A man has been charged with binding and torturing a family before making off with cash and valuables in a nightmare home invasion robbery that happened in 2003 in Silver Spring.
Hyattsville resident Stacy Howard Moore, 48, of Hyattsville was arrested April 22 and charged with first-degree burglary, the use of a handgun during the commission of a felony, three counts of armed robbery, five counts of first-degree assault and five counts of false imprisonment.
On the night of Jan. 22, 2003, Moore is accused of approaching the 31-year-old victim as he neared the door of his apartment. Moore and two other men allegedly said they were police officers and then forced their way into the victim’s home while his wife, 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter were inside, Montgomery County Police said.
The men bound the family with duct tape, and then came the torture.
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They stabbed the husband, poured bleach on him, threatened to cut out his eyes and kill his children. The men also heated a knife on the stove until it was scorched and held it against the husband’s neck.
About two and a half hours later, the husband’s 22-year-old brother entered the apartment, where he was also assaulted by the men, duct-taped and had bleach poured on him.
After the assailants made off with cash and valuables, the family freed themselves from the tape and called 911.
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During the investigation, detectives learned that the suspects used socks they found in the apartment to cover their hands and then left them behind. The socks and additional evidence were collected, police said.
It wasn't until March 22 of this year that the Montgomery County Police "received notice from the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that a suspect's DNA sample obtained from a sock one of the suspects wore on his hands matched the DNA profile for Moore,” police said in a news release.
When asked why the case took so long to solve, Rick Goodale of the Montgomery County Police Department said that first police had to rule out that the DNA belonged to any family members.
"And that took some time. Eventually our crime lab did determine that the DNA belonged to an unknown suspect," Goodale said.
Police said they are still working to identify the remaining two men and ask anyone who may have information to call 240-773-5100.
