Charges filed against man in 2023 Murray storage unit fire that killed woman and dog

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Attorney General’s Office filed charges against the man suspected of locking his girlfriend and her dog in a storage unit,

On February 18, 2023, Morgan Kay Harris was killed alongside her dog Huck in a storage unit fire in Murray. Her boyfriend at the time, Alexander Wardell, was later arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and kidnapping.

He admitted to police that he closed the storage unit door and put a lock on it before leaving the area. While he was gone, the unit caught fire, and Harris and her dog were killed.

However, in May of 2024, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill declined to file charges in this case. At the time, Gill said, “With the current evidence before it, this office cannot in good conscience file charges against Mr. Wardell.” The cause of the fire was ruled as undetermined, and at the time, investigators found it “not likely” that Wardell intentionally started the fire.

According to the charges, the AG’s review of the case found a bloody and burned shirt in a duffel bag belonging to Wardell. A DNA test found that the blood on the shirt matched Harris’ DNA, and when investigators interviewed Wardell in 2025, he had no explanation for the blood on the shirt.

The AG’s office filed two sets of charges against Alexander Paul Wardell, 33. Wardell is facing one count of felony murder with domestic violence and habitual offender enhancements (a first-degree felony), one count of kidnapping with domestic violence and habitual offender enhancements (a second-degree felony), and one count of aggravated animal cruelty (a class B misdemeanor).

He was also charged “in the alternative” on one count of manslaughter with domestic violence and habitual offender enhancements (a second-degree felony) and one count of aggravated animal cruelty (a class B misdemeanor). Being charged in the alternative means that a jury will be able to choose to convict him of the first set of charges, the second set of charges, or find him not guilty, depending on the evidence presented in trial.

The habitual offender enhancement applies when someone has been convicted of a violent felony on at least three separate occasions and has served prison time.

Today, DA Gill released a statement about the charges, saying, “We went through a thorough analysis of the fire with arson ATF investigators, as well as our arson and homicide team, to reach the decision that we did. If the Attorney General has a different perspective, we share a mutual desire for a just outcome.”

The charges allege that Wardell locked Harris in the storage unit with her dog, making it impossible for her to escape the fire that started in the back right corner of the unit. There was no light in the unit, and Harris’ phone battery was dead. Reportedly, Wardell told police that when he left, there was no candle or fire source burning.

The fire burned underneath Harris and seriously burned her buttocks and left side, and investigators believe that she was unconscious at the time because she did not immediately get up to avoid the pain. She regained consciousness at some point and stood up, causing thermal injuries to her throat and airway. Investigators declared her cause of death to be smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

Wardell returned to the scene 20 minutes after he left, and firefighters were already on scene. He unlocked the storage unit with his key, and the only other copy of the key was found on Harris’ body. The type of lock and the type of clasp on the storage unit meant that it was impossible for Harris and Huck to escape the unit. If it had been unlocked, the “dynamics of the fire” would have pushed the door open.

ABC4’s Justice Files found that Wardell had a history of violent offenses and domestic violence. He was placed on probation for three years for stabbing and choking a different girlfriend in 2018, and he reportedly violated that probation at least 18 times and was arrested multiple times while on probation.

Adult Probation and Parole requested his probation be terminated and Wardell sent to prison on five separate occasions, but Judge McElvie dismissed that request each time. In 2021 and 2022, Wardell was arrested on drug and weapons charges respectively, and he was given more time on probation.

Wardell is currently incarcerated at the Utah State Prison, and the AG’s office has requested a no bail warrant/continued detention in the prison because of his history of violence and a likelihood to flee if released.

Background and details from the charges

According to the charges, Wardell and Harris began dating in 2022, and Wardell moved in with Harris and her roommate. The roommate reported overhearing verbal arguments between the two, and he also worried that Wardell hit Harris, which she reportedly denied. The roommate told Harris he did not want her and Wardell to live in his home, and they moved out.

On February 8, 2023, Harris sent Wardell a Facebook message that said, “guess I’m gonna apply to live by myself at an apartment you won’t know about so you can’t f***ing abuse or kill me.” Harris had previously bailed Wardell out in November 2022 after he was arrested for violating his probation, and she bailed him out again on February 16, 2023, after he allegedly violated his probation again.

The day before Harris’ death (February 17, 2023), a friend of Wardell’s texted him about sending him money. Wardell replied that Harris spent the money, and he would pawn her belongings to get the money for his friend. Records show that Wardell called Harris a derogatory slur.

On February 18, 2023, Wardell continued to talk about money with the friend, discussing how Wardell was broke and needed money to pay him and to have a place to stay for the weekend. In December 2022, Wardell received an inheritance from his grandmother’s will, but by the day Harris died, he reported that he was down to his last $200.

Prior to Harris’ death, Wardell also searched how to get a passport on his phone, according to search history obtained by police. Phone records also showed that Wardell and Harris argued about their drug usage.

On the afternoon of February 18, Wardell and Harris had been arguing. She called him from a gas station because her phone was dead, and he was frustrated at the lack of communication. Reportedly, a former girlfriend of Wardell told police that he required her to give him detailed information about where she was at all times, and if she missed a call, it would cause a “huge fight.”

Wardell told police that Harris was angry at him and that they were both “uncomfortable coming off” of drugs. Later that afternoon, Harris called a nonprofit about providing emergency sheltering for Huck, her dog, and used Wardell’s phone number as the contact.

Before leaving the storage unit, Wardell texted his friend, and shortly before 4:30, he locked Harris and Huck inside. According to the charges, there were no working electrical outlets in the unit and Harris’ phone battery was dead. Wardell told police multiple times that he did not lock her in the dark and that she had her phone, but he also never said that there was a candle burning or that there was any source of light other than her phone.

When the fire started, Harris was unconscious, as she did not get up as the fire burned her. She was sitting in a folding lawn chair, and when she stood up after regaining consciousness, a metal support from the chair melted to her thigh. She moved to the door and attempted to get oxygen from under the door.

A burnt candle was found under the chair Harris was sitting on, and a lighter was found on her body. Wardell returned to the storage unit 19 minutes later.

As the AG’s office reviewed the case, they executed a search warrant of a duffel bag that belonged to Wardell that was booked into evidence at the Murray Police Department. Investigators found a bloody and burned shirt in it, and DNA testing found the blood to match Harris’ DNA. Wardell told investigators that he did not fight with Harris prior to her death and she had not bled in his presence. He did not have an explanation for the blood.