Last week I posed a question on the Tar Heel True Crime Facebook page asking what unsolved crime readers would like to see covered. My friend from high school, Summer, reminded me of an unsolved murder that happened in our hometown when we were seniors at Topsail High School. I had actually thought that this had been solved but unfortunately I was incorrect.
I'd first like to tell you a little bit about my hometown of Hampstead, NC in Pender County. It's an unincorporated community located between Wilmington and Jacksonville on Highway 17. Across from the Intracoastal Waterway you can see Topsail Island, a beach that in my not so humble opinion is the most beautiful in the world. The 2010 census reports that it's population was 4,083 but almost ten years later I'm sure it's got to be at least double that. When I was growing up there, Hampstead was home to three golf courses, 2 Subways, 1 Hardee's and a Food Lion. If I wanted Bojangle's, I would skip class (sorry Mom and any former teachers reading this) and drive twenty minutes into Ogden just for a Cajun Filet Biscuit. Topsail High School was a 1A school that competed against the other small schools along the coast. I was involved in various sports and extracurricular activities, mainly softball, so a lot of my time in high school was spent traveling between Hampstead and Wilmington for practices and games. When I left Hampstead to attend college, a lot of growth in the town began to occur. Topsail High School is now a 3A school with an enrollment of almost 1,400. There is a Taco Bell, a McDonald's, a Dunkin' Donuts, a Lowe's Foods, and other various establishments now located in the "Seafood Capital of the Carolinas." I guess everyone says this but it really was a special place to grow up.
Fun fact: did you know when you mix together the trauma of losing a parent and the pressure associated with applying for colleges you get an anxiety and depression disorder? My Dad had died in February 2008 and in the fall of 2009 I was a 17 year old senior ready to start fresh literally anywhere else. Some of the schools on my list included NC State, UNC, App State, ECU, and UNCW. The problem is, I'm somewhat of a Type-A kind of gal, so I put a lot of pressure on myself when it came to applying for colleges. My best friend and I literally joked about our panic attacks that we would have while we applied for college (humor is the solution to all mental illness people). I tell you all of this so you can get an idea of the mental state I was in on September 27, 2009 and why I thought it was actually solved. I can remember being scared after hearing on the news that a woman was murdered in her home walking distance from my own home. I can even remember being extra cautious to lock all of our doors and windows but at some point the pressure of college applications took over any fear I had of being the next murder victim in Hampstead and I got back to work.
At 10:37 PM, the Pender County Sheriff's Department responded to a call at 2634 Sloop Point Road, a doublewide trailer at the end of a dead-end road (2.1 miles from my childhood home where I was currently living at the time). The neighbor of 52 year old Beverly Ennis Moore had contacted 911 after Beverly's husband, Darryl Moore, discovered his wife and ran next door for help. The neighbor reported in his phone call to 911 that Darryl thought his wife had killed herself. In an interview with WECT in 2010, Darryl Moore said he thought she had overdosed, stating she had been hanging out with "the wrong crowd." The neighbor reported he went next door to assess if Beverly had a pulse. He reported she was laying in her bathtub and when he picked up her hand she was blue, stating, "I could tell she'd been that way for a while." When authorities arrived on the scene, it became clear that Beverly had not died from suicide. Pender County now had their first homicide victim of 2009 on their hands and the first homicide in Hampstead since 2002. An autopsy report confirmed that Beverly had been sexually assaulted, strangled and left for dead in the bathtub. Deputies on the scene reported that there appeared to be no signs of struggle and no indication that her home had been broken into. They also reported that there was no indication of alcohol or drug use.
In the months prior to Beverly's murder, Beverly and Darryl had separated and Beverly was living by herself. She had worked at General Electric for 18 years until she retired early and together Darryl and Beverly had three daughters who did not live in the home. After her murder, a neighbor reported in an interview that Beverly "had lots of issues" that she spoke to her openly about such as marital strife and the fact that her children did not live with her. Court documents indicate that the marital problems were a result of Darryl's drug and alcohol abuse. Despite this record of a rocky marriage, Special Victims Unit Detective Scott Lawson reported to the media in the days after Beverly's murder that Darryl was not considered a suspect and was cooperating with the investigation. Detective Lawson stated that Darryl was "very distraught." (Irrelevant topic: Detective Scott Lawson was the police officer who taught my DARE class when I was in 5th grade.)
Neighbors described the road as "fairly quiet" and as a former resident of Hampstead I can tell you that that is an accurate description of the area. Hampstead was a place where you could see the stars at night and smell the ocean in the air. Were there some hellions who liked to stir up trouble? Yes, but overall, it wasn't (and still isn't) an area known for rampant crime. With that being said, it's unusual that two neighbors of Beverly reported that they had been the victims of robberies. One neighbor said his jon boat was stolen from his front yard despite the fact it was chained to a tree and another couple reported their property had been burglarized four separate times.
In November of 2009, two months after Beverly's murder, the Pender County Sheriff's Department released sketches of two men that they wanted to identify and speak with in connection to the case. According to Detective Lawson, a witness reported that these individuals were seen leaving the area around Beverly's home near the time of her death. One sketch depicts a thin, white, tan-complected man with sandy blonde hair. His height is estimated to be between 5'7" and 5'8" and his age is estimated to be between 35 and 45 years of age. The other sketch is of a stocky, muscular, white man who's height ranges from 5'10" to 6'. Deputies say that man's age is thought to be between 38 and 45 years old. It appears the case became cold until September of 2011, when authorities released the name of a person of interest in Beverly's murder. 33 year old James Gorby was arrested for the murder of his step-father, Roger Arnold Mock I, during the commission of a burglary. In April of 2013, James pled guilty to first-degree murder and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. According to the Pender County Sherriff at the time, Carson Smith, Gorby was considered a person of interest in Bevelry's murder prior to the murder of his step-father. I was unable to find if Gorby was officially named as a suspect in Beverly's murder.
When interviewed in 2010 by WECT, Detective Lawson said "The memory of Ms. Moore in the bathtub is a memory that won't be erased." The detective also stated that interviews with witnesses, lie detector tests and the sketches of the two men wanted for questioning have produced leads that led to nothing. Even a $10,000 reward offered by Beverly's family and state authorities leading to the arrest of those responsible for Beverly's murder did not bring an arrest. Next month will mark the ten year anniversary of the unsolved murder of Beverly Ennis Moore. Help try to give the Moore family closure and put a killer behind bars. If you have any information related to this case, please call the Pender County Sheriff's Department at (910) 259-1438.
https://www.wect.com/story/11993656/pender-authorities-look-for-key-detail-to-solve-murder-case/
http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/topsail_voice/news/article_05ca0fe0-bd66-52fb-92eb-a66f1b7e513a.html
