What’s in a Name?

2/16/2021

“Her name is Morgan and she is from New Hampshire”

At 1:40 am on November 9, 2019, when Hunter Oneill Wells was first interviewed by North Carolina Highway Patrol officers, this is all he could tell them about the young woman who still lay on the ground, covered by a white sheet next to the “debris field” which had been his 2002 Chevrolet Silverado hours before. Her sweet innocent life ended as a result of his actions; along with those of his friend Charles Cornwall, yet this was all that he could come up with for information to help authorities identify the body.
Her name, in fact, was Morgan Renee Patten, and yes, she was from New Hampshire, but she was much more than that. Much, much more.
Morgan, as a name given to a baby girl, is of Welsh origin, and historically means “sea born” or “of the sea”. Though not important at the time of her birth in 1995, “of the sea” came to fruition in our Morgan’s life, for sure. For Renee and I, it was a beautiful, original name that sounded good rolling off the tongue, and would be difficult to alter and be used as a weapon by any elementary school bullies. We could not have predicted at the time of her birth that she would graduate high school with three other Morgans in a class of less than 100 students!
Morgan Patten earned the nickname “Mouse” by being quiet and shy through her elementary and middle school years, though by high school, she had decided that standing in the back, hoping to remain unnoticed was not where she wanted to be. Nearly overnight, Morgan became a powerful advocate for herself and every living being that even remotely appeared as though they needed a bit of her strength, but the nickname stuck.
The Applebee’s bartender and the waitress that brought Morgan a beer knew more about her than that. The bartender and the waitress for Christ’s sake! When interviewed, they both knew that Morgan was engaged, and had just arrived in Jacksonville to spend the weekend with her fiancé. Anybody that had ever had a conversation with Morgan lasting more than three minutes could tell you more in depth details than, “she is from New Hampshire”. Morgan Patten, Of The Sea, was an accomplished, talented and intriguing young woman, and memorable; not the kind of person that one easily forgets. She was getting ready to begin law school, and proudly mentioned it in any conversation with someone she had any interest in speaking with. At the time of her murder, Morgan’s marital engagement to Phil Brandon had been public knowledge for fifteen days. I don’t believe that she crossed paths with any human being in that three week period who did not hear all about “her Marine”, how proud of him she was and how safe and loved she felt with Phil.
It is simply inconceivable that Morgan would jump in a truck with two unknown men, who also knew nothing about her, to drive out into the middle of nowhere in a strange town at 11 o’clock at night for any purpose, yet that is what Wells, Cornwall and even the criminal justice system are hanging their hats on. We have been informed by prosecutors that “kidnapping or unlawful detention is extremely hard to prove”. Obviously, the evil bastards and those whose job it is to ensure that punishment fits the crime never cared to know Morgan Patten beyond a name. Kidnapping and/or unlawful detention are extremely hard to ignore!

Please share your greatest memories of Morgan. It will help keep us motivated to attain absolute justice in her honor. Thank you! ❤️

11 Comments

Dennis McKeeney

2/18/2021 07:02:31 pm

I regret to say I did not know her at all. I met her when she was 6-8 yrs old and saw her in passing less than a handful of times thereafter. I do, however, know her dad quite well, her mom less so. In the 25+ yrs I’ve known and worked off and on with her dad every time I heard him speak of her you coul hear a smile in his voice. Most nights I wake up about 3am and say some prayers before I fall back asleep. There are 3 things I pray for. One of them is that Morgan's truth will receive the dignity and attention it deserves and lead to justice.

Bob

6/19/2021 12:58:00 pm

It matters not whether she got into the track on her own or forcibly. The driver is totally responsible for his actions prior to and during the accident which happened.

Is anyone considering a civil action in regards to wrongful death ? A lot of truths could be forthcoming in depositions of all concerned.

Steve

7/4/2021 02:00:43 pm

A civil case is not going to happen due to the contributory negligence statute in North Carolina. There is no reputable Personal Injury Attorney that will touch it. ☹️

7/4/2021 02:18:18 pm

Since I heard about the accident I have been personally and deeply upset and angry. If a lawsuit does not develop then it would be hard to extract the truth. If this case is considered non-winnable then a lot of people who commit this type of crime are going to be untouchable. Personally I think the only way to get to the truth is through a lawsuit.

Justice delayed is justice denied…

7/4/2021 03:54:55 pm

Can you tell me how she contributed to her demise.

North Carolina also has what are called “ameliorating doctrines” that allow a way around the contributory negligence problem. For example, if you can show that the at-fault driver had the “last clear chance” to avoid the accident, even though you were at least 1% negligent, you can still recover.

7/21/2021 11:22:28 am

Unfortunately, we need an attorney that will take the case, which has proved to be extremely difficult unless we are willing to offer an exchange of criminal prosecution for information.

Ora Gelley

5/22/2023 02:45:53 pm

Such a tragic story. I heard about it on a podcast called Generation Why. I was a professor at North Carolina State University for twelve years, had tenure. I ended up leaving my tenured position there (I know teach at UC-Berkeley, since last August) because I had reported a colleague (professor of linguistics) to the Title IX office (confidentially) , which ended up in the university harassing me as a "whistleblower," eventually forcing me to sign an NDA. the Associate Provost of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity at NCSU who had just started an investigation into this individual, who was a serial predator (and had raped a graduate student repeatedly, who came to me) , she was fired literally the day after she started the investigation. I was not fired but was treated so badly after my confidential report (that clearly was leaked to the provost's office) that my position there became untenable . The reason I am telling you all this is because my impression is that the laws in North Carolina are stacked against women and people of color. I also had a really hard time finding an attorney who would take my case. eventually I did find someone, but he ultimately was so incompetent that he abandoned me at the 11th hour, right after I had given my final payment, and said he wouldn't go through with the hearing (which I had gotten them to agree would be , for the first time ever, a public hearing to which journalists could come) and would only "settle." I probably should have just defended myself and gone through with the hearing, but I didn't know enough about the legal system or NC law to feel confident doing so. What if you got a major publication to write about this, something like the New York Times? I have some contacts I could put you in touch with. That _could_ help. My heart goes out to both of you. I can't even imagine the pain. All my best, Ora Gelley, Ph.D.

7/21/2021 01:54:07 pm

First of all, what you have written tells me that you may have been made an offer by someone to exchange no criminal prosecution if you would receive information from the two Marines.
Is this true?

7/21/2021 02:25:50 pm

We were told, by recommended PI attorneys, that in order to learn the truth from the two men involved, we would have to be willing to leverage the criminal charges

7/21/2021 05:30:11 pm

If you wash away the sins of Mr. Wells in court, I don’t believe he or his partner will tell the truth. I don’t believe they will admit to kidnapping.

I have a question. How much alcohol did your daughter consume at Applebee’s ?

I’m sorry for being so nosy. I think she may have been drugged at the bar.

5/22/2023 02:47:46 pm

She wasn't drugged at the bar, and there was no evidence of much alcohol in her system either. But even if she had drunk as much as Charles and her murderer, that's not relevant. She is the victim here and you are engaging in victim blaming. Shame on you.

What’s in a Name?

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