Ronald Lee Moore
Moore's 2007 wanted photo
Born(1967-05-03)May 3, 1967
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJanuary 5, 2008(2008-01-05) (aged 40)
Jefferson, Louisiana, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Details
Victims2+
Span of crimes
1996–1999
CountryUnited States
State(s)Maryland, South Carolina
Date apprehended
December 24, 2007

Ronald Lee Moore (May 3, 1967 – January 5, 2008)[1] was an American fugitive, murderer, rapist and suspected serial killer who murdered at least two women between 1996 and 1999. He was not connected to either murder until over a decade later. In November 2007, while incarcerated in Baltimore for burglary, Moore was accidentally released due to a clerical error. He was captured on December 24, 2007, but committed suicide by hanging in January 2008 at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Louisiana. After his suicide, DNA testing linked him to other crimes and he was mentioned in the podcast Serial (2014) as a possible suspect in the killing of Hae Min Lee.[2][3]

Murders

Shawn Marie Neal

The first murder Ronald Lee Moore is known to have committed was of 23-year-old Shawn Marie Neal, an escort who lived in Leland, North Carolina. On June 2, 1996, Neal's dead body was found strangled and hanged in a condominium complex in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Her fiancé had reported her missing after she failed to return home from going to meet a man named Don Gibson; police later determined the name was an alias. Neal left behind a 4-year-old daughter, her mother and her fiancé.[4] The murder became a cold case and went unsolved for nearly twenty-four years.[5]

In 2017, the case was reopened and a new investigation was launched. In 2019, new DNA testing was conducted on a bedspread and some towels that had been found at the crime scene. The DNA obtained matched Moore's and the case was officially closed in February 2020, with Moore confirmed as Neal's killer. Authorities believe Moore had been passing through South Carolina while on his way to Louisiana as a fugitive. Moore had no ties to Neal and police believe the killing was random.[6]

Annelise Hyang Suk Lee

The second known victim of Moore's was 27-year-old Annelise Hyang Suk Lee, a Korean-American woman who was murdered in 1999 in Maryland. Lee was last seen alive on December 10, 1999, in a parking lot outside her apartment after she was dropped off home by her employer. The employer grew concerned when Lee did not show up for work or answer her phone the following day, and she was reported missing to the police. Her body was found in her Owings Mills, Maryland, apartment by a maintenance worker on December 13, 1999.[7] An autopsy determined that she had died of blunt force trauma and strangulation. The murder went unsolved for nearly fourteen years.[8]

In March 2013, several pieces of evidence were re-examined and a DNA profile was developed. The profile was found to match Moore and he was confirmed as Lee's killer.[9]

Fugitive

In 2000, Moore was arrested for assault and burglary and was sentenced to thirteen years in prison.[10] He had been arrested frequently throughout his life for various different burglary offenses and served many years in Maryland jails. In July 2006, while serving time in prison, DNA linked Moore to an unsolved rape from October 1999 in which he had broken into a woman's apartment, shocked her with a cattle prod and forced her to perform sexual acts on him.[11]

On November 21, 2007, Moore was accidentally released from the Baltimore City Correctional Center. Officials had been instructed to move Moore to the Anne Arundel County Detention Center, but due to a clerical error he was released instead.[12] Moore became a wanted fugitive and fled from Maryland to Louisiana. His release attracted national attention and he was profiled on the television series America's Most Wanted.[13]

On December 24, 2007, Moore was captured in Destrehan, Louisiana, after breaking into a home on Christmas Eve. Police responded to an alarm at the residence and saw evidence of a break-in. A deputy heading to the scene spotted Moore in the area riding a bicycle and holding a bag full of burglary tools. Moore was detained and taken into custody.[14]

Death

Moore was to be extradited to Maryland to stand trial, and was held at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Hahnville. On January 2, 2008, he committed suicide by hanging in his cell at the prison, having used the drawstring of a mesh laundry bag tied to an air-conditioning vent over the toilet. He was quickly untied and nurses at the prison performed CPR on him. After a few minutes Moore began to breathe again.[15]

Moore was transferred to St. Charles Parish Hospital, and was later moved to the Ochsner Medical Center in Jefferson Parish.[16] He was described as being in a very critical condition. In the early hours of January 5, Moore succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.[17]

It was not until over five years after his suicide that Moore was connected to the murder of Lee via new DNA testing.[18] He was later linked to the unsolved murder of Neal in 2020 via DNA evidence.[19][20] Moore was also mentioned in the first season of the podcast Serial as a possible suspect for the killing of Hae Min Lee (no relation to Annelise Hyang Suk Lee);[21] however, DNA evidence later obtained did not match Moore's.[18] Multiple agencies, including the FBI, are continuing to look at whether Moore could be responsible for any other unsolved murders.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ "Ronald Lee Moore- 5/3/67-1/5/08". prisontalk.com. January 22, 2008. Archived from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  2. ↑ "DNA links dead criminal to a 1996 South Carolina cold case". Associated Press. February 14, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ Sharp, Rachel (September 20, 2022). "Adnan Syed: What we know about two alternate suspects in 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee". The Independent. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ Cachero, Paulina (February 14, 2020). "One of the suspects in the killing of Hae Min Lee in the' Serial' podcast has now been linked to a violent 1996 cold case murder". Insider Inc. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ Arena, Ryan (March 25, 2020). "Former St. Charles inmate, America's Most Wanted fugitive connected to 1996 murder". St. Charles Herald Guide. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ Elassar, Alaa (February 16, 2020). "New DNA evidence links Donald Lee Moore, a man named in the 'Serial' podcast, to a 1996 killing". CNN. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Owings Mills strangling of woman ruled a homicide". The Baltimore Sun. December 15, 1999. p. 41. Retrieved June 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Annelise Hyang Suk Lee 2013 Update—Homicide Case Solved". Baltimore County Government. December 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ Anderson, Jessica (July 21, 2014). "Suspects named in 2 cold cases closed by DNA evidence". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ Youssef, Nancy A. (April 14, 2000). "Baltimore County man held in Towson burglary, assault". The Baltimore Sun. p. 27. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Fenton, Justin (December 28, 2007). "Md. fugitive captured in Louisiana". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  12. ↑ Fenton, Justin (December 20, 2007). "Suspect in sex assault is set free by mistake". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ "AMW.com | Browse Fugitives by Last Name". America's Most Wanted. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ Barbier, Sandra (December 27, 2007). "St. Charles burglary suspect among America's Most Wanted". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  15. ↑ Shannon, Robin (January 4, 2008). "Fugitive hangs himself". L'Observateur. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  16. ↑ "'America's Most Wanted' fugitive dies from injuries sustained during suicide attempt". St. Charles Herald Guide. January 7, 2008. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ Shannon, Robin (January 8, 2008). "Captured fugitive dies from hanging". L'Observateur. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  18. 1 2 Cox, Chelsey (February 13, 2020). "Dead man named in podcast 'Serial' suspected in 1996 cold case murder". USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  19. ↑ James, Andrew; Thomas, Elizabeth (February 13, 2020). "'Serial' podcast case possibly linked to NMB cold case murder". WPDE-TV. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  20. ↑ Jacobson, Don (February 14, 2020). "Police: DNA links Maryland man to 24-year-old murder case". United Press International. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  21. ↑ Geiger, Dorian (February 14, 2020). "Dead Man Named In Serial Podcast Now A Suspect In 24-Year-Old South Carolina Cold Case Killing". Oxygen. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  22. ↑ James, Andrew; Thomas, Elizabeth (February 13, 2020). "'Serial' podcast case possibly linked to NMB cold case murder". WCIV. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  23. ↑ Woods, Amanda (February 14, 2020). "Ronald Lee Moore, who was named in 'Serial,' linked to South Carolina cold-case murder". New York Post. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
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