Indictments reveal what led to murder charges in disappearance, death of Morgan Bauer

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — Warning: Some readers may find the details in the indictments graphic.

Indictments have been handed up against a man and a woman accused in the disappearance and death of a Newton County woman.

Morgan Bauer vanished in Feb. 2016. Bauer, who was 19 at the time, came to the Atlanta metro area after moving from South Dakota. Her phone last pinged in Porterdale, and her loved ones searched for answers for seven years.

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In August, police identified Katelyn Goble and Jonathan Warren as suspects in her disappearance. They were arrested in Illinois and California.

Channel 2 Action News obtained a copy of the indictments from Newton County Superior Court that reveal new details from the night Bauer was killed.

The indictments list strangulation as the cause of death for Bauer, alleging that both Goble and Warren put their hands around her neck.

The indictments go on to accuse the suspects of burning Bauer’s body after she died and destroying physical evidence.

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Goble and Warren each face charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another.

Warren’s indictment also lists a necrophilia charge.

Both Goble and Warren were extradited to Newton County and remain in jail with no bond.

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Channel 2 Action News has been following the latest developments in the Bauer case since July when federal agents assisted Porterdale police and various other law enforcement agencies in a search of a residence, looking for items related to the case.

NewsChopper 2 was over the scene, where there were several tents set up in a wooded area near a large home. Police released video of FBI agents slowly combing the property in grid formation.

Police said a new search warrant was issued based on new details that recently came to light. Officers said after that “items of evidentiary value” had been found at the house on Broad Street during their search.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke to Bauer’s mother via phone.

“As a parent and a person, I would hope you’d want to come forward not only to solve this case, but to bring peace to Morgan and her friends and the rest of her family,” Sherri Keenan said.

Police nor the indictments have revealed what evidence was found or how it’s connected to Goble and Warren’s arrests.

FBI, police searching home in Porterdale 7 years after 19-year-old woman vanished

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