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Unsolved March 22, 1977 Suspicious Death

Charles Morgan

Status Unsolved
Type Suspicious Death
Date March 22, 1977
Location Tucson, Arizona
Victim Age 39
Gender Male

Escrow company president Charles Morgan was found shot dead in the desert near Tucson wearing a bulletproof vest and with a map to a motel. He had reported being stalked and had painted his car to avoid detection.

Charles Calixtus Morgan was the president of an escrow company in Tucson, Arizona. In the months before his death, he reported being stalked and followed. He painted his car a different color, began wearing a bulletproof vest, and taped emergency cash to his body.

On March 22, 1977, Morgan was found dead in the desert outside Tucson. He had been shot once in the back of the head. He was wearing his bulletproof vest and had a map to a Holiday Inn on his body, along with a pair of handcuffs and a two-dollar bill with a Spanish telephone number written on it.

The circumstances were bizarre enough that police initially couldn't determine if it was murder or suicide. The positioning of the wound and the gun suggested suicide might be physically possible but unlikely given the other circumstances.

Investigation suggested Morgan may have been involved in laundering money for drug traffickers and became a liability. His case was featured on 'Unsolved Mysteries' but has never been solved.

suspicious death Arizona 1970s unsolved

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