A Maryland man is facing life in prison after murdering his pregnant girlfriend and a store clerk two months later.
Torrey Damien Moore, 34, was sentenced on Friday to three life sentences plus 80 years in prison for the 2022 murders of his 26-year-old girlfriend Denise Middleton, the unborn fetus, and the clerk, Ayalew Wondimu.
Moore, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, walked into the Dash In convenience store in Silver Spring on December 8 despite being banned and grabbed an iced tea before approaching the counter.
Moore allegedly began throwing items from the front counter at Wondimu, who was 61 at the time. Next, according to police, the employee grabbed a metal pole from behind the counter and attempted to strike Moore from across the counter. The defendant then allegedly took a step back, pulled out a “silver handgun” from his “front vest pocket,” and shot the convenience store clerk at point blank range.
Moore shot Wondimu multiple times before fleeing the store. The next day, cops conducted a no-knock raid on Moore’s apartment across the street, discovering the suspect.
“However, that’s not where the story ends,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy. “That’s where it became, tragically, worse than they ever could have imagined because there was a terrible smell that was obvious to the officers who came in to execute the no-knock search warrant.”
They discovered Middleton’s body under a blanket. She was eight and a half months pregnant and was about to give birth to her and Moore’s baby boy, Ezekiel. She had been shot seven times and was severely decomposed. Investigators later discovered she had been dead for approximately two months.
Moore and Middleton were captured on surveillance video entering an elevator at the apartment complex around 7 p.m. on October 9, 2022, where they engaged in a physical altercation. Cops believe they went inside the apartment where Moore fatally shot Middleton.
About an hour later, he left the apartment. Prosecutors stated that he then “traveled the country” for approximately a month. During his vacation, he conducted Google searches such as “How long does it take for a dead body to smell?” and “How to move a dead body without being seen.”
Moore returned to his apartment in early November and lived with his girlfriend’s body for about a month before murdering Wondimu.
The motive for the killings was unclear, which irritated family members.
“I’d really like to hear why,” Denise’s father, Dennis Middleton, said at a press conference after the hearing.
Moore’s defense attorney claimed in court filings that his client was mentally ill and suffering from schizophrenia, according to the Washington Post.
“The very fact that Mr. Moore was sleeping in the apartment with Ms. Middleton’s body emphasizes that Mr. Moore’s mental illness brought him out of touch with reality,” the legal representative wrote.
Moore was convicted of Wondimu’s murder by a jury in May 2024, while a separate panel found him guilty of Middleton’s and her unborn child’s deaths in November.
Wondimu’s window addressed the court about her loss.
“He was my everything,” she told the Post. “I am heartbroken.”
