Crime and Courts

Maryland Man Faces Murder Charges in Deaths of Gas Station Clerk, Pregnant Woman

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A Maryland man accused of killing a gas station clerk last week in Montgomery County now faces two additional first-degree murder charges.

Prosecutors charged Torrey Moore with the death of a pregnant woman found in his White Oak apartment as police executed a warrant after the gas station shooting. He’s also charged in the death of their unborn child.

Prosecutors say the woman was 26 years old and 8 months pregnant. Authorities haven’t released her name yet.

“The autopsy has been done in that case, and she died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.

Moore was already facing a murder charge in the shooting of a clerk at the Shell gas station across the street from his apartment building Thursday afternoon.

Police say Moore had a dispute with the clerk, Ayalew Wondimu, and shot him several times.

During a brief court appearance Monday on the Wondimu murder charge, a judge ordered Moore to have an evaluation to see if he’s competent to stand trial.

“We’re hopeful that he’ll be found competent; we’ll be able to move forward on these cases,” McCarthy said.

Police say hours after that homicide when a SWAT team went to Moore’s apartment, they found the pregnant woman dead on the floor. They estimate she’d been dead for at least a month.

“The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition,” McCarthy said.

Police said Moore told detectives his girlfriend died after they got in a fight. He continued to live in the apartment with the decomposing body.

Authorities said there were no reports of any trouble in the unit.

“So whether it’s the sound of gunshots, which sometimes don’t get reported anymore, or whether it’s a smell, I think if you want to have a safe community we’ve got to work together,” McCarthy said.

According to court records, Moore has been charged with assault, kidnapping, drug and gun charges in the past. It’s unknown how he got the gun that was recovered in the apartment.

Authorities said they still don’t know the motives for the shootings.

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