Inset: Jennifer D. Moore (Allegan County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Michigan where Moore allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend (Google Maps).
A 44-year-old woman in Michigan is accused of killing her boyfriend, allegedly admitting to shooting the 52-year-old in the back of the head “like Doc Holliday” as he exited their bedroom following an argument.
Jennifer Dana Moore was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of open murder in the slaying of Joseph Wayne Worley, court records show.
The fatal shooting took place late on the night of April 22 at the couple’s home on East Baseline Road near 36th Street in Cheshire Township, which is about 150 miles west of Detroit.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Wilcox Newspapers, Moore called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. and told a dispatcher, “I just shot my boyfriend.” Deputies with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office responded to the residence, where they saw Moore waiting on the front porch before going back into the home.
Inside, first responders found Worley suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“[Moore] was very emotional and crying hysterically, stating to deputies that ‘I shot him’ and ‘I killed him,'” police wrote in the affidavit, Grand Rapids, Michigan, NBC affiliate WOOD reported. “Officers on scene could see a subject’s feet on the ground through a window as she was standing over him.”
Authorities ordered Moore out of the residence and took her into custody before entering and locating Worley inside with a single gunshot wound to the back of his head.
Investigators said the shooting followed an argument after the couple returned home from dinner in Paw Paw. Moore told detectives she made a comment that upset Worley, who then locked himself in a bedroom. When he came out, she grabbed a revolver that was in the room.
“[Moore] admitted to pointing the gun at the back of [Worley] while he was ‘walking to the kitchen,'” the affidavit said. “[Moore] then simulated with her hand as a gun a shooting motion. [Moore] described the hand motion like ‘Doc Holliday’ as she simulated a gunshot. [Moore] said the revolver went off because there was no safety and she didn’t intend to shoot [Worley].”
Investigators also noted a bullet hole in a bedroom television, supporting the account that the firearm discharged inside the room.
Neighbors told WOOD the couple had only recently moved into the rental home.
Moore appeared via video in Allegan County’s 57th District Court on Monday for her arraignment, where a magistrate ordered her to remain in custody without bond after prosecutors argued she posed a significant flight risk and danger to herself and the community.
Moore is currently scheduled to return to court for a probable cause conference on May 7 and a preliminary examination on May 12 as the investigation continues.
