Utah officials filed murder charges this week against a Utah man who was responsible for the death of his girlfriend in a fire. County officials had ruled that fire a tragic accident last year.
KSL reports that the Utah Attorney General’s Office has filed charges of manslaughter or murder against Alexander Paul Wardell (33), in connection with the death Morgan Kay Harris.
Wardell faces additional charges for kidnapping, animal cruelty and domestic violence. If convicted, he will also face increased penalties due to his habitual offenders status and domestic violence.
On February 18, 2023 Harris and Wardell lived in an storage unit with Harris’s pet dog in Salt Lake City when the fire alarm was triggered. The padlock was blocking the firefighters’ entrance. They were finally able to enter the unit and found Harris’s dog, who was also dead.
Wardell, who admitted to locking Harris’s dog and herself inside the house before leaving it for good, was arrested on charges of negligent homicide.
After an investigation was conducted, Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office concluded that it is “unlikely”, Wardell deliberately set fire to the house and dismissed the charge of homicide. Sim Gill, the district attorney, also dismissed the charge of kidnapping, stating that the padlock outside the door was the only way the couple closed the door.
How can I be sure that she didn’t consent? What evidence can I use? He said, “Who do I call to the witness stand?” We found nothing in her or his phone. All the information we could collect led us nowhere. We searched, and we tried to find any way possible to articulate these elements in order to file charges. “We could not reach that point.”
Documents filed by the prosecution in court Thursday stated that Harris’s cause of death had not been determined. The state medical examiner concluded Harris died due to smoke inhalation, thermal injury and other causes. Investigators discovered blood and burn marks from Harris on Harris’ shirt in a duffel that was initially collected by investigators as evidence.
Investigators reported that Harris, who was sitting unconscious in a lawnchair when the fire began, had been asleep.
While (Harris), a seated unconscious person, the buttocks and side of her left leg caught fire. The charging document stated that a person conscious at the time would have tried to avoid the fire pain, but (Harris), did not do so immediately.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) did not rule out that Wardell had set the fire.
The prosecutors also stated that there were signs that the couple fought less than one hour before Wardell confined Harris to the cell. He admitted Harris had been “super” angry at him on that particular day.
The charging document states that ten days prior to her death she had sent him a message on Facebook saying, “Guess you’re not going to know I live alone in an apartment so you (expletives) can’t abuse me or kill my.”
Wardell has been sentenced to time at the Utah State Prison after being convicted of domestic violence against a second girlfriend.
The charges state that “he strangled (one victim) and struck her with a club (in the other case).”
Gill stated Thursday that his office stands behind its decision to not charge Wardell. However, if state officials believe they are able to get Wardell convicted, Gill supports them.
Subscribe to the podcast ‘Crime Stories With Nancy Grace’ for the latest news on true crimes and justice.
[Featured image: Alexander Paul Wardell/Utah Department of Corrections and Morgan Kay Harris/family handout]
