Martha’s Vineyard man killed in Florida

A Martha’s Vineyard man in Florida to visit family was beaten and slashed to death in his hotel room, according to court records and media reports.

Multiple news reports say the victim was Charles Morgan, who’s the subject of a GoFundMe drive meant to benefit his family.

Florida court records say Morgan was murdered by Alphonso Washington, a man he’d met at the Rodeway Inn and Suites in Dania Beach in Broward County.

Washington, a 59-year-old previously convicted killer who had been put up in the hotel through a coronavirus-era program for homeless people, is in jail on charges of second-degree murder and a probation violation following a robbery conviction.

The court documents say video footage shows Washington entering the room where the body was found and then leaving it around the time the slaying happened. The victim — who staff said they’d seen talking to Washington previously — died from blunt-force trauma that appears to be from stomping, and also from stab wounds.

Police say Washington acknowledged being in the victim’s room, but says he didn’t kill him.

Nicole Cabot, who identified herself as a family friend, is managing the GoFundMe page, which had raised more than $10,500 as of Friday night for the Martha’s Vineyard man.

“When a tragedy hits your small community, you feel the pain and you want to help,” Cabot wrote on the page. “When Charlie Morgan was taken from his loving family, our Island mourned for his loving wife, Jackie and his daughter, Mary.”

Morgan’s family told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that her husband had been in Florida to visit family.

Cabot didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment by the Herald.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/342PwJ4