A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury on Friday convicted a Silver Spring man of murder in the death of his pregnant girlfriend, Denise Middleton, 26, and her unborn child named Ezekiel, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The conviction marks the second this year for Torrey Damien Moore, 33, who was convicted in May in the 2022 fatal shooting of a gas station clerk in White Oak.
The jury convicted Moore of two counts of first-degree murder Friday in Middleton’s death, the state’s attorney’s office said during a press briefing at the court. The jury also found Moore guilty on charges of using a handgun in commission of a felony, a crime of violence against a pregnant person and illegal possession of a firearm.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said Moore faces “multiple life sentences” and the state’s attorney’s office would seek consecutive life sentences in the case of Middleton and the store clerk. According to a Friday statement from the state’s attorney’s office, Moore does not have the possibility of receiving parole.
The case is the first time in Montgomery County history in which a person has been convicted of the murder of a viable fetus, the statement said. Middletown’s body was found in an advanced state of decay Dec. 8, 2022, in Moore’s Silver Spring apartment, the same day that Moore shot gas station clerk Ayalew Wondimu, 61. An autopsy of Middleton’s body revealed that she had been shot seven times, according to police.
Moore’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28.
Supervisory Assistant Public Defender Roberto Martinez, who represented Moore, said in a statement emailed to MoCo360 Friday afternoon that the defense was “disappointed” in the verdict.
Martinez said the state “never accurately explained what happened inside the apartment” on the day Middleton was killed.
“This relationship was complex and turbulent, but the jury did not receive the complete picture to understand it,” Martinez wrote. “Mr. Moore and Ms. Middleton were about to become parents to welcome their first child. This case is tragic for all involved and was not as simple as the state led the jury to believe.”
Moore’s trial for the murder of Denise Middleton and her unborn fetus began Monday, according to digital court records, and lasted a week. According to McCarthy, the jury held a “very brief period of deliberation” before presenting its guilty verdicts.
“The story is awful. There is no way to slice it. This is a terrible case. I think it took a toll on the family; it takes a toll on prosecutors and takes a toll on the people that investigated this,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy was joined at the press briefing by members of Middleton’s family who spoke about the verdict and about the young, expectant mother. According to McCarthy, Middleton was eight and a half months pregnant.
“I will miss my baby and never get the chance to meet my grandson,” Middleton’s father, Dennis Middleton, said while choking on tears. “I’m not a man who likes to cry but she will be missed. I’m glad that the verdict that we got was great.”
Middleton’s sister Chinita Coates told reporters that Denise was a “loving and caring person, excited to have her first child.”
“It is unbelievable she will never have that opportunity,” Coates said.
Two of Middleton’s cousins, Taylor Middleton and Temprest Middleton, also spoke to the media.
“It’s unfortunate that her life was cut so short because it was taken from her,” Taylor said. “We didn’t lose her. We were robbed of her. We were robbed of Ezekiel. And we are just happy today that justice was served to the first degree of murder.”
Temprest remembered Middleton as a happy person who loved fashion and “desired peace.”
“I have a son. So, she would often say, we’re going to be boy moms,” Temprest said. She noted how the family was also “robbed” of having a proper burial for Middleton due to the condition of her body.
“He didn’t have any remorse when the jury came back and spoke about him being guilty. So, I’m just happy that we got justice,” she said.
Life in prison
Moore is also facing a Feb. 20 sentencing hearing for his murder conviction in the Dec. 8, 2022, fatal shooting of Ayalew Wondimu, 61, a convenience store clerk at a gas station in White Oak. Moore is also facing the possibility of life in prison in this case, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
According to authorities, Moore, who had been banned from the convenience store, attempted to purchase a drink and got into a verbal altercation with Wondimu, who ordered him to leave. Moore then drew a handgun and shot Wondimu three times before fleeing. According to the state’s attorney’s office, Wondimu was pronounced dead at the scene.
In May, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury found Moore guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Wondimu, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence and illegal possession of a regulated firearm.
Discovery of Middleton
As the gas station shooting took place, the body of Moore’s pregnant girlfriend lay in Moore’s White Oak apartment, according to authorities. Following that shooting, detectives determined that Moore lived in an apartment complex across the street from the gas station and were able to obtain a “no-knock” warrant for Moore’s unit.
In the early morning hours on Dec. 9, 2022, officers entered Moore’s apartment and found him sleeping in the dining room next to the handgun he had used to kill Wondimu and Middleton, McCarthy said at Friday’s press briefing.
As officers searched Moore’s apartment, they discovered Middleton under a blanket in a bedroom, McCarthy said. Her body was in an “advanced state of decomposition,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a Friday statement.
“Based on the work that was done by the police in this case, we actually realized that the murder of Denise, we identified it as October the ninth,” McCarthy said.
Middleton was last seen alive on surveillance video with Moore around 7 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2022, taking the elevator to their apartment, according to the state’s attorney’s office. “It is believed Moore shot Middleton in the minutes that followed,” the statement said. “Approximately one hour later, Moore was captured on surveillance video in the elevator leaving the crime scene alone.”
McCarthy explained that Middleton’s body had been left in Moore’s apartment for two months before it was discovered. Immediately after the killing, Moore fled the state and traveled the country for 26 days, the state’s attorney’s office said.
“His search engine history during that time included the terms, ‘How long does it take for a dead body to smell?’ and ‘How to move a dead body without being seen,’” the statement said.
McCarthy said authorities would not have known about Middleton’s body lying in Moore’s apartment if Moore hadn’t shot Wondimu, which led to the “no knock” search warrant for his apartment.
