Saturday, February 22, 2014

Strategy in the Heather Elvis Case

Police have arrested Tammy and Sidney Moorer in what may prove to be a major step towards solving the case, using lesser charges to hold them, while preparing more serious charges.

Is this a sexual homicide?

Why wasn't this strategy followed in the Hailey Dunn case??

HorryCounty News:

A man and woman were formally charged Saturday morning with two counts each of indecent exposure and one count of obstruction of justice in a case Horry County Police has said are linked to the Heather Elvis disappearance case.
What’s not clear is how the charges are linked to the case, and the only thing linking them is a press release about a search warrant issued by the police department Friday.
Tammy Lorinda Moorer, 41, and Sidney St. Clair Moorer, 38, both of Myrtle Beach, were charged Saturday with the counts. The couple is married and they were served a search warrant for their S.C. 814 home on Friday morning. Federal, state and local police spent the majority of the day Friday searching their home and seizing two trucks from their residence. Lt. Robert Kegler said Saturday police wrapped up the search late Friday night.
The Moorers appeared in court separately Saturday, with Tammy Moorer appearing earlier in the day and Sidney Moorer going before Judge Dennis E. Phipps in the afternoon. Bond was set at $20,000 for each of them.
Myrtle Beach Attorney Greg McCollum was outside the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Saturday afternoon, and said he was requested by the public defender’s office to meet with Tammy Moorer, but not necessarily as a public defender.
“I’m here to talk to Tammy,” McCollum said.
Notice that only the first name is used, as the attorney knows media is well aware of who Tammy Moorer is. 
Kirk Truslow, also a Myrtle Beach attorney, was meeting with Sidney Moorer Saturday afternoon, according to McCollum.
When asked how the two counts of indecent exposure and one county of obstruction of justice fit with the Heather Elvis case, McCollum said he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know that it does. I’m just now starting to look at it,” he said.
This leaves open the possibility.  If there was no possibility would there have been a different answer. 
Elvis was last seen the night of Dec. 17 and last heard from Dec. 18. Volunteers from throughout the region have helped search for her through wooded areas and near Peachtree Landing, where her car was found. She was the subject of a segment on HLN’s nationally televised program hosted by Nancy Grace. Large posters, billboards and paper-sized flyers can been seen for miles around Myrtle Beach featuring the 20-year-old’s smile, a contact number to help identify her whereabouts and a reward that has reached $30,000.
Asked whether he has heard Tammy Moorer will be facing more charges, McCollum said, “I haven’t heard any specifics about that, but clearly that’s on everyone’s mind.”
Not that it can't be related because the Moorers have no involvement; only that what he heard has not been "specifics"; yet recognizes that "everyone" is thinking this. 
Here is where a denial could be issued.  Charges "can't" be related because they 'didn't do it' type of phrases. 
The Moorers were being held on $20,000 bond each Saturday afternoon. A May 2 initial appearance was set for the both of them. If convicted, the obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and the indecent exposure conviction could mean up to three years in prison for each count.
So far, the only thing linking the charges to Heather Elvis is a press release issued by the Horry County Police Department Friday, which stated the search and seizure of the Moorer’s property “was executed in an attempt to identify potential evidence based on new information obtained through expert analysis of previously seized surveillance tapes in the area along with financial discrepancies filed with the state of South Carolina on behalf of the occupants of the residence.”
Police have said the surveillance footage has come from throughout the Socastee area, and deferred any questions about the “financial discrepancies” to the U.S. Attorney’s General Office.
The Sun News requested the search warrant results, arrest warrants and explanation of charges from the magistrate’s office, but none were available until Monday.
McCollum said the next step is basic for he and Tammy Moorer.
“The steps moving forward, as with any client, is to listen to them, see what they have to say, understand their situation and then go from there,” he said.
nothing about defense. 




Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/02/22/4049005/two-charged-held-on-bond-in-exposure.html#storylink=cpy

31 comments:

Tania Cadogan said...

off topic BBM

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

UPDATE:

More items, possibly belonging to Charlie Scott, were found Friday in a remote area off the Hana Highway.
It's the same area were the missing, pregnant woman's clothes were found Thursday night.
Police found the new items but wouldn't provide details of what those items were.

The area was cordoned off with crime scene tape as family and friends of Charli stood outside waiting for any updates from MPD.

Another search will resume Saturday at 8 am.

PREVIOUS INFORMATION:

Charli Scott's sister found clothes that she says Charli was wearing when she disappeared Sunday night.

Sources tell Hawaii News Now, the sister found the items while searching the area around the Hana Highway. The family called police Thursday evening and were apparently told them to stay there with the items until a detective arrived. But the sister instead drove the items to the police station in Kahului where the clothes and blanket are being processed.

This comes one day after Charli's SUV was found torched near Jaws surf break.

Hawaii News Now's Mileka Lincoln spoke to Scott's ex-boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, Steven Capobianco. He is the last person to have seen Scott Sunday night before she disappeared. 24-year-old Capobianco has not been charged and is not a suspect.

"Hi, my name is Mileka Lincoln I'm calling from Hawaii News Now, KGMB/KHNL. I'm calling to see if I can ask you some questions about the ongoing search for Charli -- I know that you've helped to participate in it and I know there are questions about you being the last person to have seen her. I just wanted to see if we could clarify some things."

Steven: "Go for it."

Mileka: "I'm going to record this if that's okay, and this is going to be for our coverage. Tell me how you know Charli."

Steven: "First off, I don't want my voice on the news."

Mileka: "You do not want the recording used?"

Steven: "Yeah, I do not want the recording used. I don't want my voice coming out on everyone's TV on this island."

Mileka: "I understand."

Steven: "But I will answer all of your questions and you guys can record it for your own personal use."

Mileka: "Ok."

Steven: "So I knew Charli because she was my ex-girlfriend from three or four years ago {asks someone, "Does that sound right?"} Five years ago, it was five years ago and we have kept in touch this entire time. We were still friends. We still knew each other."

Mileka: "Are you the father of her unborn child? That's what we've been told."

Steven: "That's what I've been told. I never got a piece of paper that said it or anything, but I would believe it."

Mileka: "So were you guys dating again?"

Steven: "No, we just occasionally hooked up."

Mileka: "So tell me about what happened Sunday night."

Steven: "Sunday night?
She picked me up from my house at 8:30, drove out to my truck that I got stuck in Keanae and she dropped me off at my truck -- it took me about 10 minutes to fix my truck, 'cause I had extra light tools with me at that time. And then we came back to Haiku. And I'm pretty sure I saw her lights in my rearview the entire time. I'm absolutely certain I saw her headlights in my rearview mirror until I got to Twin Falls and then I started speeding up 'cause I drive a little faster than she does."

Mileka: "What made you speed up ahead of her?"

Steven: "I was in front of her in the first place, in case my truck broke down and she would pull up behind me.

Mileka: "Right, that makes sense. So it was around Twin Falls that you say that you stopped seeing her headlights?"

Steven: "Yes."

Tania Cadogan said...

Mileka: "And did you call her at any point afterwards just to make sure she'd gotten home? Or..."

Steven: "I actually didn't think to do that until the next morning. I sent her a text that said, 'Thank you' but I figured she was working, that's why she didn't get back to me right away and it wasn't until the cops showed up at my house at 5:30 in the morning the next day that I realized something was wrong."

Mileka: "And so when the cops arrived, what did they tell you?"

Steven: "They said, they told me that her parents had filed a missing person's report and gave them my name and they came to my address just to follow the lead."

Mileka: "Have they officially questioned you? Sometimes they make people take a lie detector test."

Steven: "I volunteered for all of that. I went down there as soon as I could. I let them interrogate me. I let them polygraph me. I did everything."

Mileka: "How'd the polygraph go?"

Steven: "To the best of my knowledge, it went ok."

Mileka: "Did you pass, fail?"

Steven: "The Police told me I failed."

Steven: "They didn't make me take it again. I'm honestly not convinced I failed, I think they might have just said that as a tactic, but I really don't know I'm walking around right now without handcuffs on."


Mileka: "So what do police tell you?"

Steven: "They've just been questioning me. They haven't really told me anything." "I mean, it's undeniable that I'm probably the prime suspect, so they're not going to tell me any details."

Mileka: "Was the dog Nala with Charli when she came to pick you up?"

Steven: "Yeah."

Mileka: "So does it make sense to you how Nala was found?"

Steven: "No."

Mileka: "But Nala was still in the car with Charli when you guys left Keanae?"

Steven: "Yep."

Mileka: "What do you think about the fact that the car was found torched and on its side?"

Steven: "I'm not really sure what to think about that yet."

Mileka: "Is that a problem area?"

Steven: "I mean, probably. Did they say that was the only car torched and flipped over, 'cause that's a load of crap. There's like a dozen of them down there.

Mileka: "Oh, really? So this is something that happens in that area a lot? I don't know -- that's why I'm asking."

Steven: "Yeah, Peahi is a pretty bad notorious area for people who steal cars to go and ditch them.

Mileka: "And so what do they do? Strip them and torch them?"

Steven: "From what I've seen just by driving by, yeah - it looks like it."

Mileka: "And I'm sorry, you said the spot was Peahi?"

Steven: "Yeah, or the Jaws area if that's what you guys want to call it but the road is called Peahi."

Mileka: "Peahi Road, okay -- we want to make sure we're being accurate."

Steven: "Yeah."

Tania Cadogan said...

Mileka: "What is it that you want -- and I understand that you don't want your voice to be used -- but in terms of what you're sharing and telling us, what is it that you want viewers to know?"

Steven: "I mean, I don't really care what they know. I just want Charli to be found."

Mileka: "Did you do anything to hurt Charli?"

Steven: "Absolutely not."


Mileka:"Do you understand why people think you might have?"

Steven: "Of course."


Mileka: "So what's next for you, what is your next step?"

Steven: "I've been doing everything I can to try help her, but her family is getting hostile with me so I've just been -- I'm sitting here at my house just waiting for any news to come through."

Mileka: "Are you worried about your safety at all?"

Steven: "A little bit, but that's of little consequence because Charli's safety is first and foremost."

Mileka: "Steven, do you think they'll find her?"

Steven: "I don't know. I f--king hope so."

Mileka: "Did you love her?"

Steven: "Of course."


Mileka: "Were you excited about being a dad?"

Steven: "Sort of. It was unexpected. She didn't tell me right away, but it was growing on me."

Mileka: "Yeah, I guess you had more time, huh?"

Steven: "Yeah. I mean last time we talked we were talking about naming it. I thought we were getting there."

Mileka: "Was that on Sunday?"

Steven: "Yeah, that was on the ride out there."

Mileka: "Do you know if you were having a boy or girl?"

Steven: "I don't know for certain, but I was really hopeful that it was a boy. What man doesn't want a son?"

Mileka: "Do you know what she was hoping for?"

Steven: "She was probably hoping for a girl, what woman doesn't want a daughter?"

Mileka: "But you guys didn't talk about the sex?"

Steven: "She didn't know. Somebody else was supposed to know and it was supposed to be like a surprise at the baby shower and all that crap. So they never told me either because they didn't want me to spill the beans to her."

Mileka: "I see, they wanted to do it like that."

Steven: "Yeah, it's kind of old school. Traditional."

Mileka: "That's cool."

Steven: "Yeah."

Mileka: "So you literally just sit and wait, the cops didn't call you after Charli's car was found?"

Steven: "I had a friend who notified me, but the cops never did."

Mileka: "Is it true that you live nearby?"

Steven: "Yeah."

Mileka: "You think that someone might be trying to set you up?"

Steven: "I never really considered it until you said something, but maybe."


Mileka: "I mean, if you didn't do anything -- right?"

Steven: "I definitely did not do anything."


Mileka: "It would sure seem like it then."

Steven: "Yeah."

Mileka: "You have any enemies?"

Steven: "Her family."

Mileka: "Just her family?"

Steven: "They're the only people I can think of that would not like me enough to do anything about it. Everybody else on the island seems to love me."

Mileka: "So did you never have a good relationship with them? Or did you used to have a good relationship when you guys were dating?"

Steven: "No, I mean -- me and Charli always had a pretty good relationship but not me and her family."

Tania Cadogan said...


Mileka: "How long did you guys date?"

Steven: "I don't really recall, two years -- maybe three."

Mileka: "It was for a little while then."

Steven: "It was for quite a while, we lived together in a three bedroom house for a minute."

Mileka: "But you've been broken up for about four or five years?" {someone tells him, 'I think it's more like three or four.'}

Steven: "It might be more like three or four, it wasn't really something I cataloged."

Mileka: "I understand."

Mileka: "Was the family excited about Charli being pregnant?"

Steven: "I believe so. I had never talked to them about it. I had never had any contact with her family since I stopped dating her, up until they wanted me to come help them -- Monday morning when the showed up."

Mileka: "Monday morning they showed up?"

Steven: "They showed up -- one of them showed up at work and told me what was going on and then called me later and I rushed out to show them exactly what had happened the night before and proceeded to help them look."

Mileka: "What do you think might have happened to Charli? Do you think there's a chance she just got tired of life on Maui and left?"

Steven: "I don't think so, not under these circumstances. She was a very caring person and she loved her dogs. and to have one of her dogs show up in Nahiku and one of her dogs had been locked in her house for a whole day -- she wouldn't do that Above all else, she would not leave her dogs unattended."

Mileka: "Do you think Charli may have had any enemies?"

Steven: "That's hard for me to say. I didn't hang out with her very often. But, I mean, she had kind of a mouth on her -- I could see her pissing somebody off. But again, I don't want to speculate -- I don't know for certain."


Mileka: "I understand."

Steven: "Her family might be able to better answer that one."

Mileka: "That is a good question for them, you're right."

Mileka: "What's next for you Steven?"

Steven: "I don't know. I'm going to do everything I can to help."

Mileka: "Are you still participating in the searches?"

Steven: "In my own way, but as a said -- the family's getting kind of hostile, so I stopped joining the search party myself. I've sort of ventured out on my own."

Mileka: "Can I give you my information and will you be in touch if you learn anything or you can point in a direction we should be looking?"

Steven: "Absolutely."

Tania Cadogan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tania Cadogan said...

ooops forget the URL for the above

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/24721045/exclusive-ex-boyfriend-of-missing-pregnant-maui-woman-speaks

no reliable first person singular past tense event specific denial instead we get

Mileka: "Did you do anything to hurt Charli?"

Steven: "Absolutely not."


notice she says hurt which is minimising and not kill. he can't even say he didn't hurt her, does this mean he didn't hurt her, he killed her?

Mileka: "So tell me about what happened Sunday night."

Steven: "Sunday night?

he answers a question with a question making it sensitive.

Mileka: "How'd the polygraph go?"

Steven: "To the best of my knowledge, it went ok."

Mileka: "Did you pass, fail?"

Steven: "The Police told me I failed."

Steven: "They didn't make me take it again. I'm honestly not convinced I failed, I think they might have just said that as a tactic, but I really don't know I'm walking around right now without handcuffs on."

initially he says it went ok, the interviewer picks up on this and presses for more detail, he admits the police told him he failed, told being a strong action as opposed to the softer said.
he puts the onus on the poloce telling him he failed rather than him saying i failed.. this is distancing
He then uses the word HONESTLY in relation to failing, meaning he hasn't been truthful. this is in relation to him believing he didn't fail and it was a police tactic. He introduces walking around without handcuffs as well as going outside the bounds of the question which was did you pass or fail? making it sensitive to him,

Mileka:"Do you understand why people think you might have?"

Steven: "Of course.

Innocent people cannot and will not accept that anyone could think they are guilty of the crime, this is a red flag in that he is accepting and understanding why people suspect him.

Mileka: "Did you love her?"

Steven: "Of course."

This is an weak answer to the question.
The expected would be yes. Instead we get an of cours which is weak and non commital, he leaves the listener to presume he loved her. he uses it to convince us he loved her though he can't bring himself to say yes, or even reflecting the interviewers words back at her.

Mileka: "You think that someone might be trying to set you up?"

Steven: "I never really considered it until you said something, but maybe."

never foes not mean did not. it should only arise if the question contains the word ever.
note also the additional qualifier really which further weakens his denial. This has given him an idea, an excuse.

Mileka: "I mean, if you didn't do anything -- right?"

Steven: "I definitely did not do anything."

very weak denial, here he reflects the question back to the interviewer as a respone, he also adds qualifiers which further weaken the denial. The qualifiers DEFINITELY and the lengthening of the interviewer's DIDN'T becomes DID NOT

Mileka: "Do you think Charli may have had any enemies?"

Steven: "That's hard for me to say. I didn't hang out with her very often. But, I mean, she had kind of a mouth on her -- I could see her pissing somebody off. But again, I don't want to speculate -- I don't know for certain."

here we have demeaning of the victim which is unexpected. innocent people do not demean the victim even if they hated them or didn't get on with them.
He tells us I mean, she had kind of a mouth on her -- I could see her pissing somebody off.
Is this the motive?
She said something, got mouthy and pissed someone off, namely him?
he tells us he doesn't want to speculate but he just did, he then says he doesn't know for certain

Tania Cadogan said...

whoever talks first wins the prize. since tammy appears to have bonded out, will she throw hubby under the bus i wonder?

Lemon said...

Hobs, he (Steven Capobianco) speaks repeatedly of her in the past tense :(

Theresa said...

TM has posted bond but isn't allowed to leave, pending more serious charges

Lemon said...

Tammy, for the love of statement analysis, PLEASE keep talking. Keep telling all your little heart desires, no need to listen to the men in suits. All that matters is that you are heard, that you get your side out and tell us all you want. We are listening.

Amaleen6 said...

No, she's not bonded out. Neither one of them can; they've had a hold put on them pending further charges. I do think, however, that one is going to roll on the other.

Unknown said...

She bonded... when? And how long can they hold her

Theresa said...

This afternoon after her hearing. I assume charges would need to be filed within 24 hours like it was for the original charges. I wonder if she knew a hold would be placed on her when she posted bond so quickly.

Apple said...

Hobs,
Thank you for the transcript. It is nice to read a journalist asking good questions.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if anyone is still following Hailey's story, but nearly 10,000 people showed up to support her family in the candlelight vigil tonight. BACA escorted her family through the route. It's a beautiful thing to see our community supporting her family. I want to believe it will change the fabric of our community for the better and this won't fade.

You can see video and photos here: http://www.ky3.com/

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Mc Gowan said...


More charges expected for couple arrested in Heather Elvis investigation:

Snipped:

While they are separate now, Solicitor Jimmy Richardson explains once the second appearance and trial begins, they will be going through the legal track together.

It is still unclear how or if these charges are in any way connected to the disappearance of Heather Elvis. What is clear: officials expect more charges to be filed.

"A lot is happening behind the scenes. In this particular case, they decided to charge for smaller things but I assure you HEAVIER charges are coming," said Solicitor Jimmy Richardson. He explains a hold was placed on both Moorers, so neither can leave the detention center as more charges will be coming.

"This is the preliminary step," Solicitor Richardson added. "Police are not slowing down their investigation until we get to the point where were able to go forward and prove the guilt or the innocence."

Giving out any more information on what those additional charges could be could jeopardize the case.

Solicitor Richardson says the aim is "not to deprive the public information or the family. But right now it could do more harm than good to say what is coming, why it's coming."

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/24785359/2-in-custody-in-connection-with-heather-elvis-case-police-confirm

Anonymous said...

" I assure you, there are more serious charges coming".....

Just an observation.....TM IS OBVIOUSLY a very reactive person. Short fuse. Kind of a mean girl at heart. IF she had NOTHING to do with HE disappearance, where's the anger for the drama her husband's fling has caused for her and their family? She claims she's now lost her job, been targeted by snipers, shunned by community, and I promise you, Horry County is less than 6 degrees in its borders and more like 2...... She nor anyone in her family or camp will ever be able to lift their heads again....regardless of the outcome here.

Unknown said...

Hi Anon 6:56

I thought the same thing when I read that TM sent Heather a pic of she and SM engaged in a sex act. What 41, almost 42yo, mother of three, would do something like that?!

TM has proven she is not mature enough to think through the consequences of her actions, nor is she controlled enough to refrain from destructive behavior. Her immaturity, impulsiveness, and over bearing need to have the last word, reveal she is capable of violence toward Heather, imo.

Like another commenter has theorized, I wonder if TM & SM hatched a plan to eliminate Heather as some sort of a twisted 'love' pact. Meaning to prove/strengthen their love, they murdered the other woman.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Tammy Moorer is a strange character. This makes it difficult to predict her behavior, but the more she speaks, the more we are able to learn about her person.

Perverse, base, and capable of great harm are already in focus.

Peter

Juliette said...

Tammy Moorer reminds me of Amanda Hayes, very full of herself; this situation is also similar to Amanda and Grant Hayes, both who have been sentenced in the murder of Laura Ackerton...Laura was Grant's girlfriend, and both he and Amanda murdered, dismembered, then disposed of Laura...

Amanda Hayes' trial ended last week in a guilty verdict; Grant Hayes and she are in prison for the murder of his former girlfriend, Laura Ackerton.

I hope this isn't what happened to Heather, but I fear the cases may be similar.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9435959

Anonymous said...

imo, tammy is a talker, not a doer. and for her, this is her 15 minutes of fame, even though it is in the negative.

Anonymous said...

Why wasn't this strategy followed in the Hailey Dunn case??

it's obvious, Shawn and Billie are innocent. the whole story released to the public that Shawn and Billie were guilty was only a farce in an attempt to keep the real "kidnappers" from killing Hailey. imo, by the time they came up with that idea, Hailey had all ready passed.

elf said...

The 'whole story' that Billie and Shawn were guilty didn't come from anything except Billie and Shawn's own words. As far as I've heard Shawn is still suspect #1 ans Billie is just a tramp who should've put Hailey up for adoption after she was born.

elf said...

Peter, you forgot jealous, insecure, and a liar. Ill eat your dirty gym socks if Tammy caison moorer ever dated a rockstar.

Kellie Sue said...

MOORER, TAMMY LORINDA
MYRTLE BEACH, SC 29588 AMERICAN (US) FEMALE 03/08/1972
41 2/21/2014 8:50:00 AM incarcerated
KIDNAPPING - NO BAIL SET
INDECENT EXPOSURE - Disposed - $5,000.00 (2 Charges)
OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE - Disposed - $10,000.00

Anonymous said...

kidmapping!

Carnival Barker said...

Tammy Moorer charged with Kidnapping!

Anonymous said...

Take the video at the boat docking and place it together with video of her in a store...

The first video stated they had video of what I assume is the McDonalds drive-up window. What if another video in a store in the same area had Tammy wearing the same clothing as captured in first video.

Unknown said...

Anonymas are you for or against Tammy????

Lemon said...

elf, I think it would depend on the meanings of "dated" and "rockstar" :)