A suspect in a 1981 Berkshire County kidnapping has pleaded guilty to that charge and to committing murder in Vermont five years later.
David Morrison, who is now 65-years-old, had been serving time in California and admitted to both crimes yesterday Tuesday in courtrooms in Pittsfield and in Vermont
In the kidnapping case, prosecutors say he offered Laura Sheridan, who was then 15-years-old, a ride from Lanesborough to her home in New Ashford. Sheridan, eventually realized she was in danger. Morrison had a gun and a struggle ensued. Sheridan was able to escape, and a passerby was able to get Morrison’s license plate number.
Shortly after the incident, Morrison was acquitted on related charges but was not charged with kidnapping.
More than 40 years later in 2024, the Berkshire District Attorney indicted Morrison on the abduction. This came as Morrison was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole in California for kidnapping, rape and robbery. Morrison originally pleated not guilty to the charge in Berkshire County but later changed it to guilty this week.
During a press conference Wednesday, prosecutors from both Massachusetts and Vermont indicated they met with Morrison in California and he eventually admitted to the kidnapping, and to the 1986 murder in Vermont of Sarah Hunter. Working with authorities in California, an agreement was reached that Morrison would serve his sentences on the latest charges in Vermont, closer to where he is from.
At the press conference held in Bennington Vermont, Sheridan, the kidnapping victim, was asked what she was thinking now that her abductor was behind bars.
"That I'm a really lucky person, that I'm grateful that I spent 20 minutes with David Morrison and no more. That I escaped," she said. "I think having a daughter and kids now, you know, I would share with any woman: Fight back."
Prosecutors were asked if Morrison might be involved in other unresolved cold cases. Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue would not rule that out saying they would continue to follow all leads.
