O.C. Jury Recommends Death for Convicted Killer Morgan

A jury Wednesday returned a swift verdict of death against a paroled rapist convicted of savagely killing a young woman he had just met at an Orange nightclub.

Edward Patrick Morgan, 30, sat impassively as the verdict was announced after 3 1/2 hours of deliberations. The same jury had deliberated two hours April 25 before convicting him of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault in the May 20, 1994, beating and strangulation of Leanora Annette Wong.

Jurors said their decision on the death penalty was made easier by gruesome crime scene photos of Wong shown during the trial and by Morgan’s seemingly indifferent demeanor as he took the stand to apologize for the slaying.

“It could have been me or my friends,” said juror Heather Rieger, 22, of Yorba Linda. “Times are dangerous.”

Another juror, who would only identify herself as “juror No. 6,” said the decision to sentence someone to death was “packed with emotion.”

“Even though there was never any doubt, it was a rough decision,” she said. “But, the [prosecutor] put on a very convincing case.”

Wong’s murder caused a furor among many who believed the justice system had failed to protect society against Morgan, who had escaped the most serious charges in two of three sexual assault convictions.

Morgan had been paroled from prison just months before he went partying at the now-defunct Australian Beach Club and met Wong, a 23-year-old UC Riverside graduate who had only recently moved from her family’s Riverside home to help manage an Orange County footwear store.

Her battered body, beaten almost beyond recognition, was found the next morning in a secluded spot outside the club. Part of the attack was captured on a surveillance camera, and a bloody print at the scene belonged to Morgan.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis Rosenblum said jurors told him they were not swayed by the defense’s testimony of Morgan’s severe emotional problems as a child.

“They felt that no matter what, this guy would never stop,” Rosenblum said. “Because of his nature, he was never going to stop committing these crimes.”

Tearful relatives of the victim said they were grateful for the jury’s verdict and the work of police and prosecutors, but that nothing will ever take their loss away.

“She was a joy to us and a special part of our lives,” her father, Ben Wong Sr., said, his voice choking with emotion. “We miss her very much.”

Family members left the courtroom during the most graphic portions of the trial, including the playing of the surveillance tape.

“We wanted to just remember our daughter as she was, beautiful and smiling,” Nora Wong, the victim’s mother, said.

They also left the courtroom when Morgan testified during the trial’s penalty phase.

“I don’t think he was [sorry] or else he would have never done it,” Ben Wong Sr. said. “He had the possibility to stop.”

Defense attorney Julian Bailey said his client was not surprised by the verdict, considering how quickly it came.

“The evidence in this case was so strong, it really didn’t come as a surprise, but it’s still tough to take,” Bailey said.

Morgan had testified that it didn’t matter to him if he was executed for his crime.

“There’s nothing worse than doing something you can’t undo,” he testified.

“What are the worst feelings you have?” his attorney asked at one point.

“What I’ve done,” Morgan responded. “You know, there’s no excuse.”

Bailey had asked for a punishment of life imprisonment without parole, suggesting Morgan’s childhood emotional problems--he had been placed in a psychiatric hospital for five months--partly explained how he ended up on trial for his life.

“Do we execute people who come into this world different?” Bailey asked.

“Do we kill them all and let God sort out the rest?”

But Rosenblum told jurors Morgan has “an evil mind” and deserved to die for enticing Wong to an especially horrific death.

Wong “obviously was impressed by this man’s charm and good looks, which he knows how to use,” Rosenblum said during his closing argument Tuesday. “She trusted him.”

Rosenblum ticked off the litany of Wong’s severe fractures and other injuries, some inflicted with a knife or steel rod.

“What more can you do to another human being? How bad does it have to get?” the prosecutor asked.

Morgan will be formally sentenced July 19 by Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon.

Before the penalty phase, the defense had conceded Morgan inflicted “unspeakable” wounds on Wong, but that Morgan acted in a “blind rage” and didn’t plan on killing the young woman. Morgan testified during his murder trial that he didn’t remember much about the attack because he had been drinking.

Morgan’s attorney did not call any witnesses until the penalty phase, when he also presented jurors with school records indicating Morgan was “emotionally disturbed,” had a poor relationship with his parents, especially his mother, and was placed in special-education classes throughout his education in La Palma.

The defense’s witnesses included a high school friend who described his former buddy’s temper as “very volatile,” especially if he had been drinking.

During the penalty phase, the prosecution called to the stand three of Morgan’s past victims, including one young woman whose rape a decade earlier bore striking similarities to Wong’s attack.

The woman, 16 at the time, said Morgan, a former high school wrestler and athlete, seemed like a nice guy when she met him at a party on Oct. 21, 1984. He asked her to take a walk outside, and she accepted.

Once outside, the woman said he turned violent, forced her into a dark, secluded area between two houses and threatened to kill her with a knife and beat her head against the ground as he raped her.

Two other victims testified Tuesday that they too had been raped by Morgan when they were 16, although their cases were “plea bargained” to unlawful sex with a minor.

Wong’s parents said they hope they will be able to witness Morgan’s execution, and have set up a college scholarship fund for other young women so their daughter’s death will not have been in vain.

Scholarship contributions can be sent to the Lea Wong Memorial Scholarship Fund, Riverside Campus Federal Credit Union, 3595 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507-4697. Family members say a receipt will be mailed upon request, and ask that donors include a name and address so that the contribution can be acknowledged.

Times staff writers Antonio Olivo and Jerry Hicks contributed to this report.