Froberg gets life sentence

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Robert Scott Froberg

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Morgan Violi

With Morgan Violi’s abductor receiving a life sentence on Monday, the court proceedings in the case came to an end, but the tragedy of 7-year-old Morgan’s loss will continue to weigh upon her surviving family.

Morgan’s family members and other supporters filled a few rows in the courtroom in U.S. District Court, many wearing purple in recognition of Morgan’s favorite color or a white T-shirt with an illustration of her face on the front.

U.S. District Court Judge Greg Stivers imposed a life sentence on Robert Scott Froberg, 61, who pleaded guilty to a count of kidnapping resulting in death.

At the sentencing hearing, Morgan’s parents and her two sisters spoke about the upheaval in their lives brought about by the loss of their loved one, who was abducted from the parking lot outside The Colony apartment complex on Shive Lane on July 24, 1996.

Morgan’s body was found in a wooded area near White House, Tennessee on Oct. 20, 1996.

“From that moment, my life was ripped apart,” said Stacey Violi, Morgan’s mother. “It wasn’t just my life, (my daughters) were terrified for their sister, they were confused about what was happening, they were scared someone would come by and take them, too … I had to pretend to be strong and protect them the best way I knew how.”

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Stacey Violi and Morgan’s surviving older sisters, Nikki Britt and Heather Coleman, recalled the big personality that Morgan had, how she enjoyed singing and dancing and loved Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

Stacey Violi said that her daughter had a love of animals that would have made her a good veterinarian.

“She trusted the world because she was not old enough to learn there were people like (Froberg) in it capable of the worst kind of evil,” Stacey Violi said.

Since losing Morgan, her closest family has also been wracked by guilt, with both her sisters describing Monday how they felt they could have done more to keep Morgan safe when she was taken.

“I learned about grief and loss way earlier than anybody should have to,” said Violi’s sister Nikki Britt. “How was I supposed to make sense of these feelings, my world was turned upside-down in an instant, my body has never been removed from fight-or-flight.”

Britt addressed a portion of her victim impact statement at Monday’s sentencing to her late sister.

“I wonder what dreams you would have chased, what kind of aunt you would have been to your nieces and nephews,” Britt said. “It is because of you I have learned that compassion is stronger than hatred.”

Coleman said the family continues to struggle collectively with its grief.

“My life is a string of nightmares thanks to you,” said Coleman, addressing Froberg. “To think you were the last thing she saw in this world breaks my heart in a way that I can’t describe.”

Glen Violi, Morgan’s father, noted during his victim impact statement Monday that, on top of losing his daughter he had to deal with initial suspicion that he was somehow involved in the crime.

In the months preceding the abduction, Morgan’s parents were involved in a child custody case.

“A lot of people thought I was guilty of what you did,” Glen Violi said, addressing Froberg. “I hate you, I hate your guts. I’d like for you to pray to God to help heal my heart so I can forgive you for what you did, I’ve got to forgive you to make it to heaven. If I can’t forgive you and get to heaven to be with my daughter, I’ll see you in hell and I’ll get you there.”

Police who worked the initial investigation in 1996 were given a description of the suspect and the van that he drove.

The vehicle was recovered in Tennessee three days after the abduction, but it would take 30 years and advances in DNA analysis for investigators to establish Froberg as the person responsible for Morgan’s kidnapping, thanks to analysis of a hair recovered from the van.

The Bowling Green Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation collaborated on the investigation over the years.

Froberg gave a detailed confession to detectives earlier this year, admitting to abducting Morgan and then strangling her to death with a handkerchief before stripping her clothing and discarding her body.

Police learned that at the time of the abduction, Froberg was an escapee from an Alabama prison, where he was serving a 40-year sentence for a robbery conviction, and had also escaped from a jail in Pennsylvania after being arrested on suspicion of attempting to abduct a child.

The van connected to the abduction had been reported stolen from Ohio.

Speaking out for the first time on Monday, Froberg expressed remorse for his actions.

“Since I’ve had to face up to this, I’ve been looking at everything, what I’ve put you all through, I just can’t understand how I did that,” Froberg said. “What I put you through, the profound impact of your loss, it just tears me up inside … I’m really sorry for what I’ve done and what I’ve taken from you all. If you can find it in your hearts, please forgive me.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Butler asked for the life sentence to be imposed, saying that doing so represented the wishes of Morgan’s family to bring the legal proceedings to a swift end.

Under the federal law, the death penalty could have been considered for Froberg’s offense, but court filings indicate that the lengthy process of death penalty litigation dissuaded Morgan’s family from that option.

“This really strikes at what you fear the most, it has literally changed how people live in this community,” Butler said of the impact of the crime 30 years on. “Looking back three decades, you can’t overstate the impact this has had on Morgan’s family … the horror from this has reverberated for decades, there’s no way to quantify the horror here.”

Stivers, in sentencing Froberg to life with no chance at parole, said that while the punishment was statutorily appropriate, it seemed insufficient given the impact of Morgan’s disappearance on the community.

“Locking him forever in a cell with the knowledge that he will never get out of prison, there’s no real decision for me to make,” Stivers said in court. “I do want (Morgan’s) family to know that this entire community has shared your loss and kept you in their prayers. The worst part of this case is there’s no closure.”