The Murder of Timothy Moore
For this case I watched an episode of Murder Comes to Town. It’s season 2 episode 5, titled ‘He’d Do It Again.’
A loving father is killed in a small town.
Background
Timothy Moore
Timothy Moore, or Tim as he was called by his friends, was described as hardworking and as a good dad to his 16 year old son. Tim was 48 years old at the time of his death, worked in construction, and did everything he could to support his son Devon, and his ex-girlfriend Doris, who was Devon’s mom.
The Disappearance
On November 3, 2010, Alan Ashley, Tim’s best friend went out to search for him. He had received a call that Tim never came home, and that Devon hadn’t spoken to him all day. It was unusual because Devon and Tim were very close.
Alan said that there was a construction site near Tim’s home, and thought Tim could’ve went to look at it, and was injured somehow. Alan went to search the area, and found no signs of his friend.
Alan and Tim’s ex Doris went into the police station. The police said Doris seemed emotional and upset. The police, Alan and Doris agreed to wait one more day to see if Tim would show up at home. However, Tim never came home.
Dead Ends
The police went to Tim’s house on November 4. They noticed his truck was still in the driveway. In this small town, everyone knew everyone, and some of the police were friends of Tim’s. They knew he was very meticulous with his vehicles, and wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to touch his truck.
The police spoke to Devon, who appeared unemotional and not very concerned about his dad. They asked Devon when he last saw his dad. He said the night before he disappeared, they were watching TV, and he said he went to bed. He said he thought his dad went to bed too, but when he woke up the next morning he wasn’t there, and his bed hadn’t been slept in.
The police asked Devon what he thought could’ve happened to his dad. Devon said he thought his dad could have fallen asleep in his chair, and left early the next morning to search for spots for them to go elk hunting. Devon said that Tim could’ve gone up into the hills, where wild animals were known to roam.
The police brought in search dogs, to see if they could pick up Tim’ scent. The dogs led the police away from the woods, and to a nearby gas station. The gas station was two blocks away from Tim’s home. The police asked if they could look at the surveillance cameras, but the employee said they weren’t working.
The dogs then led the police to a rundown shack and garage near the entrance to the woods. The dog sat down in front of the garage, but nothing was found. The police did discover that a man named Bill Hamptons owned the shack. He was a known troublemaker, who had a connection to the drug world. The police asked Bill if they could search his home, he said no at first, but the police weren’t going to take no for an answer. No sign of Tim was found in the home, and Bill told them that Tim would only go there if he needed car parts.
A Discovery
Every time the police thought they were getting somewhere, it led them to more dead ends. The police still wanted to talk to some of the residents of the town to see if they knew anything.
Tim’s neighbor told the police that she had seen a figure outside washing the truck around 4am, on the night Tim disappeared.
The police also discovered that Tim’s credit cards had been used at the same gas station that the dogs led them to. An ATM withdrawal of $15 had been taken out, but unfortunately, the surveillance footage had been taped over.
The police wanted to speak to Doris again, and when they found her she was living at Tim’s house. Tim had paid for Doris’ previous home because he was afraid that she would take him to court for custody of Devon. The police knew they needed more proof that a crime was committed to be able to obtain a warrant for the house. Doris was not the actual owner of the house, and Devon was a minor at the time.
On April 1, 2011, the five month search for Tim was about to end. In a forest about 20 miles away, one of Tim’s friends named Stacy Stuck and his brother discovered a human skull.
When the police and medical examiner arrived, they found more remains scattered around the area. The skull was also examined, and it was very apparent that the person had been shot four times in the head. They also found a shallow grave, a blood soaked bed sheet and towel. There were no bullet casings found at the scene, so this had been the dump site, and the murder had taken place somewhere else.
A Troubled Teen
On April 4, three days after the remains were found, Tim’s remains were positively identified through dental records.
The police were now able to obtain that warrant for Tim’s home. On April 8, they searched the house when Devon and Doris were gone.
In the garage the police found several blood drops. It was collected, and sent in for testing. The investigators found it odd that there was no shovel found in Tim’s garage, especially since he worked in construction. It led them to believe that Tim’s killer had taken the shovel from the home.
There were traces of blood found inside the home as well, on a chair, vent, and carpet. There was a large blood stain on Tim’s mattress, which had been flipped over. A .22 caliber shell casing was found lodge in the headboard. The police also found bed sheets that were identical to the ones found at the crime scene.
Once again, Devon was brought in for questioning. They asked him to go over his story again, and this time he said he and his dad got into an argument about his grades, on the night Tim went missing. However, Devon said that he and his went to sleep putting their argument on hold.
The police asked Devon if he had heard anything that night, and he said no. The police were suspicious because they knew Tim had been shot four times. They asked Devon to take a polygraph, which he passed. The police had Doris take a polygraph too, and she passed.
The Murder Weapon
The police knew they were getting closer to solving Tim’s murder. They had a few more dead ends to comb through first. The blood in Tim’s garage came back as being blood from a deer. The carpet sample revealed that it wasn’t blood that was found, but cat urine. The blood from Tim’s mattress did come back as a match to Tim.
The police now believed that Devon was the person who killed Tim, and that he could have used a silencer. The police eventually learned that they were right. Chief David Eastham of the South Bend police learned from his son and his friend that Devon had sold his .22 caliber rifle. Chief Eastham sent the gun in for testing, and the ballistics came back as matching the casing from Tim’s house.
On April 13, 2011, Devon Moore was arrested at South Bend High School.
Confession and Conviction
The police asked Devon for a third time what happened that night. At first, he stuck with his original story until they confronted him. Devon said he had an argument with his dad, and killed him in the middle of the night. Devon revealed he shot his dad four times, which is something the police never revealed to the public.
Devon then said he wrapped his dad in the sheets, put him in the bed of his truck and drove him to the woods. After leaving the woods, he stopped to get gas and some cash using his dad’s credit cards. He washed the truck and then went to bed.
The police asked Devon if he felt remorse, and he said no, and he’d do it again. The police asked Devon why he did it, and he said because his dad abused him and had no other options. However, the police looked into Devon’s medical records, and there had never been any sign of abuse.
On November 15, 2012, two years after he killed Tim, Devon pleaded guilty to first degree murder. He was sentenced to 31 years in prison.
Devon Moore
FINAL THOUGHTS
I kind of thought they were going to reveal that something helped Devon commit this crime, especially with taking Tim to the woods. However, it was Devon who committed this by himself. He seems very cold and obviously doesn’t have remorse for what he did. The police believe Devon just didn’t want to have any parental control over him, and I agree. He was young when he committed this, but it’s scary to think he’ll maybe be out in 31 years.
Sources
