BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) - An activist appeared in court Thursday, facing criminal contempt charges and possible jail time in connection with the case of a missing man.
Prosecutors say Lee Morrigan has information about the disappearance of Ralph Jean-Marie. Police believe Jean-Marie is dead but after more than a year of investigating and 60 interviews, there are still no answers as to what happened to him.
Morrigan arrived at court Thursday morning facing the possibility of going to jail.
“I’m going into this at peace,” Morrigan said.
The 36-year-old is among a group of activists who say they are fighting for justice for Jean-Marie.
The missing man was last seen at the Hollow Inn & Motel on April 13, 2020, but police say he wasn’t reported missing until April 15, hindering their investigation.
At a police press conference in April, Morrigan questioned Barre City police about the existence of a video that could shed light on the case.
Prosecutors want Morrigan to give up the source of that video. Morrigan says they only need to ask the city police.
“I don’t have the footage. I have never had the footage. I haven’t seen the footage. I don’t know what’s on the footage. My sources don’t have the footage. The only people that have the footage are the police force,” Morrigan said.
Morrigan has refused to comply with a subpoena to reveal information about this mystery video.
“My sole reason for not disclosing my source is I believe 100% that they are going to face repercussions from the Barre City Police Department,” Morrigan said.
Refusing the subpoena got Morrigan a contempt citation and the judge could order jail time.
The state argues what Morrigan allegedly knows can help the case.
“From the state’s perspective, we believe it would be helpful to try to ascertain whether there is the existence of other evidence that investigators have missed,” Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault said.
Thibault defends the state’s charges, pointing to a potential domino effect in not getting answers.
“If this witness is allowed to persist in refusal and have no consequence, the state is doubtful that other witnesses are going to believe in that process and will also go that same route in refusing to answer questions,” Thibault said.
The state’s attorney had no comment on Morrigan’s allegation that the contempt of court citation was aimed at rooting out a leak in the Barre City Police Department.
Barre City Police Chief Tim Bombardier told me he has no involvement with this portion of the court process. When I asked about the alleged video, he told me no comment. But he did say he believes that people need to respect and comply with the court process.
Morrigan left the court with no decision from the judge on the contempt charge.
Lee Morrigan: I encourage anybody who is withholding information that they know firsthand, secondhand to come forth.
Reporter Ike Bendavid: Then why don’t you come forward with your information?
Lee Morrigan: You know, I feel like that’s a very reasonable question and I think the fact that police have information that I have, I don’t have any information that the police don’t have.
The judge is now reviewing the case and will come back with a decision at the end of June.
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