Missing Morgan Bauer: Suspect pleads guilty to Porterdale teen's murder
Morgan Bauer
NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. - One suspect has pleaded guilty to the murder of Morgan Bauer, a 19-year-old from South Dakota who went missing in 2016 shortly after moving to Atlanta.
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Jonathan Alexander Warren, who was arrested in Los Angeles in Oct. 2023 after a break in the Porterdale case, pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to malice murder, tampering with evidence, concealing the death of another, and necrophilia.
Jonathan Warren (Newton County Sheriff's Office)
He entered a non-negotiated plea, asking the court to sentence him to life with the possibility of parole.
The court believed life without parole was more appropriate, given the disturbing facts of the case.
Katelyn Goble (Newton County Sheriff's Office)
A second suspect, Katelyn Goble was arrested Peoria, Illinois, the same weekend as Warren. Goble was charged with concealing a death and tampering with evidence. Both are felonies. Both Goble and Warren were extradited to Georgia, where they were indicted in November. Goble's indictment is still pending at this time.
What is necrophilia?
Necrophilia is committed when someone "…performs any sexual act with a dead human body...", according to the Georgia statutes. It is a felony offense.
Psychologists believe those who commit the heinous act have developed some sort of poor self-esteem or significant loss. There is either a fear of rejection, or a fear of the dead person or death in general. To cope, they make the corpse the object of sexual desire.
Analysts also say, in extreme cases, the person develops a sexual fantasy over the corpse.
In Georgia, someone convicted of necrophilia can be sentenced to between one and 10 years in prison.
Who is Morgan Bauer?
Morgan Bauer moved from Aberdeen, South Dakota to the metro Atlanta area on Feb. 12, 2016. She was 19 years old.
Her mother, Sherri Keenan, said her daughter made a deal with someone she met on Craiglist to clean their home for room and board while she worked to find her own place to live. The deal reportedly did not work out.
Officials say Morgan stayed at various motels and found work as an exotic dancer in Gainesville. Colleagues remember seeing Morgan for the last time dancing at an adult entertainment club on Cheshire Bridge Road in Atlanta on Feb. 25, 2016.
On Feb. 26, Morgan posted a video on social media from Porterdale Yellow River Park. A man could be seen following Bauer in the clip.
She was active on social media until Feb. 29, 2016.
Was Morgan Bauer ever found?
In July 2023, there was a major break in the disappearance of Morgan Bauer.
Federal agents and investigators swarmed a home on Broad Street in Porterdale, saying there was some sort of connection with the teen.
On Aug. 7, 2023, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) returned to the Porterdale property, saying they found "items of evidentiary interest" in connection to Morgan's disappearance.
"It all goes back to the couple that was last seen with Morgan," Kasey McClure told FOX 5. McClure runs an organization that provides outreach to exploited women and has helped in the search since it began. She was referring to Warren and Goble.
The GBI never detailed what those "items of evidentiary interest" were. But Morgan's body was not recovered.