Why did Tripp Morris go to prison? What we know about former USC student in viral HONY saga

She loved his blue eyes.

That’s what Venus Morris Griffin says she noticed first about the man who would become her husband, John Evangle “Tripp” Morris III when they met at the University of South Carolina in the 1980s.

What began as almost a fairytale love story turned dreadful, and then criminal, Griffin wrote in a 13-part series on the Humans of New York Facebook and Instagram pages, which captivated an audience of tens of thousands before the last post was uploaded around 9 p.m. Thursday.

Morris is serving a 45-year prison sentence at Baldwin State Prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, after being convicted of two counts of child molestation.

The charges stemmed from a 2010 incident with a 5-year-old, court records show.

His appeal on the charges was denied because it was not filed in a timely manner.

In her Humans of New York story, Griffin said Morris was the perfect gentleman during their courtship. She said she had been raised in a dysfunctional family in Kershaw, South Carolina, with limited means. His family was wealthy with a beach house and fishing boat. He drove a Corvette.

He was sweet and respectful, president of his fraternity, with the all-American good looks most traditionally seen as leading men in beach movies, Griffin described. Tall, blonde, clean cut.

University of South Carolina athletics spokesman Steve Fink confirmed that Tripp Morris was a cheerleader at USC in the late 1980s. The person Fink got that information from said, “What’s he done now? I thought he was in jail.”

Through the years, Morris appeared to be a great father to their six children. He played with them and seemed to relish their time together, photos posted with Griffin’s story show. Many of the photos show the two of them, hugging, kissing, seemingly enjoying life.

Every year it was his job to decorate the Christmas tree, Griffin wrote.

Morris worked for his parents in an asbestos removal company in Augusta, Georgia.

Finances were tight, though. Soon, cracks appeared, Griffin described. He got angry with her, she said. She felt she was verbally abused, put downs, name calling. Then she discovered he had been unfaithful.

“How could I not have known? I’ve asked myself that so many times. We were married for twenty years; I knew all his friends, all his coworkers.” she said on Humans of New York.

The beginning of the end came, Griffin said, when she received a call from a woman who said she was involved with Tripp.

Then came the allegations of molestation.

Their divorce was final in 2011, court records show. Griffin has remarried and had another child. Her oldest children are grown — the eldest, John, is about to graduate from dental school. A daughter has children of her own.

Morris began serving his prison sentence in 2012. He will be eligible to apply for parole in 2037, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 11:39 AM.