Murderer Lives with His Pregnant Girlfriend’s Decomposing Body — Then, He Killed Again

A simple argument over iced tea erupted into a brutal execution. But what police uncovered afterward revealed something far darker — a decomposing pregnant woman hidden under a blanket just steps from where the gunman slept.

Now, 34-year-old Torrey Damien Moore will likely die in prison, after a jury handed down three consecutive life sentences for a string of shocking crimes that left two adults and an unborn child dead.

A Cold-Blooded Execution at the Counter

On December 8, 2022, Moore strolled into a Shell gas station in White Oak, Maryland, like any other customer. But when a minor dispute broke out over a bottle of iced tea, Moore pulled a gun and shot the clerk — 61-year-old Ayalew Wondimu — point-blank.

Then, according to Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, Moore leaned over the counter and fired again. And again.

“It was calculated. It was ruthless. He didn’t hesitate,” McCarthy told reporters. “He walked away like nothing had happened.”

SWAT Enters the Apartment — and Finds a Horror Scene

The gas station sat just across the street from Moore’s apartment. When a SWAT team showed up hours later to arrest him, what they found inside defied belief.

Under a pile of blankets in the bedroom lay the remains of 26-year-old Denise Middleton — Moore’s girlfriend and the mother of his unborn son. She had been dead for nearly a month.

Middleton was 8½ months pregnant. She had already picked out a name for her baby: Ezekiel.

“There was no attempt to report the death, no effort to leave the apartment,” said McCarthy. “He just lived with the body. Slept there. Ate there. For weeks.”

The Timeline of a Killer

Security footage from the building captured the last known images of Middleton alive. On October 9, 2022, Moore was seen pushing her into the elevator. That same day, he shot her seven times in the back inside their apartment, according to prosecutors.

Instead of turning himself in, Moore fled. Investigators later discovered he traveled across multiple states — including North Carolina and California — while her body lay decomposing at home.

Searches from his phone later revealed disturbing questions:
“How long does it take for a dead body to smell?”
“How to move a body without being seen?”
“How to plead insanity?”

A Legal First: Two Murders, One Womb

In a precedent-setting decision, a Montgomery County jury convicted Moore in November 2024 of two counts of first-degree murder — one for Middleton, and one for her unborn child.

It marked the first time in the county’s history that a defendant was successfully prosecuted for killing a viable fetus.

Just months earlier, another jury had found Moore guilty in Wondimu’s murder. The back-to-back convictions sealed his fate: three life terms, to be served consecutively. He won’t be eligible for parole until he’s in his 90s — if ever.

Mental Illness Defense Rejected by Jury

At trial, Moore’s lawyers painted him as a lifelong sufferer of mental illness. They claimed his actions were driven by schizophrenia and paranoia, not malice.

“The very fact that Mr. Moore was sleeping in the apartment with Ms. Middleton’s body emphasizes that his mental illness brought him out of touch with reality,” Assistant Public Defender Roberto Martinez argued in court filings.

But the jury didn’t buy it.

Moore never took the stand. He offered no apology. No explanation.

“We’re left to wonder why he did what he did,” Judge Rachel McGuckian said during sentencing. “And really no one knows but him… maybe not even him.”

The Chilling Legacy

For Middleton’s family, the sentence may offer some closure — but not peace.

She was days away from giving birth. Family members said she was excited to become a mother. She had already set up a nursery.

“She and Ezekiel never got a chance,” McCarthy said. “It’s tragic. And it’s unforgivable.”

Moore’s crimes now stand as one of Maryland’s most disturbing modern murder cases — a story of senseless violence, mental collapse, and a justice system left grappling with the aftermath.