Morgan Lee Lott, also known as Morgan Lee Stutler-Lott or Morgan Lee Lott was a 22-year-old Caucasian female from Vienna, West Virginia, whose life ended violently on July 20, 2024. She was born June 21, 2002, in Parkersburg and had graduated from Parkersburg High School in 2020. Online memorial information described her as a dental assistant who was enrolled in an accelerated nursing program at WVU, with plans to become a registered nurse.
She was also remembered as active in combat sports, including boxing, MMA, Toughman competition and Jiu Jitsu, where she had earned recognition.
On the afternoon of July 20, 2024, Vienna police were called to an apartment on 19th Street for a report of an unresponsive person. A family member had gone to the home, found Morgan inside and contacted 911. When officers arrived, they found her dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Later court reporting said she had suffered two gunshots to the head. Investigators secured the apartment, obtained a search warrant, collected evidence and interviewed witnesses as they began treating the scene as a homicide.
The case quickly turned toward Hearl Thomas Collins, a Vienna man who was identified by police as the suspect. Authorities described Collins as Morgan's live-in boyfriend, and police later characterized the killing as a domestic situation that had turned violent. Relatives reportedly told investigators that Morgan and Collins had a history of fighting and problems. Morgan's 4-year-old daughter was inside the home at the time of the discovery, and later sentencing details stated that the child was present during the shooting and was left alone in the apartment for several hours after Collins fled.
Through the night after Morgan was found, Vienna detectives pursued leads on Collins. Police obtained an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder. With assistance from the U.S. Marshals Office, West Virginia State Police, Parkersburg Police detectives, the Harrison County Sheriff's Office and other agencies, Collins was located the next morning at a residence in Stonewood, West Virginia, in Harrison County. Around 9 a.m. on July 21, 2024, Harrison County SWAT units executed the warrant, and Collins was arrested without incident. He was taken into custody and held at North Central Regional Jail without bond while awaiting court proceedings.
Collins later entered a plea agreement in Wood County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Morgan Lee Stutler-Lott and also pleaded guilty to child neglect creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. At sentencing, prosecutors and family members described the lasting harm caused not only by Morgan's death, but also by what her young daughter endured in the apartment. Morgan's mother spoke about her daughter's ambition to become a nurse and eventually a nurse practitioner, and about the trauma suffered by her granddaughter after being left alone with her mother.
During the sentencing hearing in July 2025, Collins addressed the courtroom and apologized to both families. He said he took responsibility and attributed what happened to jealousy, anger, fear, addiction and losing control. The judge sentenced Collins to life in prison for the murder charge and an additional 1 to 5 years for the child neglect charge, with the sentences to run consecutively. Under the plea agreement, the life sentence included mercy, meaning Collins could eventually become eligible for parole, though Morgan's family made clear they intended to oppose any future release.
