UPDATED: Bond set for Chris Morland, police release info on allegations he murdered wife
Chris Edward Morland Jr. was accused of slapping and punching his wife around in Wichita Falls a few years ago. In the latest domestic violence allegations, he is suspected of murdering his new wife just days after their marriage in Oklahoma.
Morland, 49, told police Cassidy Ritchie was visiting a friend, but they found the newlywed's body hidden in the back of her vehicle in a cramped space and covered with clothing and boxes, Tulsa police said Monday evening.
Ritchie had suffered several injuries from blunt force trauma, police said in a media release on Facebook.
Morland was being held in Tulsa County Jail on a $5 million bond set Tuesday for a pending murder charge to be filed by the District Attorney's Office, according to online jail information and Tulsa police.
Court appearance set for murder allegations against Chris Morland
Tuesday morning, Tulsa police Lt. Brian Watkins said that while Morland was arrested in Tulsa for a first-degree murder charge, he may still be charged with murder in Tulsa County or Rogers County.
Tulsa police said they have submitted the murder case to the DA's Office to file formal charges.
Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The search for Cassidy Ritchie
On Thursday, Ritchie's parents filed a missing persons report with Tulsa police. The 39-year-old woman had not spoken to her parents or children since Jan. 21.
That was about two weeks after Ritchie and Morland got married Jan. 7 in Tulsa, according to Oklahoma court records.
He was arrested Jan. 24 on Texas warrants and transported to the Tulsa Police Department's Detective Division, police said.
More: UPDATED: Arrested for his newlywed wife's murder, Chris Morland got in trouble with the law in WF
"Morland told multiple stories, and multiple versions of those stories," police said. "Morland would not come off any of his stories and maintained that she was just somewhere visiting a friend."
On Friday, homicide detectives found out her vehicle, a light blue 2006 Chrysler Pacifica, was by the I Don't Care Bar & Grill about seven miles east of Catoosa, Oklahoma.
On Saturday, police searched for Ritchie with the family and found witnesses who told them the car was wrecked off a creek at 30200 E. Admiral Place, police said.
Detectives recovered the vehicle, and it was towed with a "no-touch hold" to preserve evidence so investigators could conduct a thorough forensic examination in a secure environment, police said.
"We attempted to get Morland to sign a waiver for the car, but he refused and told us to get a warrant," police said.
Crime scene investigators served a search warrant on her vehicle Sunday, and Ritchie's body was subsequently discovered.
Were Chris Morland and the Wichita Falls victim ever divorced?
Morland may — or may not — have only recently been divorced from the Wichita Falls victim. She began seeking to end their marriage the year after his local arrest.
More: Accusations of infidelity lands husband in jail
Morland was charged with assault causes bodily injury-family violence, a misdemeanor, in connection with a Jan. 31, 2021, incident at the Oyo Motel in the 1800 block of Maurine Street, according to allegations in court documents.
The charge was dropped March 2, 2023, because police could not find the victim and she was not cooperative, according to the dismissal order.
Oklahoma divorce records filed by the Wichita Falls victim show that she and Morland were married Sept. 23, 2018, in Montague County. The North Texas county is about an hour's drive from Wichita Falls.
She filed for divorce from him Aug. 18, 2022, on the grounds of incompatibility. She contended they had been separated since Sept. 23, 2021.
Representing herself, the 55-year-old woman lists her occupation as certified nurse assistant and Morland as unemployed in the divorce petition. Morland also did not have a lawyer.
When Morland failed to show up for court, she requested a default judgement Oct. 4. He again didn't show up for a hearing, this time on Dec. 20 for her request. Attempts to serve him with court papers at various addresses have been unsuccessful during the divorce case.
The hearing for a default judgement was to be rescheduled upon request. Nothing in online Oklahoma court records indicates the divorce was finalized.
Chris Morland's criminal record
At the time of his arrest Monday, Morland was on probation for three Tulsa County charges, according to Oklahoma court documents.
He pleaded no contest to two charges of obstructing an officer and one charge of public intoxication in connection with incidents Aug. 4.
A traffic court judge gave him deferred sentences of six months for the three misdemeanors and placed him on probation, giving Morland the chance to avoid convictions if he successfully completed community supervision.
He was ordered to set up a plan to pay $1,000 for court fund and victim's compensation assessments.
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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Police release more on Chris Morland alleged murder of newlywed wife
