Scalpel And Bone Saw: The Senseless Murder That Still Haunts Lubbock

When I think of crimes that were completely and tragically senseless and avoidable, I, of course, think of the murder of Sarah Alice Morgan. But to be honest, I only now know her name, and I think I may not have known she was female (adding another layer of discomfort for me, as a woman). Those of us who grew up in Lubbock and/or attended Texas Tech have heard hints and whispers of her murder, but what's the real story?

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Murder In The Texas Tech Science Building

According to a KTTZ article (which heavily references the book Fatal Exam, about the murder), in early December of 1967, a body was discovered in the still extant Texas Tech Science building in Room 304-J (I am not sure if this lab room is still labeled as such). It was the cleaning woman, Alice Morgan, who had been brutally murdered by a scalpel and a bone saw, leaving her nearly decapitated.

Why Was a 54-Year-Old Cleaning Lady Killed?

A Texas Tech graduate student, Benjamin Lach, was convicted of the murder of Alice Morgan. It was theorized that he murdered her to obtain her building keys. Lach apparently confessed to the crime after crashing his car into a tree during a chase with LPD. LPD had surprised him in a professor's office after he used a key to gain entrance into a room he had no permission to enter. Lach fled on foot and then by vehicle from the encounter. He was "reportedly found in possession [of] a key belonging to Mrs. Morgan."

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His defense attempted to deny that the prosecution had any real evidence linking Lach to the murder and indicated it could have been someone else, perhaps even a professor. However, the jury didn't buy it. Lach could have received the death penalty, but instead got 40 years. He only served 15 years before he was paroled in 1983.

Lubbock Gripped In Terror

Before Lach was caught “red-handed” with Alice’s key, Lubbock citizens were terrorized by the knowledge that “The Scalpel Killer” was on the loose. With no clear motive for the crime, people feared a random killer was roaming the city, and women all over Lubbock wondered if they could be next.

A Haunted Past

Some say you can see Alice right before or during the annual Carol of the Lights in the science building. It certainly makes for a spooky Christmas-time story to tell. What is spookier to me is to see her face and realize just how grandmotherly she looked in her 1960s-style glasses and large earrings. She was more than a creepy story to tell Freshmen; she was a real Lubbock woman with a family, who can speak for her best:

A VERY LOVED AND HARD-WORKING MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER, SHE WAS MURDERED WHILE WORKING AT TEXAS TECH COLLEGE AS A CLEANING WOMAN ,, HER GRANDKIDS AND HER 2 DAUGHTERS WERE HER LIFE, AND SHE IS DEARLY MISSED BY US ALL.

For all I know, Lach is still alive, free, and who-knows-where. Mrs. Morgan was buried in the City of Lubbock Cemetery, where her headstone can still be found today.