Context: The place in Tampa, Florida where Andie Morrell’s body was located on September 19 (Google Maps). Inset (left): Justin Hawker (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Andie Morrell (Facebook).
A Florida teenager has been charged with murder after he called 911 to tell dispatchers that he was “involved in a homicide.”
Seventeen-year-old Justin Hawker was taken into custody on September 20 after he called 911, as prosecutors reported. During the call, he informed the dispatcher, “I was involved in a homicide” at his residence. This call was made after officers approached his home to ask about a missing person case involving Andie Morrell, aged 37. Morrell’s body had been discovered “wrapped in bedding and duct tape” behind a structure in an open lot on September 19.
Court records reveal that Morrell worked as an exotic dancer known to make “house visits,” as mentioned by her roommate to law enforcement. The last communication from Morrell was a text she sent on the evening of September 10, indicating she was headed to Hawker’s residence.
Following Morrell’s disappearance, her relatives used a tracking app to locate her cellphone, which showed it being at Hawker’s location, remaining “stationary” since the night she went missing.
During the investigation, surveillance video from the business near where Morrell’s body was found became crucial. Footage from the early hours of September 11 showed a reported stolen vehicle arriving in the parking lot. A male matching Hawker’s appearance emerged from the driver’s side.
The records state that this individual was seen on the footage with a gas can, pouring an “unknown liquid” over the body, attempting unsuccessfully to ignite it. Later, the vehicle was captured on another camera hitting a median; after that, the driver was seen removing the car’s license plates and then leaving the scene on foot.
After police identified Hawker as one of the residents at the address Morrell gave to her roommate, sheriff’s deputies questioned Hawker and his 15-year-old girlfriend, who both appeared “nervous.” While in the house, deputies noticed “the distinct smell of bleach” and observed several bleach stains on the carpet. The girlfriend told police that she “spilled bleach while cleaning.” An adult male whose name was also connected to the house was found to be on a cruise at the time of Morrell’s disappearance. His relationship with Hawker was not made clear.
When the Tampa Police Department obtained a warrant to search the home, investigators found several blood spots in the living room and an empty magazine that belonged to a firearm found in Hawker’s bedroom. Deputies also found clothing that matched the man on the surveillance video taken where Morrell’s body was found and a roll of duct tape.
Hawker was questioned by the deputies after being read his rights. He reportedly told police that on the night of Sept. 10, he went to a nearby playground “to look at the stars” and fell asleep there. When questioned about the bleach stains, he claimed that he was trying to clean another stain with the bleach. He eventually claimed he was “under the influence of mushrooms and wanted a lawyer.”
Two more witnesses spoke to police about Hawker’s activities. One was Hawker’s neighbor, who said he saw a Black woman fitting Morrell’s description on the front porch of Hawker’s home. The night she was there, he told police he heard “two loud bangs” come from the direction of his neighbor’s house that were consistent with gunshots.
An autopsy revealed that Morrell had a gunshot wound that perforated her aorta and right lung.
Another witness was a friend of Hawker’s girlfriend, who told police that the girlfriend called her using Instagram while at Hawker’s house. She showed the witness the firearm that was found in his room and told the witness she would tell her “everything.”
The same night, Hawker placed the 911 call that brought police directly to him. He was taken into custody and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.
Hawker, who is being charged as an adult, faces one count of second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of tampering with evidence. During a court appearance on Wednesday, he was ordered to be held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 13.
