Montgomery County, Maryland detectives searched a suspect’s home as part of an investigation into the fatal shooting of a gas station clerk and unexpectedly uncovered a woman’s decomposing body. The cops said that the suspect, 31-year-old Torrey Moore, was residing in the apartment for an undetermined, but lengthy time with the dead body of a woman who was eight months pregnant when she died.
On Thursday, December 8, Moore visited a convenience store across the street from his home in the middle of the afternoon. He brought some items to the counter to check out and got into an argument with the clerk behind the counter, 61-year-old Ayalew Wondimu of Silver Spring, Maryland.
The dispute got to the point where Moore started throwing items at Wondimu, while the clerk tried to beat Moore off with a stick. Moore allegedly pulled out a revolver and shot Wondimu, killing him. Detectives tracked Moore to his apartment across the street and obtained the search warrant. While searching the home, a SWAT team found a woman’s body in an advanced stage of decomposition and arrested Moore.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said that Moore had an argument with the deceased female about a month before she was found. No one complained about an odor coming from the apartment, but one neighbor mentioned an odor that he would notice when coming out of the elevator. He said it smelled like trash.
Moore was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a felony for the death of the gas station employee.
An investigation is underway to determine if a gun found in Moore’s apartment was the gun that killed Wondimu. The death of the woman in the apartment is also under investigation.
