Arthur Morgan III appears in state Superior Court in Freehold on Dec. 5. Morgan is charged with the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Tierra Morgan-Glover. MIKE DAVIS The family of Tierra Morgan-Glover, the 2-yearold found dead Nov. 22, watched grief-stricken as her father, Arthur Morgan III, appeared for arraignment in New Jersey Superior Court in Freehold on Dec. 5.
Surrounded by court officers, a shackled Morgan, 27, charged with the murder of his daughter, showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully began to read him his rights. Asked if he wanted the complaint against him to be read, Morgan replied, “No, that’s fine.”
Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Richard Incremona requested that bail remain at $10 million, cash only, due to the seriousness of the crime
Morgan, Incremona told the court, murdered his 2-year-old daughter, who was found strapped in her car seat partially submerged in a stream in Wall Township. “To ensure that she didn’t survive, he attached a car jack to the seat as an anchor,” said Incremona, who told the court Tierra was alive and alert at the time.
Agasp rose from members of the child’s family sitting in the back of the crowded courtroom. Some could be seen reaching forward to put a comforting hand on Imani Benton, Tierra’s mother.
Another family member sat with her hands in a prayer gesture, tears streaming down her face as she listened.
Incremona said evidence places Morgan, whose last-known address was Eatontown, at the scene at Shark River Park and proceeded to describe what they believe were Morgan’s actions.
“He threw his daughter from a bridge and walked away… he went to a friend’s house and drank,” Incremona said. “He left Monmouth County … ended up in San Diego. It’s apparent he wasn’t going to come back.”
He described Morgan as a flight risk and a danger to others.
Allison Tucker, Morgan’s public defender, argued that the bail was excessive and reminded the judge that Morgan “is due the presumption of innocence.”
However, Scully said that state court guidelines require a judge to consider several factors when setting the bail, including the severity of the crime and potential risk of flight.
“He utilized several modes of transportation with one goal: to avoid apprehension,” Scully said. “Just considering these facts … it is manifestly appropriate for bail to be set at $10 million.”
Should Morgan post bail, he must surrender his passport, Scully added.
As court officers escorted Morgan out of the courtroom through a side door, Imani Benton and her family were ushered out.
Larry Glover, Morgan’s uncle, said he could not believe that he could have committed the murder.
“He loved that baby,” he said. “I never thought him capable of doing this.”
While most saw Morgan as unemotional, Glover said he saw sadness, fear and shock.
“I don’t think it has hit him yet, what he has done,” he said.
Tierra, who lived with her mother in Lakehurst, had been missing since Nov. 21, when her father failed to return her pursuant to a court-approved visitation agreement.
A group of teenagers discovered the body of a young child in the Wall section of Shark River Park. When police arrived, they located the body of a toddler, later identified as Tierra, strapped in a car seat and partially submerged in a stream below an overpass.
An examination conducted by the medical examiner concluded the manner of death as homicide and the cause of death as homicidal violence, including submersion in water.
Morgan was last seen Nov. 21 between the hours of 7 and 8 p.m. on the platform of the Asbury Park train station.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office charged him with Tierra’s murder Nov. 23.
He was arrested in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 29 by members of the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Morgan agreed to waive extradition and was returned to New Jersey to face prosecution and charges of endangering the welfare of a child and interference with custody that were signed in Ocean County, where Tierra and her mother lived.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and state law.