Ian Hasselwander Petersburg NY man strangles & stabs ex girlfriend Morgan Bates Vermont woman to death. No known motive.
An Upstate New York man is accused of strangling and then stabbing his ex girlfriend to death before dumping her body in a state park.
Vermont woman Morgan Bates, 20, was reported missing on Feb. 22, with the woman’s body discovered five days later at a state park near Albany, according to a Friday press release from the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office.
Ian J. Hasselwander, age 22, of Petersburg, NY — who had previously dated the victim — was arrested late Friday. The suspect was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree strangulation, and concealment of a human corpse.
Hasselwander was arraigned and remained held without bail.
Newly released documents cited by WNYT say Ian Hasselwander strangled Bates with some kind of tie and stabbed her in the neck twice. He’s then accused of trying to bury her body ‘in a foundation hole within a secluded area’ of the park and cover it with logs.
‘I sit here by my phone 24/7 just waiting for Morgan to text me saying good night, love you’
The victim’s father William Bates said Morgan had been grieving the loss of her mother who passed away in January according to the Albany Times Union.
Posted the father on Monday according to WNYT: ‘I sit here by my phone 24/7 just waiting for Morgan to text me saying good night, love you. Or texting me asking me for a ride to work or home. Or just to talk. I will never get that again.’
The father has vowed to make sure the person responsible for killing her is held accountable.
‘Now my main thing is now to get justice for my daughter,’ William Bates told the Albany Times Union. ‘I will not give up on that.’
Morgan Bates’ obituary states that she ‘loved horses’ and most recently worked at Saratoga Stables in Saratoga, New York.
The slain woman also liked four-wheeling and hunting.
‘Law enforcement has worked around the clock on this case since Morgan Bates disappeared. This was certainly not the outcome we had hoped for. This arrest is the first step towards justice for Morgan and her family,’ District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly stated on Friday.
Morgan and her mother will be buried together at a later date.
Authorities have yet to say what motivated the former boyfriend to murder Morgan.
