Editor’s note: This story, which was originally published May 30 at 8:07 p.m. was updated June 2 at 9:26 a.m., to add a comment from the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender.
A Silver Spring man is expected to serve three consecutive life sentences in prison following a Friday sentencing on murder charges in the 2022 deaths of his pregnant girlfriend, her unborn fetus and a gas station attendant, according to a statement from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Rachel McGuckian sentenced Torrey Damien Moore, 34, to three consecutive life sentences and an additional 80 years in prison to run concurrently with the life sentences, according to the statement.
A jury convicted Moore of two counts of first-degree murder in November in the deaths of Denise Middleton, 26, and her unborn, viable fetus, according to the statement. 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.
The conviction marked the second in 2024 for Moore, who was convicted of murder in May that year in the 2022 fatal shooting of a gas station clerk in White Oak.
The case is the first time in Montgomery County history in which a person has been convicted of the murder of a viable fetus, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said during a Friday press release McGuckian described the killings as “tragedies” and “horrors.”
“They were executions,” McCarthy said. “Clearly this man posed a grave danger to the community. I think the sentencing that the judge gave was absolutely appropriate.”
McCarthy said the earliest Moore could receive parole would be when he is in his 90s.
In a statement emailed to Bethesda Today on Saturday, Assistant Public Defender Roberto Martinez, who represented Moore, said the situation was tragic for everyone impacted.
“We will continue to pursue justice for Mr. Moore and while we are disappointed at the length of the sentences imposed, the court recognized that the situation is more nuanced than what the State was asserting,” Martinez said.
Middletown’s body was found Dec. 8, 2022, in an advanced state of decay in Moore’s Silver Spring apartment, the same day that Moore shot Ayalew Wondimu, 61, while he was working at a White Oak gas station convenience store. An autopsy of Middleton’s body revealed that she had been shot seven times, according to police.
Moore’s trial for the murder of Middleton and her unborn fetus began Nov. 18, 2024, according to digital court records, and lasted a week.
“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 at the time.
Following Moore’s November conviction, Martinez said in a statement emailed to Bethesda Today 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.
Dennis Middleton, Denise Middleton’s father, said during a press release Friday afternoon he was satisfied with the work the state’s attorney’s office did on his daughter’s case.
The cases
According to authorities, Moore, who had been banned from the gas station convenience store where Wondimu worked, attempted to purchase a drink at the store on Dec. 8, 2022. He 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 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, McCarthy said.
McCarthy said Friday that police determined Middleton was murdered Oct. 9, 2022.
Middleton was last seen alive on surveillance video with Moore around 7 p.m. that day, 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.” Immediately after the killing, Moore fled the state and traveled the country, according to McCarthy.
McCarthy said Moore’s search engine history includes searches for information such as how long it takes for a dead body to smell and defenses for murder.
