Man Sentenced to Death for Rape, Murder

A former high school wrestler who raped and beat a woman to death outside the nightclub where they met was sentenced to death Friday.

Edward Patrick Morgan, 30, his feet shackled, showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Richard Weatherspoon signed his death warrant. The jury that convicted Morgan in April had recommended capital punishment for the death of Leanora Wong, 23.

His arrest caused an outcry when it was revealed that Morgan had three prior rape arrests. Two cases involved 16-year-olds and were plea-bargained down to a less serious offense, unlawful sex with a minor.

He was on parole May 20, 1994, when he met Wong at a nightclub in Orange.

He was convicted of attacking her in a utility enclosure outside the club, slamming her head against a concrete wall and violating her sexually with a foreign object.

During sentencing hearings, he told jurors he was tormented by what he had done. Asked if he wanted to stay alive, Morgan said “not necessarily.”

“Here’s a man who [has] been sitting in jail for a couple of years following a horrible crime, and he’s had nothing to think about except for what he did,” said defense attorney Julian Bailey.

“He should have [thought] about it before he killed somebody. Now he says, ‘Sorry.’ That doesn’t help,” said Nora Wong, Leanora’s mother.

Morgan was arrested in Quincy, in northern Plumas County, where he went to hide with friends.