Bio 

Major Morris Jr. was born on August 2, 1954. By the early 1970s, Morris was living in Oswego, Illinois, with his wife, Patricia. They married when he was 18 years old. At that time, Morris worked in a metal factory, while Patricia worked at a local restaurant.

In 1973, Morris lived near the area where 15-year-old Roberta Jean Anderson disappeared. Roberta was a high school student from the Oswego area. She vanished after leaving a friend’s rural home, where she had been helping build a homecoming float.

Morris became an early suspect after Roberta’s body was found because he and his wife moved to Missouri soon after the discovery. Police interviewed him there, but he denied being involved. During one interview, he made troubling statements, including saying that if he had killed her, he did not know it. He also described a possible version of the crime that later appeared similar to the confession he gave many years later.

Morris was not charged in 1973 because investigators did not have enough evidence at the time. He later joined the United States Army in 1980, after both confirmed murders had already happened. He served in Germany, worked with military vehicles, and received an honorable discharge in 1989.

After leaving the Army, Morris and his family lived in Oklahoma and later moved to Dixon, Missouri. The murders of Roberta Anderson and Margaret Stirn remained unsolved for years.

In 1992, investigators reopened the Anderson and Stirn cases. They also reviewed the 1972 murder of Julie Ann Hanson because it had similarities to the other cases. Morris was interviewed again and eventually confessed to killing Roberta Anderson. 

Murder Story

On September 27, 1973, 15-year-old Roberta Jean Anderson left a rural home in Oswego, Illinois, after helping friends work on a homecoming float. She left sometime after 8:30 p.m. but never made it home.

Three days later, on September 30, 1973, Roberta’s body was found at an abandoned rural property. Her body had been covered with an old wagon and other debris. She had been stabbed many times and died from severe blood loss.

Major Morris Jr. was 19 years old at the time. He became a suspect soon after Roberta’s body was found because he and his wife moved to Missouri within days of the discovery. Investigators searched the home he had left and found several items, including a knife, clothing, wash rags, and other materials that tested positive for human blood. Even with this evidence, police did not have enough proof to charge him at that time.

The second confirmed victim was 18-year-old Margaret Stirn. She disappeared on September 15, 1978, after leaving the College of DuPage. She had said she was not feeling well and left the campus on foot. Records say she sometimes hitchhiked between school and home.

Margaret’s remains were found on May 9, 1986, more than seven years after she disappeared. They were discovered very close to the same area where Roberta Anderson’s body had been found. Margaret was identified through dental records.

In 1992, investigators reopened the cases involving Roberta Anderson and Margaret Stirn. They also reviewed the 1972 murder of Julie Ann Hanson because it involved a teenage girl from the same general area. During the renewed investigation, Morris was questioned again and confessed to killing Roberta Anderson. His confession was recorded and later played for the jury.

In his confession, Morris said he had been driving and drinking beer when he saw Roberta walking along the road. He said he convinced her to get into his car. According to the parole-board summary, he said he touched her, she struck him, and the situation turned violent. The official record does not support adding more details beyond that account.

Morris was convicted of murdering Roberta Jean Anderson and was sentenced to 100 to 200 years in prison. In March 1997, he was also indicted in Margaret Stirn’s murder. He later pleaded guilty in that case and received a 20-year sentence.

Some crime summaries describe Morris as a suspected serial killer because he was convicted of two murders involving teenage girls several years apart. However, the verified record supports only two confirmed murder convictions. The older claim of “1–6 victims” should be treated as unconfirmed unless more court records prove it.

Morris later became eligible for parole review. On September 28, 2017, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied parole. In 2022, parole was denied again, and his next review was set five years later. As of the 2022 parole-board record, Major Morris Jr. was imprisoned at Menard Correctional Center.