THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 10, 1995 TAG: 9511100526
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
A Hampton woman suspected of orchestrating the disappearance of her husband of two months - a man twice her age - pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to four counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.
And in the process, Deborah Lynn Morris, 45, conceded that her missing husband, Eugene Bryce Morris, 73, was murdered in 1987. His body has never been found, however, and it was unclear Thursday whether her admissions in a plea agreement will result in additional charges. She has not been charged with murder.
Morris is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 5. She faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.
During an appearance Thursday before Federal District Judge Raymond A. Jackson, Morris repeatedly acknowledged the truth of a September indictment that detailed how Eugene Morris was defrauded of $95,000 and murdered.
Investigators said Deborah Morris won the heart of Eugene Morris, a World War II Navy veteran and retired maintenance man for the Newport News schools, and married him on April 1, 1987. At the time, she was 37.
The next day, she obtained signature authority over a bank account she maintained with Eugene Morris and into which his Newport News retirement benefits, Social Security payments and veterans benefits were routinely deposited.
Within three weeks, Deborah Morris became beneficiary to a group insurance policy Morris had as a retired city employee.
Less than a month after their marriage, Deborah Morris petitioned to have Eugene Morris involuntarily committed to a hospital, claiming he was suicidal and homicidal. The petition was denied April 29 after a commitment hearing.
In May 1987, after moving her husband into a rooming house by himself, Deborah Morris obtained a power of attorney from him.
On May 27, 1987, her brother, Michael K. Russell, bought three handguns. That same day, Deborah Morris phoned her husband and told him her car had broken down. She told him to meet her at another location.
``Having been lured by defendant Morris from his residence on this pretext,'' the indictment said, ``Eugene Bryce Morris was murdered by Michael K. Russell.''
An hour later, Deborah Morris showed up at her husband's rooming house wanting to know where he was.
Two days later, Morris reported her husband missing.
For the next eight years, Morris collected her husband's benefits, the indictment said. When the City of Newport News inquired about Eugene Morris earlier this year, the indictment said, Deborah Morris responded by forging her husband's signature on letters to the city.
The city stopped sending checks when a clerk noted that the signature for Eugene Morris did not match one that was on file.
Over eight years there were rumors and suspicions and several investigations. The Secret Service began its own inquiry after learning that $95,000 had been withdrawn from Eugene Morris' account.
No action was taken until this year, however, when investigators moved swiftly after learning that Deborah Morris was living with another elderly man. She was arrested at the motel where she was living with her new boyfriend.
Just three weeks before Morris' arrest, the other person who could have explained what happened died. Russell was killed when he was mangled in a winch on a scallop boat. by CNB