After opening arguments were presented in the trial of Austin Kline, the jury heard testimony from the victim’s son.
The son testified that he and his dad had a landscaping business and had advertised their services on Facebook.
According to testimony, Kline reportedly responded to the advertisement and requested that work be done to clear a parking spot next to his garage at this Lake Street property in South Fork.
The victim’s son testified that Mr. Morgan decided to do the job alone, describing it as an “easy job” that was expected to take no more than four hours to complete.
The jury learned that Morgan’s family reported him missing the next day after he failed to return home from the job at Kline’s residence and none of his family members were able to get in contact with him.
Mr. Morgan’s son also testified that Kline allegedly messaged him on social media, claiming that the job was done and that the victim “should be at home.”
The jury also heard testimony on Wednesday from one of the PSP troopers who was initially assigned to investigate Mr. Morgan’s disappearance.
The trooper testified that when he spoke to Kline about Mr. Morgan’s whereabouts, he claimed that the victim had left his home and he had last seen him around 3:30 p.m. on the day that the work was to be done.
Upon further investigation, the trooper testified that Mr. Morgan’s phone had last pinged at approximately 4:20 p.m. that day, in the Portage Borough area.
When two other troopers later went to Kline’s home to speak with him, the trooper testified that Kline allegedly “ran out of his house” and met them on the sidewalk.
According to the trooper, Kline reportedly appeared nervous and denied the troopers entry into his home, claiming that his residence was undergoing some remodeling and that “his dog was not friendly.”
The trooper told the jury that Kline then reportedly changed his timeline of events, alleging that after the work was completed at his home, he and the victim went to a couple other sites, including in Portage, and that he last saw Mr. Morgan at approximately 5:30 p.m. that day.
Prior to an afternoon recess, the jury heard additional testimony from state police, including one of the lead investigators in the case.
The PSP investigator described an interview he had with Kline in which he appeared to be “over prepared” to answer questions.
The investigator claimed that Kline brought a prepared list of names and contacts with him to the interview.
When asked about his property, the investigator testified that Kline claimed he did not have access to the attached garage, stating that it was filled with items belonging to his landlord.
State police later got a search warrant for the garage and Kline’s home, where they reportedly discovered Mr. Morgan’s dismembered remains hidden underneath several rugs and blankets.
According to testimony, investigators also discovered various tools that Kline allegedly had access to, including a bloody shovel, a reciprocating saw and an ax.
Among their discoveries, troopers say they also found thousands of dollars in money that initially appeared real but were later found to have the words ‘for motion picture use only’ on the bills.
Outside of the garage, the investigator testified that police discovered two separate trash bags, each containing one of Mr. Morgan’s dismembered arms, as well as a landscaping tool.