Photo by Autumn Walter | You never know who may be walking among you
A former University of Rhode Island student is facing charges of first-degree murder.
Owen Morris, a 21-year-old from Warren, Rhode Island, was ordered to be held without bail for the killing of a chiropractor. The bail hearing will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
According to police, Morris, and the victim, Clive Bridgham, 67, knew each other both personally and professionally. Morris had filed a complaint against the doctor, saying he had violated the patient-physician relationship during their sessions. This eventually led to Bridgham surrendering his license last year.
East Providence Police found Bridgham’s body on the floor of his home in Riverside on Jan. 11 with multiple stab wounds. The Police went to his house after his girlfriend, who was out of town, called the police and requested they check on him.
Police told NBC 10 that Bridgham’s killing was not random, saying that he was definitely targeted. While the investigation is still ongoing, the police are describing the murder as “brutal.”
The day after Bridgham’s body was found, Morris’ mother called authorities to report her son’s “altered mental status,” according to police. The log shows that Morris was taken to the hospital. According to an article by WPRI, they reviewed logs dating back to 2013, discovering that the Morris family made “multiple visits or calls to police to report their sons’ ‘emotional problems’ or ‘altered mental state.’”
Morris enrolled at URI in the fall of 2015, before taking a leave of absence in Feb. 2017 and formally withdrawing this past fall. While at URI, he was an economics major who made the dean’s list during the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016. He was also a member of the 2015-2016 club lacrosse team.