BENNINGTON, VT (WWLP) – Two long-unresolved crimes spanning state lines and decades have been brought to a close after a man pleaded guilty Tuesday to both a 1981 kidnapping in Massachusetts and a 1986 homicide in Vermont.
According to the Bennington County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, 65-year-old David Allen Morrison admitted guilt in two separate hearings, finally resolving cases that had remained open for nearly 40 years.
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On Tuesday morning, Morrison appeared in Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield, where he pleaded guilty to kidnapping in connection with the 1981 abduction of 15-year-old Laura Sheriden. Sheriden had been walking home on June 23, 1981, when Morrison offered her a ride. After he passed her home and continued driving, Sheriden realized she was in danger. She escaped when Morrison pulled into a rest area on Route 7 in New Ashford.
Morrison then appeared in Bennington Criminal Division Court in Vermont, where he pleaded guilty to the 1986 murder of 32-year-old Sarah Hunter. Hunter was reported missing by a coworker on September 19, 1986, after failing to show up to work. Her body was found more than two months later, on November 27, in a wooded area in Pawlet…