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Morgan Lewis Memorial Page
Morgan Lewis, a gay,
Native American university professor, died of gun wounds November 1, 2004. He was 46 years old. Morgan Lewis was an assistant professor of languages at
Northern State University, located in Aberdeen, South Dakota. According to the Northern State University web site, Morgan Lewis taught German. He had undergraduate degrees from the University of California and got has
master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Southern
California. One of Morgan Lewis' academic interests was xenophobia, the unwarrented fear or contempt of those who are thought to be different. He lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota only a few months before his death. One of Lewis' students describes him as a nice and helpful person.
News reports
indicate Morgan Lewis was shot in the neck. Initially, the police
called his death suspicious. News reports state the death
certificate describes the death as homocide. There are reports
that body was not immediately beside a trash container where the gun
was found and blood was found. One news story says the gun was
found 40 yards from the body. A February, 2005 news story
indicates a colleague of the deceased professor who was one of the last
people to see Morgan Lewis alive had not been interviewed.
News about Morgan Lewis' death is
difficult
to find on the internet. There are some comments about his death on a
few blogs. The Northern Valley Beacon blog says there are
"menacing
and troubling elements" in the death. Evidently, the police are
not
saying much about the investigation and some people appear to be
troubled by that.
We hesitate to mention material found
on blogs, as the facts cannot easily be confirmed by more respected
sources. Comments
on a blog state his body was found a distance from the trash bin where
the gun was found and indicate he was shot in the back of the
neck. If that is true, it could be difficult for a person to shoot himself in the back of the neck.
There are times when the police are
not able to release any information without compromising their
investigation. We would not want to see the investigation of
Morgan Lewis' death compromised in any way. We are hoping the
police will soon be able to safely release news that will relieve the
fears of the local community, of students and staff at the univeristy,
of minority groups and of gay people. At this stage, nobody knows
for certain if this is a murder and there is no evidence to support
this is a hate crime, but the death does raise concerns.
More information about Morgan
Lewis can be found at the following web sites:
Yankton
Press & Dakotan - Professor
To Talk To Authorities About Murdered Colleague
Yankton
Press & Dakotan - Detectives
Looking into Educator's Death
Yankton Press & Dakotan -
Death Certificate Lists Shooting As
Homicide
Yankton Press & Dakotan -
Police
Seek Info About Handgun
Northern Valley Beacon Blog -
January
15, 2005
Northern Valley Beacon Blog -
March
31, 2005
Northern Valley Beacon Blog -
March
22, 2005
Aberdeen News. Articles can be found in the archives. Subscription might be required to read the articles.
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