Suspect in Wesleyan killing gives up

Connecticut State Police confirmed last night that they had transferred custody of Stephen Morgan, 29, to police in Middletown, Conn., where he is accused of gunning down a woman in a bookstore near the Wesleyan campus.

With Morgan on the loose and presumed armed and dangerous, Marblehead had urged the local Jewish community to be "extra vigilant," because he was suspected of targeting the Connecticut school and its Jewish students. In Marblehead yesterday, Morgan's family pleaded for him to turn himself in.

"We do not know where Steve is, or where he might go," Morgan's youngest sister, Diana, said in a statement read to media outside the family's home, earlier in the day. "We would like to send him this message via the media: Turn yourself in right now to any law enforcement agency, wherever you are, to avoid any further bloodshed. We love you, we will support you in every way, and we don't want anybody else to get hurt."

Authorities said Morgan wrote in his journal, discovered near the crime scene, about raping and killing the student, Johanna Justin-Jinich. He also threatened other Wesleyan students and its Jewish community, police said, prompting a lock-down at the university yesterday.

Authorities had issued a nationwide alert for Morgan, who also has connections to New York and Colorado. It was not clear how they met, but Justin-Jinich, a 21-year-old Colorado native, complained to police that Morgan had threatened her two years ago when they both took summer classes at New York University.

Justin-Jinich was working at Broad Street Books, a popular student bookstore, when she was shot several times Wednesday by a gunman wearing a wig. The Hartford Courant reported that police questioned Morgan at the crime scene before letting him go after getting his name and contact information. The newspaper also reported that Morgan allegedly dropped a weapon police believe was used in the shooting at the scene and that police found his car, containing the journal, nearby.

In a complaint filed July 17, 2007, Justin-Jinich said Morgan had called her repeatedly and sent her insulting e-mails for the previous week.

"You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any [expletive] criticism, Johanna," one of the e-mails said, according to the police report.

Both were interviewed by university police, but Justin-Jinich decided not to press charges, and Morgan left New York.

Diana Morgan said the family is "shocked and sickened" by the shooting and extended their "heartfelt condolences" to Justin-Jinich's family and friends. She declined to answer questions but said the family is cooperating with authorities.

Morgan's brother, Greg, told the Associated Press that the family is distraught over the shooting. He said they had not spoken to Morgan in weeks.

"I am devastated by what happened to this young girl at Wesleyan," he said. "We're just absolutely distraught over everything that's gone on."

Greg Morgan said his brother has not shown anti-Semitism in the past. Justin-Jinich came from a Jewish family, the Associated Press reported. "My brother was a very sweet person and had a big heart, and I hope he's OK," he said.

A woman answering the phone for Justin-Jinich's father said last night that the family had no comment on Stephen Morgan's arrest.

Wesleyan officials urged students to stay in their dormitories and bolstered police presence on campus, a university spokesman said.

The spring semester ended Tuesday, and students are preparing for finals. Staff members were urged to stay home. A local synagogue was also closed.

Students in the dorms shuffled downstairs in shorts and flip-flops to pick up box lunches, and the university's Usdan Center was opened briefly for dinner.

In a statement, Wesleyan president Michael Roth said university officials were working closely with authorities as they grieved the loss of Justin-Jinich.

"Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends of Johanna Justin-Jinich," he said. "This is a tragic time for them, and for all of us in the Wesleyan community. We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this event."

Milton J. Valencia of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Stewart Bishop contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was also included.