Warren police called to murder suspect's home multiple times

Warren police were called to the Warren home of murder suspect Owen Morris four times over the past three years as his parents sought help with their son’s emotional problems, according to police records requested by the Warren Times and released this Thursday. Those calls were requested by Mr. Morris’s parents, Spencer Morris and Allison Newsome, as they sought help for emotional issues with their son.

Mr. Morris, 21, is being held without bail at the ACI in Cranston. The former Wheeler School and University of Rhode Island student is suspected of murdering his one-time chiropractor, East Providence resident Dr. Clive Bridgham, in early January. Dr. Bridgham was found dead in his home by East Providence police on Thursday, Jan. 11, suffering from multiple stab and cut wounds.

Police have not released a suspected motive in the slaying, but Mr. Morris, who started seeing the doctor in 2016 for an unspecified injury, filed a complaint against him with the Rhode Island Department of Health last year, claiming that Dr. Bridgham “violated the professional boundaries of the chiropractic physician-patient relationship” during the course of their acquaintance.

The complaint led to the voluntary forfeiture of Dr. Bridgham’s license last fall.

Though Mr. Morris had never been arrested prior to this week, Warren police are familiar with him. Officers were first called to his home at 9:56 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, for an emotional problem. Records indicate that a person was transported to the hospital as a result of that call, but records do not specify who that was.

About two months later, on March 13, 2015, Ms. Newsome went to police headquarters to report an emotional problem with her son. As a result, EMS crews transported Mr. Morris to Kent County Hospital.

The next call related to Mr. Morris occurred on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017, when Spencer Morris went to the police station to speak to officers about his son.

On Friday, Jan. 12, the day after Dr. Bridgham was found murdered in his home, Ms. Newsome again went to police headquarters to report an “altered mental status” with her son. As a result, Mr. Morris was taken to Rhode Island Hospital.

The next week, police made three more visits to the Morris home as part of the murder investigation.