Kline

EBENSBURG — The trial of a South Fork man accused of killing an Altoona landscaper in 2023 entered its second day Thursday as a state police trooper testified about the interviews conducted with the suspected killer.

Austin L. Kline, now 25, is facing charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of 55-year-old Richard Morgan on May 25, 2023.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in the case, Morgan’s family reported him missing when he didn’t return home from a job. His dismembered body was found in Kline’s garage.

During the investigation into Morgan’s disappearance, police interviewed Kline, who said he asked Morgan to look at other jobs he wanted done and then Morgan dropped Kline off at his residence along the 700 block of Lake Street in South Fork.

Cpl. Scott A. Urban interviewed Kline three times about Morgan and those interviews were played in court Thursday, with the first interview recorded about 4:30 p.m. the day after Morgan’s family reported him missing.

During the recorded interview, Kline told Urban that he contacted Morgan through Facebook Messenger to complete excavation work at his South Fork residence. Kline said that after the project, he and Morgan made some stops in Portage, Cresson and Duncansville to look at additional work before Morgan dropped Kline off at his South Fork residence.

Kline said the trip lasted about two hours.

In the video recording, Urban questioned Kline about the trip, asking why Kline didn’t follow Morgan. Kline said that his car wasn’t inspected and that his fiancee was using their Jeep.

Kline told police that Morgan left South Fork, drove toward Sidman and got on Route 219.

Kline said that he took his dog outside and sent a Snapchat to his fiancee after Morgan left.

The recorded interview shows Urban asked Kline about Morgan’s whereabouts, as he was reported missing. Kline said that he spoke about it with his fiancee and almost drove along Route 219 to find Morgan but didn’t.

Second and third interviews

The jury viewed the second interview Urban had with Kline, taken at 6:02 p.m. May 26, 2023. The interview revealed that Kline and Morgan engaged in a physical altercation in Kline’s garage before Kline struck Morgan with a shovel.

Urban testified that Kline admitted to hitting Morgan several times, leaving him for dead.

During the second interview, Kline said that he dropped Morgan’s truck off on Route 219 and walked back to the South Fork Legion for a beer.

“Are you sorry?” Urban asked Kline in the video, to which Kline answered “absolutely.”

After the second video ended, Chief Deputy District Attorney Warren L. Crilly III, prosecuting the case for the commonwealth, asked about the final interview that occurred at 12:13 a.m. May 27, after investigators allegedly knew the full story.

In that recorded interview, Urban said police had more information and things Kline said earlier weren’t lining up. Urban told Kline he wanted to give him an opportunity to be honest.

Under questioning by Urban, Kline admitted that he and Morgan got into an altercation because Morgan asked for more money for the job.

In the recorded interview, Kline admitted to shooting Morgan three to four times in the chest, but Morgan tried to get up off the ground, so Kline said that he took the shovel and hit Morgan across the bridge of his nose. Kline didn’t believe Morgan was dead yet, so he said that he took a landscaping tamper and smashed Morgan’s face.

Kline told Urban he took a break, took care of his dog, sent a Snapchat to his fiancee and changed his clothes before driving Morgan’s truck along Route 219, throwing the keys along the berm.

As he walked back to South Fork, a man picked him up and dropped him off at the South Fork Legion.

Kline said his fiancee spent the night at his house.

“Did she know?” Urban said, referring to Morgan being dead in the garage.

“Absolutely not,” Kline replied.

Continuing with the interview, Kline told Urban that early the next morning (May 26, 2023), he put his bloody clothes back on while his fiancee was sleeping and entered the garage to try to cut off Morgan’s left arm with a saw. After a few tries, Kline took an ax and cut off both arms, disposing of each in a separate garbage bag.

Kline told Urban he didn’t have a plan to dispose of the rest of Morgan’s body.

Kline said his actions didn’t display his character, but he reflected on a previous incident in vocational school when his teacher yelled at Kline for fighting another student.

“I had my fair share of scuffles, but not anything like this,” Kline told Urban in the video recording.

Urban was the only witness called to testify Thursday.

Wednesday recap

Opening arguments in the case were offered Wednesday, after which the jury heard testimony from Morgan’s son, who stated that his dad decided to do the job alone, as it was an “easy job” that would take no more than four hours to complete.

Also on Wednesday, the jury heard from a state police trooper who said Morgan’s phone last pinged on the day he died about 4:20 p.m. in the Portage Borough area.

The trooper said when police first interviewed Kline at his home, while still searching for Morgan, Kline appeared nervous and wouldn’t let troopers into his home.

Police also testified about a search warrant and the discovery of a bloody shovel, reciprocating saw and an ax. Outside the garage, an investigator testified about finding trash bags containing Morgan’s arms.

During his testimony on Wednesday, Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees described the “gruesome” scene inside Kline’s garage and testified that Morgan had been shot several times before being bludgeoned.

Prosecutors will call their final witness to the stand today. Closing arguments are expected today and the jury will begin deliberations.

Judge Tamara Bernstein is presiding over the case. The Burns Law Firm of Ebensburg is representing Kline.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.