MURRAY, Utah — It’s been more than a year since Laurice Williamson lost her daughter Morgan.
“I miss her extra long hugs,” she said. “I miss the way her eyes smiled.”
Sim Gill, Salt Lake County District Attorney, said the evidence does not point to Harris’s boyfriend setting fire to the storage unit with his girlfriend locked inside and the cause of the fire.
Harris’s death is still undetermined.
Video shared Friday shows Alexander Wardell leaving the storage unit facility alone to go to Walmart, then screaming in alleged grief after he returned to the unit when the fire was put out.
“There is considerable objective evidence that Wardell was not present when the fire started and we cannot disprove that on the objective of fire sciences that are there,” said Gill.
Wardell was arrested after the incident for negligent homicide and kidnapping but was never charged for Harris’s death. He has been serving a prison sentence on multiple domestic violence-related charges, unrelated to his ex-girlfriend.
“I have to accept what is and hope that at the very least that it doesn't happen to someone else because he was already a violent, convicted domestic abuser who served no time until my daughter died,” said Williamson. “That's the real tragedy here.”
Wardell admitted to police he had closed the storage unit with Harris and their dog inside, then put a lock on the door before leaving.
Despite sharing many inconsistencies with prosecutors, one thing Wardell was consistent on was that he did not light the fire, said Gill.
“I'm just trying to come to grips with the fact that I have to accept the unknown so that I can heal and move on,” said Williamson. “Which isn't an easy task. I was hoping to get more answers than I did today.”
