Man accused of murdering his parents in Hazelwood home
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A man is accused of killing his parents inside a Hazelwood home Tuesday night.
The homicides happened at Woody Court and Berkridge Dr., near North Hanley and I-270, just after 7:30 p.m. When officers arrived, they said they found an armed man in the street. An officer gave commands for the man to drop his gun, but police said he did not comply. The officer then fired at the suspect. The suspect also turned the gun on himself. Police believe he sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was not hit by the bullets the officer fired.
The suspect was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers then went inside the home and found the two victims dead. A gun was recovered at the scene, police said.
“We don’t really know why he went into this incident and killed these people, but hopefully, we’ll find out as the investigation continues,” said Hazelwood Police Captain Tim Burger.
Wednesday afternoon, police identified the deceased couple as James Moore, 63, and his wife, Norma Moore, 70. The suspect, Joseph H. Moore, reportedly lived with the couple, who were his parents.
“Domestic violence, violence in family situations is not uncommon,” said Burger. “Certainly double homicides are and particularly when the suspect then tries to shoot himself. Those are not frequent events, thankfully.”
The 31-year-old has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. His bond was set at $500,000.
Hazelwood police said there is a history of calls to the residence where Moore shot his family.
“I don’t know the number or the exact circumstances of those yet. That’ll be part of the investigation as we look back at records over the years,” said Burger.
Moore remains at the hospital in stable condition. He will be transferred to the custody of the St. Louis County Justice Services for holding until released from the hospital.
“Because of so many other underlying issues that are not being dealt with, it ultimately comes up to a tragedy such as this,” said Cynthia Bennett.
Bennett is the Founder and Executive Director of JADASA, a 501c3 community-based nonprofit. They provide anti-violence education and other resources to women, children and families experiencing instances of domestic violence.
“We work as a team, what one agency can’t do...we will refer to another agency,” said Bennett.
Tuesday’s double homicide is not the first incident this year in the St. Louis area where people have been charged in killing family members. In mid-March, a man was charged with the shooting death of his grandparents in Troy. In February, another man was charged for fatally stabbing his grandmother in south city.
“What we see and has continued to see since COVID is the intensity and the level of violence has definitely increased,” said Maggie Menefee.
Menefee is the Executive Director of Alive STL, another resource organization that focuses mainly on domestic violence issues as it relates to imitate partners. Last year alone, they received 8,497 calls to their 24-hour crisis line.
“We provide shelter services where shelters are full. We’re providing counseling. We’re providing counseling for adults and children and court advocacy,” said Menefee, “and the most important this is all of our services are free.”
Yet, Bennett said that the prevalence in violence seen among intimate partners is also something that is increasingly appearing among other relationships with family members.
“It’s not just because of the pandemic. It’s just society,” said Bennett. “Dealing with housing issues, financial issues and stuff, but it’s still an excuse. It’s an excuse, and it’s uncalled for. So we are still trying to provide services, preventive services to families, and especially to victims to, to let them know that there are agencies here, not only in north St. Louis County but in the greater metropolitan St. Louis area, who are available to provided services for them.”
People can check out a list of resources and information to call on both the Alive STL and JADASA websites, or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
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