Snapped: Women Who Murder - Theresa Ramirez

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

When a beloved plastic surgeon and his office manager are gunned down at work, detectives chase down several leads until they uncover one suspect hiding malicious intent.Season 30 Episode 05O...riginally aired: November 07, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 What does it mean to be Black in America? In NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of stories as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as Black experiences, you'll hear. It means everything. Search NPR Black Stories, Black Truths wherever you get your podcast. She was a romance mystery writer. They glommed on the fact that she writes stories like this. There are murders in all of the books. From Wondery, the makers of Ghost Story and Feta, this is a story
Starting point is 00:00:30 about a murder that rocked my little community. Binge all episodes of Happily Never After ad free right now on Wondery+. On a remote ranch in Oregon, a family dispute takes a deadly turn. He's coming into the house. God damn it. Are you in danger? Yeah. Oh, God. She shot him.
Starting point is 00:00:54 There was blood coming out of his nose and his mouth, and I didn't know where the blood was coming from. Who shot him? I don't know. As the smoke clears, a multitude of suspects emerge. Anybody that is able to be put in handcuffs will go into handcuffs. In this real-life game of Clue,
Starting point is 00:01:15 investigators must sort through a cast of characters to figure out who is responsible and why. I didn't see anything. All I can tell you is a gun went off. And when the case is finally solved, it will prove that sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction. She played the lead role in a horror movie.
Starting point is 00:01:37 Wonder why she was so good at the role. I have the gun and I'm like, what happened? It's very bizarre. It's something you couldn't make up. I knew the truth, and it was cold-blooded, calculated murder. MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC
Starting point is 00:02:00 MUSIC MUSIC The remote town of Applegate, Oregon, located in Jackson County, is known for its picturesque vineyards and quaint ranches. I grew up here, born and raised, and it's like I know everybody that knows everybody that knows everybody, so in that respect, that kind of makes it a small town. You know, on the afternoon of July 26 2016, Apple Gates pleasant facade is transformed into chaos. This is Jackson County 911 emergency. I need someone now and I need an ambulance. Tell me what the emergency is. I didn't see anything. All I can tell you again
Starting point is 00:02:44 went off The dispatcher was asking her questions she was unclear somebody shot a gun and There was now a male down on the front porch Okay, hold on one second. Where's the patient? Laying at the front door on the ground. Is the patient alive? I don't know. I'm not going out there. Who shot him?
Starting point is 00:03:08 I don't know. I'm a notary. I got called to do a signing, and it didn't go well. What's his last name? Shane. Patrick Moore. M-O-O-R-E. In the chaos, Carlton Olson, Shane's roommate,
Starting point is 00:03:24 takes over the phone and agrees to follow the operator's instructions for CPR. Two breaths, then 30 pumps. Carlton Olson was one of Shane Moore's friends, and I believe he lived out on the property on Thompson Creek Road with Shane. As Carlton attempts to save Shane's life, first responders make the 22-mile trek
Starting point is 00:03:49 to the remote ranch on Thompson Creek Road. It took law enforcement approximately 30 minutes to get there. Hello, kid. Hello, kid. I started hearing yelling and screaming, and I walked out. All I knew was that my sweet friend was laying there. It didn't even register in my mind that he'd been shot.
Starting point is 00:04:11 Not immediately. Shane Patrick Moore was born in New Jersey in 1953, the middle of five children. His dad was an admiral in the Navy. He got drug around, you know, from location to location, and that was hard for him. Always on his heels was his younger sister of four years, Kelly. So when Shane went to law school in California,
Starting point is 00:04:41 Kelly did the same. Kelly was an attorney back in the early 90s. While Kelly worked long hours making a name for herself as a high powered corporate attorney, Shane decided practicing law wasn't for him. He opened an antique bookstore in San Francisco instead. It was just totally successful all the way around the board. And any book he had, he'd read.
Starting point is 00:05:09 So he was a very, very intelligent guy. Not to be outdone by her brother, in 1989, Kelly wrote a book with her new husband, actor Dan Reed. She talked about being a writer and working on some books, and that she had a book she was working on, a true crime story called Deadly Medicine. They made it into a made-for-TV movie. Just one month after the publication, Kelly and Dan welcomed a daughter,
Starting point is 00:05:35 Aisling Tucker Moore-Reed. The couple went on to have two more children, but it was clear Kelly always saw something special in her firstborn. Kelly was a very, very, very, very, very, very, The couple went on to have two more children, but it was clear Kelly always saw something special in her firstborn. Kelly was a supportive mom. They just had kind of a fun, like, playful energy about them, and they seemed very close.
Starting point is 00:05:57 She was totally devoted to Tucker. Tucker was her favorite, and she made... That wasn't a secret. It was also clear that young Tucker inherited the acting bug from her dad. She's a great actress. Oh, Lord, she's a great actress. Devoted to ensuring Tucker's talents didn't go to waste,
Starting point is 00:06:18 Kelly left her career behind to be a full-time stage mom. She let the whole wide world know how Tucker was gonna be a full-time stage mom. She let the whole wide world know how that Tucker was gonna be a star and was gonna you know make a million dollars and take care of her and her elderly age. As siblings, Kelly and Shane chased their dreams in California. In 2000, their parents retired to a picturesque ranch in southern Oregon. It was between 150 and 160 acres. It's the kind of place that you can go and feel comfortable and not have to worry about
Starting point is 00:06:53 what's going on around you. By 2000, Kelly and her husband were divorced. Since Kelly had abandoned her career to raise her children, her parents helped her out with a monthly allowance and a place to live. When Kelly moved to Oregon, her parents purchased the second oldest home in Jacksonville, which is a beautiful historical home for her
Starting point is 00:07:16 and her children to live in. Kelly's daughter Tucker was an instant hit in small town Oregon. Tucker is a beautiful girl. She is very, very intelligent. She is well educated and charming and talented. She's very talented. She was an Ashton High School student.
Starting point is 00:07:40 She graduated from Ashton High School, which has a lot of performing arts programs. I remember immediately just being wowed by her talent. She, you know, was really passionate about theater. She just had this kind of like energy about her that was, you know, she really seemed to radiate that like, sort of confidence. While his sister and niece thrived in their new life in Oregon, Shane joined the family
Starting point is 00:08:10 there to care for his ailing father. Shane had taken care of his dad through his ALS disease. And for six and a half years, he was there waiting on him hand and foot, took care of everything that needed to be done out there at the property. Though he and his sister Kelly had always been in competition, Uncle Shane was Tucker's biggest fan. She did Alice in Wonderland, and he went and saw that.
Starting point is 00:08:37 He was very, very proud of Tucker's performance. He bragged about that a lot. Following high school, Tucker left Oregon for USC where she majored in drama. But once there, an unexpected event put her dreams on hold. Tucker said that her boyfriend at the time had wanted to have sex. She wasn't ready. And he pressured her into having sex, essentially. She accused him of rape and filed charges against him. And then from what I understand, the college didn't see any evidence, the LAPD didn't
Starting point is 00:09:17 see any evidence. However, Tucker decided to keep sharing her story. She went and started a blogging site and made allegations. She posted it all over social media and gained a lot of attention for that. She started a coalition at her school called SCAR, Student Coalition Against Rape. And, you know, she wanted to raise awareness about campus rapes. Ultimately, a libel suit was filed against her. I think she had to take down the original blog post,
Starting point is 00:09:52 and she wasn't allowed to mention him by name anywhere. They settled it out of court, and then she moved back to the area and worked as a reporter for a little while in Grant's Pass. In between gigs, Tucker often retreated to the family ranch, where her uncle Shane lived with roommates Carlton Olsen and Stacey McKenzie while he continued to care for his 87-year-old mother, now a widow. He took care of the property.
Starting point is 00:10:23 He took care of his mom. He took care of his mom. He did all the shopping for his mom twice a week, took her to her doctor's appointments, everything. As time passed, the sibling rivalry between Shane and Kelly began to resurface. There was always a fight going on between Kelly and Shane. Kelly had decided to use her mother's property to make some money.
Starting point is 00:10:47 Shane had a large portion of it. He didn't want it logged because he didn't want the property being devalued by taking all the trees down. I'm just thinking to myself, why would you, you know, you guys are brother and sister. Why would you guys be arguing like this? You guys are brother and sister. Why would you guys be arguing like this? And on July 26, tensions at the Moore family ranch
Starting point is 00:11:10 have come to a head as first responders rush to Shane's lifeless body. It's their job to find all of the people at the scene and separate them and hold them until the detectives arrived. Tragically, efforts to save Shane's life are unsuccessful. The EMS had pronounced Shane deceased at the scene. As investigators with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office arrive behind first responders, they find Shane Moore dead
Starting point is 00:11:44 and four potential killers. We don't have a clear indication of who is the suspect. Anybody that is able to be put in handcuffs will go into handcuffs. Coming up, detectives track down a fifth suspect who has fled the scene. The notary was not on scene. She had left.
Starting point is 00:12:08 And a rift in the family takes shape. She's wrestling with the door and saying, you know, he's trying to come in. He's trying to come in. He was going to kill us if Tiger didn't drop his charges. MUSIC July 26, 2016, Applegate, Oregon. Surrounded by several members of his family, Shane Moore lies dead from a gunshot wound on his family ranch.
Starting point is 00:12:39 And there's no shortage of potential suspects. The people that we identified as being there during the incident were Shane Moore, Tucker Moore Reed, Kelly Moore, Lori Moore, Kelly and Shane's mother. Carlton Oleson was there. He's Shane's roommate. They live together in the separate residence on the property.
Starting point is 00:13:03 However, the woman who made the initial call to 911 is nowhere to be found. Carla Treiber, the notary, was not on scene. She had left. While deputies fan out in search of Carla, investigators begin processing the scene, starting with Shane's body. There was a single hole in his shirt in the upper chest area.
Starting point is 00:13:27 And then as the medical examiner removed his shirt, a single bullet entrance hole in the sternum area. Investigators must wait for a search warrant to get a look inside the house for further evidence. The residents had been taped up with caution tape to prevent any entry and exit to the crime scene prior to a search warrant being executed. While they wait, investigators get word
Starting point is 00:13:56 that the notary, Carla Treiber, has been found. When investigators speak to the shaken witness, Carla explains she was summoned to the ranch to assist siblings Shane and Kelly Moore with a property transfer from their elderly mother. What Carla told us during the interview was that she had received a call from Shane Moore to come up to the residence
Starting point is 00:14:20 and get a quick claim deed signed, splitting the property 50-50 between he and Kelly. When Carla arrived, she found Shane's mother, sister, niece, and a roommate named Carlton, but no Shane. When the door opened, Kelly Moore was yelling the whole time, you know, what do you know, what do you want? What do you need? It was just one right after another.
Starting point is 00:14:49 And we went over to the table. She wanted me to sit right in one certain space. I hadn't really seen the papers, so I picked them up to explain what it was and to read over them. Carla says that's when the chaos began. So their dispute was that they didn't know it was a grant deed. They thought it was a will. So she comes back to the table and she grabs the paper that
Starting point is 00:15:14 was to my left with my stuff. And she goes, that's a grant deed. I was told it was a will. She's not signing it. So she rips it up. That's when Carla spotted Shane on the front porch watching through a window. And she says, oh, that's just my brother.
Starting point is 00:15:34 So when he got to the front, Kelly got up from the table and went over to the door. Moments later, Carla heard Shane's sister and a young woman confront Shane at a door just out of sight. She was wrestling with the door and saying, you know, he's trying to come in. He's trying to come in. And I hear the gun go off.
Starting point is 00:15:58 And I'm like, oh, good god. At that point, I was really, really scared. I just started talking, you know, to Grandma, because I just, I didn't know what to do. When Carla finally realized Shane had been shot, she scrambled to contact authorities. I was shaking so bad, I couldn't dial the phone. I was trying to dial 911.
Starting point is 00:16:20 She really needed to leave, like, immediately, and that's the reason why she passed the phone off to just anybody that could take it during the 911 call and got out of there. Though Carla didn't see the shooting firsthand, she does know who wasn't on the porch during the scuffle. She had told us Carlton was not involved, that it was Kelly and Tucker and Shane.
Starting point is 00:16:41 And so they were taken down for a formal interview. The rest of the witnesses were not determined to be either persons of interest or suspects at the time. When investigators sit down with Shane's sister, 59-year-old Kelly Moore, she is eager to tell detectives that Shane was a bad seed. When Kelly was interviewed by the detectives with the Medford
Starting point is 00:17:04 Police Department, she talked about how Shane lived out at the property, how she believed he was using drugs out there. There's a big barn back here. His marijuana growing is here. There's a meat locker downstairs where I have every reason to believe that he's making methamphetamines.
Starting point is 00:17:27 Kelly says she and her daughter Tucker were staying at the ranch with her mom because of her brother's dangerous behavior. She's afraid. She's afraid of Shane. She's afraid of dying. She begged us to stay with her. So we reluctantly stayed with her. We didn't want to be out there.
Starting point is 00:17:45 But according to Kelly, Shane took their presence as a threat. Kelly explains that nine months ago, the tension came to a head. September of 2015, Shane was getting ready to leave the residence, and Tucker said something. I think she cursed at him or something similar to that. So Shane picked up a plastic quart of oil and threw it back towards the front door, which was closed. But it was just the screen. And it went through the screen and hit her in the face.
Starting point is 00:18:18 Knocked her down to the floor. It hit her so hard. Could have taken out her eye, but it hit her on the cheekbones, split open her skin. She's permanently scarred from it. And she called the police. And there's a criminal case, and Shane, he ended up getting charged with fourth degree assault.
Starting point is 00:18:37 And the court issues a no contact order. Kelly claims the move only further infuriated Shane and the threats escalated. He was going to kill us if Tiger didn't take, drop the charges. Tiger didn't drop the charges. He's going to kill us. Knowing Shane's biggest fear was to lose his share of the inheritance, Kelly harkened back to her days as an attorney and came up with what she hoped would be a solution. I was going to adulterate the will with additional language
Starting point is 00:19:10 that said that if anything happened to my mother or my family or property damage or anything else, because we've had damage to our cars, that he would be immediately disinherited. I felt like that would be our insurance. We would be safe. I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. So when Kelly realized Shane had asked the notary
Starting point is 00:19:36 to prepare a grant deed to ensure the property was split equally between them instead of a will, she was furious. And I said, oh no, my mother is not signing this. This is her property. She's not signing this. And I ripped it into four pieces. And Shane was outside the sliding glass doors looking in.
Starting point is 00:19:59 And he started to come around to the front door. And I thought to myself, oh my God, I locked the front door. I know contact order was in place on the date of this incident, which would prohibit Shane from having contact with Tucker. And I'm trying to shut the door and he's shoving it into me, shoving it into me. And I'm leaning forward trying to shut the door.
Starting point is 00:20:24 Take your time. It's OK. And he was trying to come in. He was trying to hurt me. And God only knows what else he was going to do. Though investigators feel a confession might be on the horizon, the interview takes an unexpected turn.
Starting point is 00:20:49 Okay. And what happened next? That's the end of my statement. You don't want to tell us what happened after that? No, I don't. Coming up, a final witness tells a harrowing tale. Shane started opening the door and entering the house. I was absolutely sure he was going to kill my mother.
Starting point is 00:21:14 And a chilling call from Shane just hours before his death resurfaces. I don't know what the hell they're thinking with me. I don't want any trouble. It's debatable whether it was self-defense, whether this was something more sinister. Ruby Franke was known by millions as a very tough mom. That's exactly the way she wanted it. The social media star amassed a huge following
Starting point is 00:21:43 of supporters and detractors alike preaching the values of strict discipline. But you'll learn in a new podcast available exclusively on Wondery Plus, how the small empire built by this momfluencer crumbled the moment her 12 year old son escaped their home and called 911. Wondery and Law and Crime bring you the new podcast, The Rise and Fall of Ruby Franke, which explores the allegations of starvation, torture, and emotional abuse leveled against Franke and her business partner, Jodie Hildebrandt.
Starting point is 00:22:14 Learn about the family's path to stardom, the depravity investigators uncovered inside the home, and hear in-depth analysis of the ongoing criminal trial. Follow The Rise and Fall of Ruby Franke on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of the rise and fall of Ruby Frankie early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. I'm Rachel Martin. You probably know how interview podcasts with famous people usually go.
Starting point is 00:22:40 There's a host, a guest, and a light Q&A, but on Wild Card, we have ripped up the typical script. It's a new podcast from NPR where I invite actors, artists, and comedians to play a game using a special deck of cards to talk about some of life's biggest questions. Listen to Wild Card wherever you get your podcasts, only from NPR. Just hours after the mysterious murder of 63-year-old Shane Moore, investigators in Jackson County are at a stalemate with Shane's sister, 59-year-old Kelly Moore. That was the end of my statement,
Starting point is 00:23:13 is I think what she said. That's the end of my statement. Detectives hope Kelly's daughter Tucker will be more forthcoming. Tucker brought up the incident with her and her uncle Shane. Tucker was, yeah, he purposely threw it at my face, through the door, knowing I was standing back there. That case was filed as an assault
Starting point is 00:23:35 for constituting domestic violence and harassment. And when a case is charged with those charges, there's a no contact order that goes into place. case is charged with those charges, there's a no contact order that goes into place. But even with a no contact order in place, Tucker claims Shane continued to threaten her. Yes. Although eager to express her fear,
Starting point is 00:24:01 Tucker is less keen to talk about what happened on the ranch just a few hours earlier. She didn't like me impressed for specific information. If it was broad, she would answer it, no problem. But the details are where she would get hanked up a little bit and not want to answer. We know there is a path established. A lot led you to where we're at today,
Starting point is 00:24:25 but we gotta have it from you. You were there, I wasn't. Feeling the pressure, Tucker slowly begins to talk. I found a gun that I believed belonged to my grandfather. I wanted to know if it was loaded. I took it outside onto the porch and I fired it. That was this morning. Tucker says she gave the gun to her mother.
Starting point is 00:24:50 Once I showed her the gun, she was like, let's put it in a central place. And there is a napkin over it now, so the notary wasn't scared. It was staged there just in case something needed to be done to protect the residents. Sure enough, Tucker claims trouble started brewing when she spotted Shane outside the window watching
Starting point is 00:25:11 as her mother tore up the deed. Everybody was screaming from what I can remember, and Shane started opening the door and entering the house. Okay. And he was banging the door into my mother. My mother was screaming and he was screaming. Tucker says that's when she grabbed the gun from under the napkin.
Starting point is 00:25:32 I was absolutely, absolutely sure he was gonna kill my mother. He told her earlier in the day that he was gonna kill her. She messed anything up for him and she ripped pieces of paper up right in front of him. She described him pushing the door to the residence with his shoulder and reaching around the back of the door, like from a horror movie.
Starting point is 00:25:55 I have the gun. I'm sorry. OK, just take your tires. What happened? Okay, take your time. I don't know what happened. It was like screaming. And I thought that you had to cock a gun for it to go off. And um... Did the gun go off? Yes.
Starting point is 00:26:26 I didn't mean to shoot the gun. Did you think Shane was going to cause a new arm coming through the door? Yes. Despite Tucker's claims of self-defense, detectives decide to press charges. At this point, manslaughter was the only crime that seemed to fit.
Starting point is 00:26:50 We had murder without intent, which is manslaughter. The next morning, Tucker makes bail, and investigators head to the ranch armed with a search warrant. We recovered the firearm from the console table right inside the front door. Numerous pieces of civil paperwork regarding the incident.
Starting point is 00:27:11 We found the one that was ripped into four pieces that Kelly had torn. Upon closer examination, the murder weapon reveals compelling evidence. So you open the cylinder, and it showed that one round had been fired. So what that means, if the same gun had been fired earlier in the day, which Tucker had told us,
Starting point is 00:27:32 that it was the same gun, somebody had had taken the time to pull that spent casing out from the earlier firing and reload it so it's ready with a full cylinder of rounds for later on. So it was premeditated. Suddenly, Tucker's claims of self-defense don't seem so clear cut. It's debatable whether, you know,
Starting point is 00:27:57 obviously, whether it was self-defense, whether this was something more sinister. As investigators wrap up at the ranch, they learn that before the notary called 911, there was another call for help at 1.40 p.m. from the Moore homestead. Okay, what's your last name? My last name is Moore.
Starting point is 00:28:19 And your first name? Shane. It's H-A-N-E. Shane Moore had reported that Tucker Reed fired a gun on the property that day. Shane was under the impression that his niece, Tucker, was doing this to try and scare him. She, her kid fired off a gun over there this morning. You know, like they were, I don't know what the hell that they're thinking, but I need this new republic to get together with my mother, and I don't want any trouble. I wonder if I could get a sheriff out here.
Starting point is 00:28:56 But the Jackson County Sheriff never responded to Shane's request. Unfortunately, we don't get involved in civil cases. That's not our job. And so for were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car.
Starting point is 00:29:13 And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of the car. And so we were able to get him out of-defense. We didn't have anything to clearly refute their story. Nobody else saw what had happened there. We needed Shane's story, but we weren't going to get it.
Starting point is 00:29:35 After five days of no solid leads, on August 1, detectives receive a call from Shane's roommate, Stacey McKenzie, that might shed some light on Shane's perspective. She did not want to talk to us that day because she had an outstanding warrant for her arrest. She kind of disappeared from the scene the day of, and I guess she had some good information.
Starting point is 00:30:00 Once at the station, Stacy tells them that it was Shane who was scared for his life that day, not Tucker and Kelly. They were not afraid. They were not afraid of Shane at all. Shane was afraid of them. Shane actually told me the day that he died, he goes, I'm afraid for my life, Stacey, because I'm afraid somebody's going to kill me. One of them are going to kill me. Coming up, family secrets are revealed. She would take whatever she could get from anybody. She always had her hand out. And detectives get an unbelievable firsthand look
Starting point is 00:30:39 at Shane's final moments. Get out! Ow! Oh, f Ow! Jesus! Five days after 26-year-old Tucker Moore Reed shot her uncle Shane Moore, his roommate Stacey McKenzie has come forward with new information regarding Shane's sister, Kelly, was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,
Starting point is 00:31:10 very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, money. His sister always had this dire need for lots and lots of money and she would take whatever she could get from anybody. Kelly hadn't worked since I don't know the late 90s according to family members
Starting point is 00:31:34 and was living off of her parents at the time. According to Stacey, Kelly believed Shane's full-time caretaking of their aging mother was a ruse to move in on their inheritance. She made multiple statements over years, periods of time, that Shane wasn't going to get anything. The property was supposed to be worth somewhere between $2 and $3 million. somewhere between $2 and $3 million. Stacey explains Shane decided that as soon as his mother died, he was leaving Kelly and the ranch behind. In an effort to prevent any disputes over her will down the road, he'd asked his mother to help
Starting point is 00:32:21 him settle the matter now. If mom passed away, then he would be able to cash in the quick claim deed and get his money and just leave and not have any problems whatsoever, and that's what he wanted. And his mom was, like, in total compliance with that. She was like, yeah, that's not a problem, Shane. On the afternoon of July 26, when the signing was
Starting point is 00:32:42 to take place, Shane left their house to head down to his mother's. On the afternoon of July 26, when the signing was to take place, Shane left their house to head down to his mother's. Not long after, Stacey heard the screams. I just bolted and ran out the door and ran over there. And when I got over there, Shane was on the ground. I was yelling and screaming at Tucker. I was screaming at her to get the hell away from him.
Starting point is 00:33:05 She was standing over the top of him with the gun in her hand. And she was yelling at him, just die. The next thing I heard was Kelly screaming out the door, what do you mean he's not dead yet? And there was blood coming out of his nose and his mouth. And I didn't know where the blood was coming from. Based on what you saw, it didn't look like Kelly was willing to help in any way.
Starting point is 00:33:31 Oh, god, no. Kelly stood there and yelled at Shane. Haven't you died yet? Piece of shit. Why aren't you dead yet? Stacey believes that when Tucker and Kelly stashed the gun in the kitchen that day, they did so with one thing in mind. I knew the truth, and it wasn't manslaughter. It was murder.
Starting point is 00:33:52 It was cold-blooded, calculated murder. Over the next few weeks, investigators reach out to other family members to build their case against Tucker. I spoke to Ryan Moore, Shane and Kelly's brother, who lived somewhere in Northern California. He said that there's, I think, four or five siblings total, and he said Kelly and Shane haven't gotten along
Starting point is 00:34:21 for a long time. It was Kelly's doing, not Shane's. They're falling out. That she was just very manipulative and arrogant. From my perspective, my sister has bled. My parents dried. Ryan admits that Shane didn't have a job either, but he at least earned his keep.
Starting point is 00:35:09 According to Ryan, his brother has always been a gentle soul. Has Shane ever been a aggressive or violent person? As far as you know? I have never witnessed him being aggressive or violent. However, Ryan says he has plenty of stories years ago after a family reunion. Ryan confronted Kelly about mooching off of her parents and financially. And Kelly had taken offense to that and went after Ryan with a fireplace poker. As for Tucker, Ryan says the apple didn't fall far from the tree. She's got crazy rages. She is her mother's daughter. That's what I would say. Following the interviews with Ryan and Stacey, investigators suspect the story Tucker and
Starting point is 00:36:02 Kelly are spinning isn't the whole truth, but they need to prove it. Finally, after six months of little traction in the investigation, detectives get a break from an unlikely source, Tucker. This is coming from the DA's office who's speaking with her defense attorney. There's a video from her cell phone from that day of the incident.
Starting point is 00:36:28 Tucker's attorney claims the video will prove that Tucker acted in self-defense. The DA, who's assigned to the case, calls me and says, hey, you got to come watch the video. Is grandma coming out? I don't think she was aware of what was going on. Well, she has to come out and you have to take the dog. Shane needs to stay away from the property. She's narrating, she's saying, I see this man, Shane,
Starting point is 00:36:54 he's aggressive and dangerous. This man, this man, he threatened this woman's life, my mother, unless she signed that paper. He's just standing there, doing mother, unless she signed that paper. He's just standing there, doing nothing, wearing flip-flops and a tank top and a hat. He's not doing anything aggressive. She's not signing a grant deed. She's not signing a grant deed.
Starting point is 00:37:16 She's not, I thought, I was told it wasn't an, she was told it was an inheritance, a will. An addendum to her will. A will. This is a grant deed. You addendum to her will. A will. This is a grant deed. You're not signing a grant deed, mother. No, I am not signing. Do you understand what a grant deed is?
Starting point is 00:37:31 He's coming into the house. God damn it. What's the problem, Kelly? She's not signing. Pick up the gun. She's not signing a grant deed, Shane. I thought it was a will. She's not signing a grant deed.
Starting point is 00:37:42 You son of a bitch! Kelly runs over to the front door, screaming, and then Tucker goes to the table and picks up a gun that's under a napkin that's sitting on the table and runs over to the front door. Get out! Ow!
Starting point is 00:37:58 Get out! Oh, God! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Oh, God! She shut it! Oh, God. She shut it! I mean, we watch it and it's not proving their case, it's proving our case.
Starting point is 00:38:21 Coming up, Tucker's talents go on display. When she first bailed out, she decided that she was gonna act in this movie from the dark. They told us in our movie, she shoots somebody. When she shoots this character, she absolutely believes she's doing it out of self-defense. and the police are ready to take him to the hospital. And we're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him.
Starting point is 00:38:51 We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. We're going to be there for him. I mean, all the self-defense claims got thrown out the door as soon as the video came to us. So it did the opposite of what the defense was
Starting point is 00:39:09 hoping that it would do. But the wheels of justice turned slowly. I talked to the DA, and he's like, now we're staying with manslaughter. Something came up where we had to take it back to grand jury anyways to change some verbiage in the manslaughter statute that needed to be added. It was about a year before we had the murder indictment reached by the grand jury after the video had surfaced.
Starting point is 00:39:32 On September 4, 2018, Jackson County investigators arrest 28-year-old Tucker Moore Reed again, this time upgrading the charges against her from manslaughter to murder. In the 2016 shooting death of a man, She decided there will be no bail. That's when Tucker lost her mind. I mean, I was sitting two feet away from her, and it was loud. Even in another room, you know, even a room away, she was sitting there, and she was just sitting there.
Starting point is 00:39:55 And I was like, what the hell? I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this.
Starting point is 00:40:04 I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I mean, I was sitting two feet away from her, and it was loud. Even in another room, you know, even a room away, you could still hear these intense wailing. It was something that was just chilling at the time. It was something that was just chilling at the time. Following the hearing, investigators are approached by a local filmmaker, Matthew Spickard. He
Starting point is 00:40:25 tells them that while Tucker was out on bail last year, he cast her in a film. When she first bailed out, she decided that she was going to act in this movie, From the Dark, that was filmed in Josephine County. They had wrapped up their filming by the time we got the murder indictment and arrested her on that charge later on. Matthew and his daughter Trinity, a writer on the film, describe their first meeting with Tucker as she auditioned for the horror flick. Before shooting began, we held an open casting call on Facebook,
Starting point is 00:40:59 and that's where we met Tucker, who was going by the name Wyn Reed at the time. He did stand out right away as someone that looked like it fit the role, the right age. I was very impressed with her. We were like, oh, yes, we have this wonderful, talented girl who's gonna really take our movie to this next level. Matthew says that when he learned of the murder charge,
Starting point is 00:41:23 he immediately reached out to police. They told us in our movie, she shoots somebody. So we requested the director's cut of the movie for evidence to review and look. Investigators focus on one scene in particular. Following a party, Tucker's character finds herself armed and in the dark. It's a very intense atmosphere.
Starting point is 00:41:48 There's lots of fear. There's lots of panic and confusion. The scene is her holding up a cell phone for a flashlight and a gun, you know? And then the guy comes out, basically, from this doorway of this other room, trying to, like, talk her down and say, you know, give then the guy comes out basically from this doorway of this other room, trying to, like, talk her down and say, you know, give me the gun, and she just,
Starting point is 00:42:10 out of her fear, the whole situation shoots him. Basically, when she shoots this character, she absolutely believes she's doing it out of self-defense because of the situation. But when you see the movie, you'll see that, oh, that is technically murder. He played the lead role in a horror movie. I wonder why she was so good at the role. The scene's similarities with real life are both uncanny and unnerving.
Starting point is 00:42:42 It's very bizarre. It's something you couldn't make up. But anyone eager to see Tucker's next performance at her trial has to wait. Over the course of the case, Ms. Moore-Reed had multiple attorneys. And so when a new attorney would sign on to the case or file a notice of appearance, they, of course,
Starting point is 00:43:03 had to be brought up to speed before any trial dates could get set. I did call the district attorney a few times, you know, asking why is it taking, you know, so long? What's going on? You know, what's the update? And it was always, you know, well, she's getting another attorney, well, she got a different attorney. In the meantime, prosecutors worry
Starting point is 00:43:24 Tucker's continued claims of self-defense will be a difficult hurdle to overcome during trial. The DAs were under the assumption that there would at least be one juror every single time that would vote not guilty, possibly deciding this sounds like it was self-defense. By May 2020, nearly four years after the murder, 30-year-old Tucker finally settles on an attorney
Starting point is 00:43:51 and soon reaches a deal with prosecutors. Tucker ended up with 75 months for a plea deal associated with a manslaughter and a second-degree crime. That's what they settled on with credit for time served. So essentially that means she'll get released in just a few years. We didn't want to have to retry this over and over again if the jury were not to come to a conclusion unanimously,
Starting point is 00:44:20 either all guilty or all not guilty. I just floored when I gave her six years. It's nowhere near enough. Those close to the case receive another blow when no charges are brought against Tucker's mother, Kelly Moore. There was no evidence of conspiracy, even though the thoughts were always
Starting point is 00:44:44 in the back of our minds There's a lot that I never was able to understand I've never known anybody to be so loving and caring and giving his chain and to be treated the way that he was by his own family I just don't know Just greed That's what it comes down to is greed That's what it comes down to is greed. Teresa Ramirez is serving her sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona,
Starting point is 00:45:10 California. Since Kay's death in 2012, no new charges have been filed against Teresa. When the matriarch of a prominent Princeton family is found stabbed to death in her locked basement, investigators look from a serial attacker to her family to Princeton University students. One hot-blooded investigator sees a conspiracy. Is he way off base, or does privilege let you get away with murder? You can listen to In the Shadow of Princeton exclusively and ad-free with Wondery+.
Starting point is 00:45:46 Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Apple podcasts.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.