Morgan probably more than any other he asked himself during the entire course of the investigation. It’s a question he still asks himself on a regular basis years later. But like a good soldier he followed orders and went to Willard’s house with only a search warrant, without an arrest warrant in hand.
“I better go with the flow and do things as I’ve been instructed to do,” says Morgan of his thought process at the time. A thought process that he later deduced was fatally flawed.
THE APPROACH
On Sunday morning January 21, 2001, all the investigators involved in the operation to confront Derril Willard met at the police station. Sergeant Fluck and Lieutenant Britt had returned to town and were told by Captain Overman that the search would take place regardless of whether or not everyone agreed it was the right course of action at this point. As a result of this perceived usurping of their power, there was a palpable feeling of tension in the air, recalls Morgan.
The plan was for Morgan and Detective Brad Kennon to head to Willard’s house in North Raleigh with a team of investigators to execute the search warrant. Morgan had handpicked Kennon, one of his best detectives, to help him on this mission. Two other investigators would head to the Miller house and speak to Eric’s family about what was going to happen. This move was in preparation for the fact that much of the information in the case was about to become public record as soon as the search warrant was filed, and the police did not want the Millers to be blindsided by headlines the next day.
Although it had a Raleigh mailing address, Willard’s house was in the county, not in the city limits. This meant that the Wake County Sheriff’s Office had jurisdiction and that a deputy would have to assist in the execution of the warrant. The latter official stationed himself down the street from the house while Morgan and Kennon pulled up in their car. It was an unmarked Crown Victoria, but they were unmistakably cops coming to call on Derril Willard.
Willard answered the door with his two-and-a-half-year -old daughter, Kelcey, wrapped around his leg. Kelcey had bright blue eyes and white-blond hair, and it was easy for Morgan to see even in that brief moment as the door opened that Willard and his daughter were closely bonded.
“She was just a little angel terribly intimidated by my large rotund self standing at the door,” Morgan says with a somber touch of humor.
Kelcey wasn’t the only one who was intimidated. Morgan saw something in Willard’s eyes, something he will never forget, and something he now wishes he had paid more attention to at the time. Not unlike the detectives who interviewed Ann Miller that one and only time, Morgan never realized he would get only this one crack at Willard.
“He had the look, very much, of a man who expected to be handcuffed and taken to jail. And I’ve often looked back and thought in retrospect, what would have happened in this case if I had followed my first instinct, if I had not been afraid of starting a firestorm?” Morgan says. “Because I think he was starting, for lack of a better term, [to] wake up and smell the coffee. I agree arresting Derril Willard that morning would have been pushing the envelope, but I still believe in my heart of hearts it would have gotten a positive result.”
But as Morgan hadn’t been given the authority to arrest him, even if Willard had offered his wrists to be handcuffed and said he was ready to go, there would have been nothing Morgan could have done.
So instead of making an arrest, Morgan explained to Willard that they needed to search the house, but first they wanted to have a word with him alone in the Crown Vic. Morgan specifically told Willard that they needed to speak with him out of the presence of his wife. Willard asked no questions about why they were there, or what they wanted to talk to him about, because surely he knew. He had been expecting them for
“I better go with the flow and do things as I’ve been instructed to do,” says Morgan of his thought process at the time. A thought process that he later deduced was fatally flawed.
THE APPROACH
On Sunday morning January 21, 2001, all the investigators involved in the operation to confront Derril Willard met at the police station. Sergeant Fluck and Lieutenant Britt had returned to town and were told by Captain Overman that the search would take place regardless of whether or not everyone agreed it was the right course of action at this point. As a result of this perceived usurping of their power, there was a palpable feeling of tension in the air, recalls Morgan.
The plan was for Morgan and Detective Brad Kennon to head to Willard’s house in North Raleigh with a team of investigators to execute the search warrant. Morgan had handpicked Kennon, one of his best detectives, to help him on this mission. Two other investigators would head to the Miller house and speak to Eric’s family about what was going to happen. This move was in preparation for the fact that much of the information in the case was about to become public record as soon as the search warrant was filed, and the police did not want the Millers to be blindsided by headlines the next day.
Although it had a Raleigh mailing address, Willard’s house was in the county, not in the city limits. This meant that the Wake County Sheriff’s Office had jurisdiction and that a deputy would have to assist in the execution of the warrant. The latter official stationed himself down the street from the house while Morgan and Kennon pulled up in their car. It was an unmarked Crown Victoria, but they were unmistakably cops coming to call on Derril Willard.
Willard answered the door with his two-and-a-half-year -old daughter, Kelcey, wrapped around his leg. Kelcey had bright blue eyes and white-blond hair, and it was easy for Morgan to see even in that brief moment as the door opened that Willard and his daughter were closely bonded.
“She was just a little angel terribly intimidated by my large rotund self standing at the door,” Morgan says with a somber touch of humor.
Kelcey wasn’t the only one who was intimidated. Morgan saw something in Willard’s eyes, something he will never forget, and something he now wishes he had paid more attention to at the time. Not unlike the detectives who interviewed Ann Miller that one and only time, Morgan never realized he would get only this one crack at Willard.
“He had the look, very much, of a man who expected to be handcuffed and taken to jail. And I’ve often looked back and thought in retrospect, what would have happened in this case if I had followed my first instinct, if I had not been afraid of starting a firestorm?” Morgan says. “Because I think he was starting, for lack of a better term, [to] wake up and smell the coffee. I agree arresting Derril Willard that morning would have been pushing the envelope, but I still believe in my heart of hearts it would have gotten a positive result.”
But as Morgan hadn’t been given the authority to arrest him, even if Willard had offered his wrists to be handcuffed and said he was ready to go, there would have been nothing Morgan could have done.
So instead of making an arrest, Morgan explained to Willard that they needed to search the house, but first they wanted to have a word with him alone in the Crown Vic. Morgan specifically told Willard that they needed to speak with him out of the presence of his wife. Willard asked no questions about why they were there, or what they wanted to talk to him about, because surely he knew. He had been expecting them for
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