A nearly 30-year-old kidnapping and death of a 7-year-old Kentucky girl reached a turning point this week with the federal indictment of a 62-year-old incarcerated criminal.
On Thursday, Robert Scott Froberg was federally charged with the 1996 abduction of Morgan Violi, 7. It’s an incident that U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner described as a tragedy that “haunted” the local community for decades, according to NBC.
“Morgan’s kidnapping and murder changed her family’s life forever,” he said. “Morgan’s family has been left with unanswered questions: who, how, why. They’ve longed for those answers; they’ve longed for closure.”
The charges stem from investigators successfully utilizing DNA evidence recovered from a stolen van used during the crime.
Forensic experts who tested the DNA established a definitive link between Froberg and the abduction. The advancements in forensic testing were a pivotal factor in securing the charges, Bumgarner stated.
Morgan disappeared in the summer of 1996 from the Colony Apartments in Bowling Green, while playing outside with a 6-year-old friend.
According to a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, a witness observed the abduction and provided authorities with a description of a maroon Chevrolet van.
Violi’s remains were not discovered until three months later, found in a wooded area near a barn in Tennessee.
WDRB reported that during an interview conducted at a Montgomery, Alabama, prison, Froberg gave law enforcement the details of what happened.
Froberg claimed he had how he escaped from an Alabama prison during detail work in July 1996. He then traveled to Dayton, Ohio, where his parents resided, to steal a vehicle.
While at large, he stopped in Bowling Green to purchase drugs.
Court records show Froberg admitted that during the stop, he kidnapped Morgan and ultimately strangled the 7-year-old and abandoned her naked body in the woods in White House, Tennessee.
“Froberg admitted he ultimately caused Morgan’s death in that van,” Bumgarner said.
Froberg is currently being held at Kilby Infirmary, a prison hospital in Alabama, where he had already been serving time for robbery and escape.
Given the nature of the federal charge, Froberg could face a maximum penalty of either life in prison or the death penalty, according to NBC.
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[Feature Photo: Morgan Violi/Handout]