staying in Bogard’s living room in Orange. Bogard, who knew Morgan since childhood, said Morgan had just found work as an apartment manager. Bogard testified that Morgan seemed to have a normal upbringing and showed no signs of trouble on the night of the murder.