Morgan to Return to NJ Over Daughter Killing

Fox5SanDiego.com

The Ocean Township man charged with murdering his two year old daughter, then fleeing to California, will be returning to New Jersey to stand trial.

In front of a San Diego judge, Arthur Morgan III waived his rights to fight extradition, choosing to be sent home to face the court in his home state.

Morgan is being accused of killing his daughter, two year old Tierra Morgan-Glover of Lakehurst, after her body was found last Tuesday still strapped to a car seat in Shark River Park in Wall Township. A national manhunt was conducted for the 27 year old, which ended Wednesday after he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in San Diego.

The court ruled he must be returned back to New Jersey by the December 21st where bail has been set at $10 million.

Chris Gramiccioni, the Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County, says Morgan's decision means New Jersey doesn't have to use resources to bring him back for trial.

"Procedurally he could have contested extradition, and we would have essentially had to prove that he was the Arthur Morgan the third that we charged." Going on to add that "as a result, he should be transported back to New Jersey to face the charges that are outstanding in Monmouth County."

The matter of getting Morgan across country will be handled by California which will organize a method of transportation and arrange to hand him over to Monmouth County authorities. Gramiccioni says once Morgan is en route  they know the next part of their job begins.

"Everything will fall into place once we know that he's en route to come back to New Jersey." Noting that details about the actual movement of Morgan will be kept to a minimum for safety reasons.

"As you can imagine, there are certain logistics and matters that have to be handled before transporting can happen when it involves someone who's been apprehended because of charges pending."

Gramiccioni says that once Morgan is in the state, everything will proceed as if he was arrested in New Jersey in the first place.

"Once he arrives here, he'll have an initial appearance in court where the court will go over his rights." Adding that at that point his defense can try to modify bail.