A West Tisbury man was killed while on vacation in a south Florida hotel room last week, according to his wife and a press release from the Broward County sheriff’s office.
Charles Morgan, 59, of West Tisbury was stabbed to death on Sunday, August 2 at a Rodeway Inn and Suites in Dania Beach, Fla., according to a police report and the release from the sheriff’s department.
The sheriff’s department withheld the victim’s name in the release, but Mr. Morgan’s wife, Jackie Flynn-Morgan, confirmed that her husband Charles, a West Tisbury builder and master carpenter, was the victim.
A suspect, Alphonso Washington, 59, of Dania Beach, was arrested last Wednesday on charges of murder and parole violation, according to the sheriff’s department. Mr. Washington is currently being held without bail at the Broward County jail, according to the Broward County clerk of courts website.
The press release from the sheriff’s department says that shortly before 3:30 p.m. on August 2, the Broward County sheriff’s office and fire rescue personnel responded to a call regarding an adult male found lying on the bathroom floor in a room at a Rodeway Inn and Suites.
“When units arrived, they located a male suffering from various wounds, and the victim was pronounced deceased on scene,” the release states. “Crime scene and homicide detectives responded, and preliminary investigations indicated the victim sustained multiple lacerations to his body.”
A police report filed in Broward County court states that the wounds were likely inflicted by a “sharp-edged instrument” and that the victim suffered blunt force trauma, confirming the death as a homicide.
Speaking to the Gazette by phone on Monday, Ms. Flynn-Morgan said that she was still in shock about the death of her husband. She described Mr. Morgan, who goes by Charlie and taught her the ins and outs of home building over their 22-year marriage, as a very social person, a kind and loving husband, and caring father to their 19-year-old daughter, Mary.
Ms. Flynn-Morgan ran The Bite in Menemsha for 30 years before she stopped working to take care of her sister.
“I am beyond belief,” Ms. Flynn-Morgan said. “We are just overwhelmed. We really can’t believe it.”
Ms. Flynn-Morgan said her husband traveled to Florida last weekend to visit his brother and father, who live in West Palm Beach. After experiencing travel delays, Mr. Morgan stayed at the Rodeway Inn and Suites for two days before he was supposed to be picked up by his family on Sunday, according to his wife.
Ms. Flynn-Morgan thanked the Vineyard community for the outpouring of support after news of her husband’s death spread on social media. Arrangements are incomplete, but Ms. Flynn-Morgan said a service will be planned for the future.
A Go Fund Me page has been created for Ms. Flynn-Morgan and her daughter; by late Monday, more than $4,000 had been raised. Ms. Flynn-Morgan was grateful for the support.
“The words, the notes, the flowers, the food. Everything -—it’s been amazing,” Ms. Flynn-Morgan said. “It’s been the most unbelievable outpouring of love . . . I am so overwhelmed.”
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