He’s known for sudden, unprovoked violence, authorities said. He’s wanted on a murder charge and believed to still be living in the Washington area.
Richard Morton is one of The Examiner’s most wanted fugitives. Authorities allege he stabbed 39-year-old Rachel Culver, resulting in her death, on the steps of a domestic violence shelter in the District.
After a life on the streets, Culver had begun to rejoin society during the year she lived at the House of Ruth women’s shelter. Culver took a new job, got baptized and was trying to get her three children back, authorities said.
On the evening of Jan. 28, as she was returning to the shelter, Culver was stabbed, police said. With her last bit of strength, she crawled inside the shelter and was able to identify her attacker to a friend inside.
The 49-year-old Morton has a history of arrests for physical assaults, destruction of property and threats, authorities said.
“It seems clear that Morton is a person that has trouble controlling his impulses and quickly resorts to physical confrontations,” said Matt Burke, supervisory inspector with the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. “This is a bad mix for the community, and Morton should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Morton is described as 6 feet 1, 240 pounds, with a scar on his right leg. He has lived on the 2600 block of Martin Luther King Blvd. SE. He was known to frequent Northeast Washington and worked at a Safeway grocery store there until he was fired. He has family and acquaintances in Louisa, Va.
He also is wanted by authorities in Alexandria for violating his pretrial release orders on misdemeanor marijuana charges.
Anyone with information as to Morton’s whereabouts should not attempt to confront him, but rather should call the U.S. Marshals at 301-489-1717.
The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, run by the U.S. Marshals Service, comprises 28 federal, state and local agencies from Baltimore to Norfolk, Va. The unit has captured 19,000 wanted fugitives since its creation in 2004.
