Glynn Harrison Fish - Slain in 2001

Family: Slaying victim 'was always smiling'

'He was always smiling' Family shares memories of victim of 2001 slaying

Delta and Sandy Fish remember their 25-year-old son, Glynn Harrison Fish, as a smart young man who made good grades at South Side High School. He wasn't perfect, but he was a young man who enjoyed life and his family.

"Ever since he was young, he enjoyed activities and sports and always had a smile on his face," Delta Fish said Thursday. "He was one of the happiest kids you'd ever see. We made fun of his big smile. He was always smiling."

Delta Fish said his son took to things naturally, doing great mechanic work and nearly completing his certification as a pipe fitter.

When Glynn Fish wasn't doing mechanic work, or tattooing, which his parents said he loved to do and was very good at, he liked to spend time near the river.
"Glynn always loved the river," Sandy Fish said. "We have a river place of our own, which has always been a dream of ours, and we finally built that dream. We bought it, but we bought it too late, because he died right before we did."

On May 12, 2001, three weeks after Delta and Sandy Fish last heard from their son, Glynn's body was found in the Forked Deer River, wrapped in a blue tarp and weighed down with concrete blocks.

On Wednesday, Michael Shane Morphis, 28, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the slaying.

Delta Fish on Thursday said the arrest, coming almost five years after his son's murder, brings back memories of when he was asked to go to the Madison County Sheriff's Department to identify his son's body.

"His life was cut so short," Delta Fish said. "At the river place we got, I sit around and think, 'Well, I wish he was here.' It's just something that is always missing. It's always missing."

Delta Fish said he does not know Morphis but that he has taken some comfort from Morphis's arrest.

"I am extremely relieved that they arrested that man," Delta Fish said. "I have no doubt that they (authorities) have the right man."

Delta Fish said that he feels his son's death involved drugs, specifically crystal methamphetamine. He said that his son changed after hanging around with the "wrong people" and ended up addicted to the drug.

"He did try his best to straighten out," Delta Fish said. "He went to work and held down his job."

Sandy Fish said that everything seemed to be going well until her son began using crystal meth again and got into trouble with the law.

"He paid his dues, and he served his time," Sandy Fish said. "He went into drug rehab, and we felt like he was doing better."

At the time of his death, Glynn Fish was out on parole after serving two years in prison and pleading guilty to several counts of vehicular burglary, burglary and theft of property over $10,000.

After being released from jail, Glynn Fish moved in with his parents, who helped him get a car. Three months later, Glynn moved out on his own, talking to his parents periodically.

A few weeks later, Delta and Sandy Fish learned their son had been found dead.

Delta and Sandy Fish said they hope that their willingness to talk about their son's addiction and his murder helps other parents to protect their children from being led down the wrong path.

"Be in their (children's) business and know where they are at all times," Sandy Fish said. "Have open communication with your children. We have other children and this has helped us to make sure they are not led in the wrong direction."

Delta Fish said that he plans to speak out about the effects of crystal meth and what parents should look out for as far as their children are concerned.

"Don't let them go out for long periods of time with any specific persons without knowing who they are or what their activities are, or even their parents' activities," Delta Fish said. "That's why so many children end up molested and murdered nowadays, because they end up going to places they shouldn't have been.

"That's why my child is dead now. If I'd had enough sense back when (Glynn was 16) that he was doing drugs, maybe I could have intervened then and done something. But, I had no clue."

Delta Fish said that Glynn's two daughters, ages 7 and 11, have begun to ask questions about Glynn's death.

"We tell them he was smart," Delta Fish said. "We tell them that their father was loving and caring and that someone has been arrested for his murder."

Visit jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

- Tyrone Tony Reed Jr.,

425-9758