Naman Shrestha
The life of 29-year-old mother of one, Morgan Fox, was tragically cut short outside her home in Canton, Ohio, in late October 2020. When the news broke out, the entire community was left shell-shocked. As the detectives investigated her workplace, they came across harassment complaints and the potential motive for murder. All the intricate details of the case and the investigation that ensued are explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Breaking Point,’ which also features interviews with Morgan’s loved ones and the officials who worked hard to solve the case.
Morgan Fox Was Killed on Her Driveway Before She Left For Work
On August 22, 1991, in Marion, Ohio, Cyndi Pappas and Robert Fox welcomed Morgan Ashlye Fox as their little bundle of joy into the world. Growing up with a dozen siblings, including a stepsister named Tessa McClelland, Morgan was known for her compassionate and generous personality. She was also a mother to her young daughter, Emilia Fox. Besides her family and friends, she also loved animals and nature. Residing on Fraver Avenue in Canton, Ohio, with her live-in boyfriend, Jason Scarnecchia, Morgan worked in a management position at a FedEx distribution center, having moved up the ranks over the years. Looking forward to spending her life with Jason and raising Emilia, Morgan’s dreams came crashing down when fate intervened in the early hours of October 28, 2020.
Around 6:30 am, Jason noticed that Morgan’s car was still in the driveway and found her slumped over the driver’s side of the vehicle. He immediately dialed 911 and told the dispatcher, “I’m pretty sure my girlfriend’s (expletive) dead.” He said that she was supposed to be at work around 2:30 am, but she was killed before she could leave the driveway. When the authorities arrived at the crime scene, they determined that the 29-year-old woman died of a fatal gunshot wound to the head. They also found her purse and money inside the vehicle, ruling out the possibility of a robbery gone wrong. The detectives also spotted fresh tire marks in the grassy area near the scene, indicating that a driver had fled the scene in a hurry. Thus, a homicide investigation was immediately launched.
The Killer Kept Morgan Fox’s Cell Phone Back Home For His Alibi
To get to the bottom of the case, the investigators decided to dig deeper into Morgan Fox’s life and understand the circumstances under which she was killed. Since her live-in boyfriend reported the murder, they interviewed him. Jason Scarnecchia told detectives that Morgan had left her daughter at her mother’s place the previous night because she had to work an early-morning shift on October 28, 2020. As per his account, he and Morgan went to bed around 9 pm on October 27. The next morning, after waking up for work around 6:30 am, he made the heartbreaking discovery. He also told the investigators that an incident at work had been bothering her — one of her coworkers, Jason A. McDermitt, had taken her phone and gone through it.
She also reportedly sent an email to the HR department, writing, “I feel like I’m being targeted at work. I feel uncomfortable at work. I just want to come to work…and contribute in any way that I can.” The police also found that Morgan had spoken to her mother around 1:30 am, after waking up and preparing to leave for work. They then brought in her co-worker, Jason McDermitt, for questioning. Describing his relationship with Morgan as just friends, he told them that a couple of other male co-workers had taken her phone and that he had retrieved it for her. However, he admitted to going through her phone himself, and when she found out, she became upset. As for his alibi, Jason claimed he was at his home until 3 am on October 28, 2020, after which he left for work.
Although his cell phone records backed up his story, the detectives delved deeper into his past and learned that another female coworker had filed a complaint against him a few months earlier about him becoming obsessive. Upon reviewing surveillance footage from the workplace, they found that Jason had taken Morgan’s phone to check its contents. Moreover, his father owned a .22 caliber gun, the same kind of firearm used to kill Morgan. More suspicions arose when surveillance footage showed him taking his car to the car wash, despite it having been raining throughout the day. When they searched the suspect’s phone, they found several videos of Morgan and saved footage from her social media profile. While his phone was at home during the murder, his car was captured traveling towards her house on surveillance footage. Armed with enough evidence, Jason A. McDermitt was arrested on November 4, 2020, and charged with the aggravated murder of Morgan Fox.
Jason McDermitt is Currently Behind Bars at an Ohio Prison Facility
On April 2, 2021, Jason McDermitt’s homicide trial got underway. About a week later, he was found guilty of aggravated murder and menacing by stalking in connection with Morgan Fox’s death. On April 14, 2021, during his sentencing hearing, Morgan’s family took the stand and gave emotional victim impact statements, directed at the convict. Her father, Robert Fox, addressed Jason and stated, “You’ve taken so much from so many people, and for that I want to see you struggle the rest of your life in prison. … You can rot in hell the rest of your life.”
Moreover, Morgan’s daughter, Emilia, also took the stand and said, “I thought monsters weren’t real but you proved me wrong. You hurt so many people. You hurt me and the people I love. You ruined your own life because of how much of a bad person you are. I love my mom a lot. She was my whole world and life and I’ll never see her again because of the monster in this room.” Ultimately, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of today, the killer is serving his sentence at Noble Correctional Institution in Caldwell, Ohio.
