'Substantial development' in Rachel Cooke disappearance

Michael Kieth Moore

I hate that smirk!

 

So, the punk wants a trial.

Bring it on! No doubt he saved Rachel's jewelry, and one of his former wives/girlfriends has it in her possession, like with Christina Moore's jewelry.

This guy is the classic serial killer. He only got life in prison for taking the life of Christina Moore. In Texas?

They need to nail him for Rachel's muder, and probably several others, and hang the bastard.

 

Raw Video

Moore, Cooke Family in Court, Moore Pleads Not Guilty

http://keyetv.com/video/?cid=5

http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=39809

 

Michael Keith Moore's criminal history

Michael Keith Moore's criminal history
11/9/2006 1:30 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff

Moore has a criminal history dating back to 1992:
Nov. 28, 1992: Charged with Criminal Mischief in Williamson County, punishment deferred
Feb. 22, 1993: Charged with Credit Card Abuse in Williamson County, released on police recognizance, 60 days in jail, 10 years probation
Jan. 25, 1994: Charged with Aggravated Robbery in Williamson County, no sentence data available
Dec. 4, 1998: Charged with Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon in Austin, 20 days in jail
Nov. 27, 2001: Charged with Credit Card Abuse in Williamson County
Dec. 19, 2001: Charged with Aggravated Robbery and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon in Williamson County, sentence data unavailable
Jan. 10, 2002: Rachel Cook disappears
Jan. 17, 2002: Arrested for Credit Card Abuse in Round Rock
Jan. 18, 2002: Charged with Theft in Williamson County
June 24, 2002: Sentenced to 14 months in prison, date of release not known
Sept. 23. 2003: Christina Moore is murdered in her Round Rock home
May 13, 2004: Arrested for Unlawfully carrying a weapon in Williamson County
July 2, 2004: Moore enters prison
Nov. 11, 2004: Indicted for Christina Moore's murder. Charged with Aggravated Robbery, Murder and Aggravated Kidnapping in Williamson County.
Feb. 13, 2006: Pleads guilty to murder and other charges. Sentenced to three life terms to be served consecutively.

 

More Video from TV stations covering story

Below are the TV video of the court room hearing and one of the DA interview after the not guilty story.

http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=100513

http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=100566

 

Lord bless that family. How horrible for them. I assume he was suppose to tell where she is in the agreement so the Cookes could have their daughter back. Sounds like the B@stard changed his mind and has further tormented the Cookes.

 

"The indictment says prosecuters believe Moore killed Cooke by striking her with a hammer or suffocating her or some combination of the two."

But the body has never been found. He must have confessed to it.

 

More to his "confusing" record

than was previously reported - click here

 

Who is Michael Keith Moore?

Moore's criminal record dates all the way back to 1992, when as a teenager he was arrested for criminal mischief in Williamson County.

Before a 2006 murder conviction, Moore spent most of his time in and out of jail. The charges ranged from illegally carrying a weapon to aggravated robbery.

On Sept.23, 2003, Round Rock mother Christina Moore is found dead inside her Forest Creek subdivision home.

Christina, pregnant at the time of her murder, was found with a gash to her torso in the master bedroom of her closet.

In November 2004, Michael Moore was indicted in Williamson County for the gruesome murder. The charges against him was capital murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.

Two years later in February 2006, an emotionless Michael Moore finally admitted in open court that he killed Christina Moore. It was words the Moore family had been waiting a long time to hear.

"That was important to hear him say that. He didn't get to keep the aspect of guilt to himself. It was therapeutic," Christina's husband Robert Moore said in February 2006.

Moore was sentenced to life in prison.

But this wasn't the last time we'd hear Michael Moore's name. Moore and another inmate in the Williamson County Jail were accused of committing offensive sexual acts in front of some of the female inmates after rigging the infirmary doors and escaping into the women's facility.

In May 2006, Williamson County agreed to pay $60,000 to three of those inmates. In addition to the settlement, four jail staff members were disciplined.

Moore is still behind bars in Williamson County Thursday afternoon.

At the time of his arrest for Christina Moore's murder, Michael Moore was married with two children.

He had no relation to Christina Moore.


http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5658290

 

Thanks VP. One has to wonder why this b*stard was out on our streets and how many more like him are out there. Scary isn't it?


The Cooke family has been through almost five years of h*ll in their search for Rachel and Mr. Moore chose to continue that h*ll for them today. While I am sure the family would like to have walked out of court this morning with what little closure his guilty plea would have brought them, his selfish act has hopefully put the death penalty on the table. He needs to be permanently off our streets and it's clear he has weaseled his way out of a lot of jail time (and probably the death penalty in the Moore case) with multiple plea bargains in the past. He's a coward who has prayed on innocent women and now wants to escape the ultimate punishment for his acts.

 

I'd like to see locations of this guy's known crimes, movements, his residences and his friends' and relatives' residences and job locations, his hangouts, schools, neighborhoods, jobs, prisons and jails he was in, all plotted out on a map with a timeline.

Any chance we'll be getting any of this detailed info released as public record?

We can start with JR's post listing the general stuff, and vp's list of his criminal record, though I have to say, I find that verrrrry confusing. Who makes up these forms.

 

Kk

I agree about the forms - confuse the crap out of me - but most are not that lengthy

What I don't understand, as far as what is contained in the document I provided, is why he was charged with kidnapping and murdering a police officer or fire fighter. Who did he kidnap? And she worked for Dell, as did her husband.

I'm sure there's a simple explanation, I'm just not seeing it.

JR, please let the Cookes know I am thinking about them and praying this game Moore seems to be playing will be over soon - and I'm just down the street if you need anything...

 

VP - I think that the Kidnapping charge must be related to Rachel, his last minute change of plea has thrown everything out of whack. Good find though on his very extensive history - career criminal is putting it lightly.

JR - such a person must have stood out in the community - was there any interest in him earlier in the investigation?

This is all so shocking, her family now knows but she is still missing. This is so wrong.

 

WTF does this mean? Capital Murder of a Peace Officer or Fireman? It looks as if he was charged with killing a cop or fireman. I don't get these forms, at all.

 

DA says Moore confessed to Cooke's murder, then backed out of deal

By Katie Humphrey, Chuck Lindell

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Thursday, November 09, 2006

GEORGETOWN — Backing out of a deal with prosecutors, convicted murderer Michael Keith Moore pleaded not guilty to the death of Rachel Cooke, a Georgetown woman who has been missing since January 2002, after he was charged with her murder in court this morning.

His plea surprised Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, who said that Moore had confessed to the killing and had reneged on an agreement to plead guilty.

"(Sheriff James Wilson) and I were led to believe that Michael Keith Moore was prepared to take responsibility for the death of Rachel Cooke," Bradley said at a press conference following the plea.

Moore, who has been in prison for murdering Christina Moore, told authorities in August that he had information about Cooke's disappearance, Bradley said.

"There were several things that Moore told us that only the person involved . . . could have known," Wilson said. "We verified the facts he gave us; it was completely obvious that he had to have been there . . . and his confession was in all likelihood true."

Bradley and Wilson wouldn't provide details about the crime or the confession. They said that if an agreement isn't reached with Moore's defense attorneys, they will bring the case to trial.

Their previous agreement with Moore called for another concurrent life sentence, to be served on top of the four he is already serving, which would allow Moore to be eligible for parole in 30 years.

However, Bradley said the case could become a capital murder charge if it goes to trial.

"The worst thing for someone to do is to get me to notice them," Bradley said, in discussing the possibility of taking the case to trial.

Cooke's family was kept apprised of the agreement, including the life sentence, and gave their approval, Bradley said.

Moore's not guilty plea came after Judge Burt Carnes arraigned the 31-year-old on the murder charge earlier this morning in the 368th District Court in Williamson County. Cooke's family and friends filled half of the small courtroom, with many wearing buttons bearing her photo.

"How do you plead?" Carnes asked Moore after calling him to the bench.

"Not guilty," Moore replied.

Carnes looked up quickly and said, "Will you repeat that for me?"

"Not guilty."

Carnes sent Moore back to the defense table, where he had a four-minute conference with his attorneys. Defense attorneys and prosecutors then approached the bench and Carnes called for a 15-minute recess to determine whether the not guilty plea would be a temporary delay or a major breakdown. Moore left the courtroom to confer in private with his attorneys. About an hour and 15 minutes later, Carnes came back into court to announce that the Moore case stands in recess until further notice.

Asked if he had a statement for reporters, defense attorney Steve Brittain said, "We're not done yet." Brittain and Moore's other defense attorney, Allan Williams, conferred with him until 3 p.m.

Cooke's parents had strong words for Moore after the plea surprise.

Her father, Robert Cooke, said the family believes that authorities have the right person, based on his confession and other evidence.

"We feel like we are being victimized a second time," he said.

"I just can't believe he would put us through this, to string us along," her mother, Janet Cooke, told reporters.

Moore was charged by a one-page criminal information, which was filed last night by Bradley. The filing charges Moore with killing Rachel Cooke "by striking her with a hammer, by suffocating her, by some manner and means unknown, or by a combination of these acts."

The filing differs from an indictment in that it is usually filed when the defendant has agreed to plead guilty. The defendant also waives the right to indictment in the filing.

The charge connects two of the highest-profile cases in recent Williamson County history: Cooke's 2002 disappearance and the 2003 murder of Christina Moore, who was not related to Michael Moore, in her Round Rock home.

A Williamson County jury in February convicted Michael Moore of murdering Christina Moore.

Cooke was 19 when she vanished while jogging near her parents' home in the Northlake subdivision northwest of Georgetown on Jan. 10, 2002. Officials have said that neighbors last saw her jogging at about 10:30 a.m., 100 or 200 yards from her home.

Her disappearance rocked the usually quiet community in Williamson County and drew both local and national media attention.

Hundreds of volunteers helped search for Cooke on foot and horseback in the days following her disappearance. They later drove around Central Texas distributing flyers with Cooke's picture.

Her parents have made numerous pleas for anyone with information about the case to come forward. They have helped organize runs in honor of Cooke, who was an all-state cross country runner in high school, and dedicated a tree in her name at her alma mater, Georgetown High School.

The family has also offered a $50,000 reward for information that could lead to a break in the case.

And in January 2004, the Williamson County sheriff's office assembled a multi-agency team, including investigators from the Austin Police Department and the FBI, to examine the case.

But no one was ever charged in connection with Cooke's disappearance until this morning.

Michael Moore was convicted in February of murdering 35-year-old Christina Moore on Sept. 23, 2003. Christina Moore was 14 weeks pregnant when Michael Moore slit her throat as she knelt on the floor of her bedroom closet, her right arm restrained by a handcuff. He then stole her purse, some jewelry and her wedding rings, according to testimony heard during the trial.

Her husband, Robert Moore, came home to find his wife dead and the couple's then 15-month-old daughter Gracie crying, unharmed, in her crib.

Michael Moore targeted Christina Moore's home because he had planned to steal checks and credit cards and thought it would be easier to use them if he stole them from someone with the same last name, according to testimony from a habitual felon who claimed that Michael Moore had confessed to him while they were both in custody at the Williamson County Jail.

Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction and death sentence, but the jury acquitted Moore on that charge, choosing instead to convict him of murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. It was the first time prosecutors in Williamson County had sought a capital murder conviction and lost.

Before the punishment phase of the trial could begin, however, Michael Moore pleaded guilty to all three charges. He also pleaded guilty to an unrelated robbery charge and a firearm possession charge.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/10/10case.html

 

Cooke investigation takes unexpected turn

10:54 PM CST on Thursday, November 9, 2006

KVUE News


Rachel Cooke

A bizarre turn of events leads Williamson County investigators back to square one in the investigation into Rachel Cooke's disappearance.

Michael Moore, who a jury already convicted in another woman's murder, appeared Thursday in a Georgetown courtroom.

Prosecutors say he was supposed to plead guilty to the murder of Cooke.

Instead, he stunned those in the room when he entered a plea of not guilty.


KVUE News

Now the plea deal and his confession are off the table. None of it can be used in a trial. (emphasis mine)

During a news conference, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley called the developments "unexpected and disappointing."

Thirty-one-year old Moore is serving three life sentences for the 2003 murder of Christina Moore. The pregnant mother was found stabbed to death in her Round Rock home. They were not related.

According to Bradley, Moore contacted them in August and wanted to confess to another high profile crime.

"The sheriff and I were led to believe that this Michael Keith Moore was prepared to take responsibility for the disappearance of Rachel Cooke," explained Bradley. "We did a lot of work to verify the accuracy of that willingness."

But Moore pleaded not guilty in court Thursday.

According to court documents, Moore waved the right to have the case considered by a grand jury. In effect, he was accepting the charge he killed Rachel Cooke by striking her with a hammer and suffocating her.

The murder supposedly took place January 10th, 2002, the day Cooke disappeared while on a morning jog near her parent's home in northwest Georgetown.

Investigators say Moore provided them with details only they and the killer would know.

"There were several things that Michael told us that only the person who was involved in the abduction, and probably the slaying, of Rachel Cooke could have known," said Williamson County Sheriff James Wilson.

Investigators will not say if Cooke's body has been found. (emphasis mine)

Authorities worked out a plea agreement with Moore to help bring closure for the family. The deal would have added a fourth life sentence onto the three Moore is already serving. The sentences would have run concurrently.

Bradley said Moore has the right to change his mind and plead not guilty but that it was hurtful for Cooke's family.

"We feel like we're being victimized for a second time. We've developed a new motto today, and that's 'We're not done yet.' We believe they have the right person, based on his confession and other things, and we just need to finish the case," said Robert Cooke, victim's father. "I think it's hard to consider him a person. This is not a person. I'm extremely angry, but I've been angry for four years."

Authorities say they will work to prosecute Moore in Cooke's death.

"He's decided to play with us a little bit, but we're still here. We're not going away," said Janet Cooke, victim's mother.

The family was told Wednesday that Moore would be charged in Rachel's death. They had been told Moore would plead guilty. The not-guilty plea delays the closure this family was so desperately hoping for.

"I just couldn't believe that he would put us through this. What his motives were to string us along? Tell all the information he's told so far and not go through with it?" said Robert Cooke, who said he hopes Moore remains in prison the rest of his life. "Come forward, be a man. For once in your life, tell the truth."

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office and several other law enforcement agencies have been investigating the case since Cooke disappeared.

Cooke was last seen near her home in the Northlake development on F.M. 3405, northwest of Georgetown. Detectives believe she disappeared near the end of her 3 to 4 mile run around 11 a.m.

There have been massive searches and nationwide publicity about the case, but past searches have failed to turn up any evidence as to Cooke's whereabouts.

Robert Cooke, Rachel's father, has become an activist for issues related to missing persons. He writes a blog about the search for Rachel on KVUE.com.

The Williamson county sheriff's department has set up three new tip lines that will answer around the clock.

They ask that anyone with information about the Rachel Cooke case call 818-0494, 966-6561 or 818-2184. The area code for all three is 512. (emphasis mine)

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/110906kvuerachelcooke2-ehkr.1f587cb0.html

 

"Investigators will not say if Cooke's body has been found. (emphasis mine)"

Emphasis made.

 

Y'All know about as much as anyone at this point. Mr. Moore was arrested 7 days after Rachel disappeared if you read the reports. Then in June of that same year he was sentenced to 14 months in prison with his release date not known. Approximately 14 months later he murdered Christina Moore.

Jan. 17, 2002: Arrested for Credit Card Abuse in Round Rock

June 24, 2002: Sentenced to 14 months in prison, date of release not known

http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7971&page=2

Sept. 23. 2003: Christina Moore is murdered in her Round Rock home



November 30, 2004

Grand Jury Indicts Michael Keith Moore for Round Rock Capital Murder

http://wcportals.wilco.org/District_Attorney/news_tab/archive/11-19_Moore.htm


Note: This is the second to last paragraph:

The new capital murder indictment and the other related charges are assigned to the 368th District Court. Judge Burt Carnes is expected to issue a capias for the arrest of Moore, assign a bail amount, and set the case for an initial appearance date. (emphasis mine)


Sounds like he hadn't been tried for the killing of the police officer/fireman. By all appearances in reviewing these files, this skunk is a pleader so maybe he plea bargained that charge too?


I don't know if he was looked at early on or at the time of Christina Moore's murder.

 

The aggravated kidnapping charge

Christina Moore Capital Murder Trial Begins

Prosecution Lays Out Its Case, Defense Seeks To Cast Doubts
Jennie Blankenship Reporting

(CBS 42) ROUND ROCK Why Round Rock police accused Michael Moore of killing Christina Moore was revealed Wednesday in court. The capital murder trial of Michael Moore, who is not related to his alleged victim, got underway shortly after 9 a.m. in Williamson County.

Moore is charged with capital murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping of Christina Moore and her unborn child in her home on Sept. 23, 2003. Christina Moore was three months pregnant when she was killed. (emphasis mine)

In the prosecutors opening statements they said Christina Moore’s husband, Robert, left their home in the affluent Forest Creek subdivision early that morning to attend a Bible study class at the couple’s church. After Christina Moore did not show up to work at Dell later that morning, he went to check on her.

Prosecutors said Robert Moore found the door to their home unlocked. The couple’s 15-month-old daughter was wandering inside the house, crying. Then Robert Moore made a gruesome discovery -- his wife’s bloody body, apparently stabbed by a knife or sharp object, and a handcuff hanging from her right wrist. Her wedding bands, purse, a jewelry box and money were missing. The FBI later found that a bloody footprint left at the scene was from an Ariat brand boot.

Prosecutors say Dell Employee Jill Phillips was walking down Cobra Crossing in Forest Creek the morning of the murder. It was early in the morning and still dark, but Phillips told investigators she saw a man and a Red Ford Ranger pickup near Robert and Christina Moore’s home. Phillips worked with a police forensic artist to come up with a sketch of the man.

Prosecutors’ other witness is Deborah Turner. They say Turner was jogging on Hamlet Circle near the Moore home just before 6:30 a.m. when she heard a terrible scream. It frightened Turner and she called a friend.

But according to prosecutors, Round Rock Police initially focused on Moore’s husband as a suspect. But four days later, they say, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous phone call from a pay phone at a gas station along Interstate 35 that changed everything.

Prosecutors told jurors the caller was a man claiming to have found some checks belonging to Robert and Christina Moore. The caller would not tell the dispatcher his name, but claimed he would call the Round Rock Police. He never did.

In early 2004, a woman named Betty Johnson went to Round Rock Police. She told investigators her father-in-law Michael Keith Moore had checks belonging to Robert and Christina Moore. She also told investigators Michael Moore drove a Red Ford Ranger pickup truck, and that he gave his then-wife Rebecca a wedding set he claimed to have bought from a man at a day labor center.

Prosecutors claim Michael Moore’s family also found items hidden in the wall of their trailer home, including an earring like the pair Christina Moore wore on her wedding day. Johnson confirmed that the voice on the anonymous pay-phone call recorded by the WCSO sounded like Michael Moore. Prosecutors say Jill Phillips positively identified Michael Moore in a photo lineup as the man she’d seen that morning she was walking in Forest Creek.

When police arrested Michael Moore in February 2004, they say he denied ever owning handcuffs, or driving his Ford Ranger pickup the morning of Sept. 23, 2003. He denied having anything to do with the murder of Christina Moore.

Since then, the prosecution contends Michael Moore has claimed he might have intimate knowledge of who killed Christina Moore.

Michael Moore’s defense attorney then presented his opening statement.

He said the hard evidence needed to convict his client of capital murder and consider the death penalty just doesn’t exist. He continually used the phrase, “Maybe, perhaps, possibly.†Michael Moore’s defense team pointed out there was never any sign of forced entry or sexual assault. He contends there were also no fingerprints and no DNA left at the scene, which match Michael Moore.

Defense attorneys also blasted the state’s witnesses -- a woman in the area who thinks she saw someone who looks like Michael Moore and a red pickup truck, another woman who thinks she heard a scream, and a slew of jail inmates who claim Michael Moore confessed the murder to them.

Michael Moore has never confessed to investigators the murder of Christina Moore.

After nearly 13 minutes, Michael Moore’s defense attorney rested, saying the state has, “Nothing, almost nothing, probably something, or what could be something.â€

Christina Moore’s mother, Janina Boel, was the first person to take the stand.

Boel had just left her daughter’s home before Moore was murdered to fly back home to California.

Boel told jurors about Christina’s childhood, growing up in California, Washington, D.C., and Washington state. She said her daughter graduated from the University of Oregon and worked for the Governor’s office in California for 8 years. But at the age of 29, Christina decided to go to the University of Michigan and get her Master's degree in Business Administration. There she met Robert Moore and the two became engaged. The couple found work as executives at Dell Computers. They moved to Round Rock less than a month after their wedding in June 2000, and built a house in Forest Creek.

Boel said she would visit her daughter and son-in-law often. She said she and Christina were very close. “She was my star,†Boel said, “She was wonderful. We’d talk all the time.â€

Boel told jurors her daughter’s ultimate ambition was to get married and have children. Almost exactly two years after Robert and Christina married, their daughter was born.

Robert Moore faced his wife’s accused killer in the courtroom Wednesday. He spent most of the day giving tedious testimony to jurors. Wednesday morning he recounted phone calls and e-mails he received from Christina Moore’s coworkers on the day of his wife's murder.

Robert Moore told jurors he was in a meeting until after 10 a.m. that day before he got those messages.

This afternoon Robert Moore described and identified in photographs detailed items, such as his wife’s wedding bands, the couple’s personal checks and the earrings Christina wore on her wedding day.

Prosecutors then showed jurors photographs of every room in the Moore’s home and asked Robert about the layout of the house.

Robert Moore told defense attorneys for Michael Keith Moore that a stranger would probably not have noticed Christina was pregnant, that it was something that only he, she and a few close friends knew about.

Michael Keith Moore’s defense attorneys questioned Christina’s husband exhaustively about what items he noticed were stolen.

Robert Moore cried when he talked about how he learned the sex of his and Christina’s unborn child. Moore said he read about it in a local newspaper, which had obtained the autopsy report that was supposed to have been sealed. The unborn child was a boy, which is what the Moore's wanted.

http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_032123336.html

 

Not sure KK but here is one of the articles about the Christina Moore murder and it states Michael Moore lived in Florence, Tx at that time. Florence is a very small town approximately 13 miles North of Rachel's abduction point. There are two routes to get to Florence from the North Lake area. One is to take Hwy. 195 and the other is to take 2338 and go through the town of Andice then take 970. Interestingly enough, there were early reports about the Andice area. (Read RC's early journal entries.)

http://www.rachelcookesearch.org/journal.html

Indictment Issued In Moore Murder Case
http://www.knva.com/Global/story.asp?S=2591538