Shocking Discovery in Apartment! Man Lived for Two Months with the Dead Body of His Pregnant Girlfriend!

Torrey Damien Moore, 34, of Maryland, has been sentenced to three life sentences plus 80 years in prison for the 2022 murders of his 26-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Denise Middleton, their unborn child, and a store clerk, Ayalew Wondimu.

The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office reported that Moore was sentenced on Friday for the heinous crimes. The case unfolded with two separate murders occurring approximately two months apart.

The second murder took place on December 8, when Moore entered a Dash In convenience store in Silver Spring, despite being banned from the premises. After grabbing an iced tea, Moore allegedly began throwing items at the 61-year-old store clerk, Ayalew Wondimu. Police stated that Wondimu then picked up a metal pole and attempted to strike Moore from behind the counter. In response, Moore allegedly drew a handgun from his vest pocket and shot Wondimu at point-blank range. Once Wondimu fell, Moore reached over the counter and shot him multiple times before fleeing.

The following day, authorities executed a no-knock raid on Moore’s apartment located across the street. Inside, they discovered the body of Denise Middleton under a blanket. Middleton was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with Moore’s son, who was to be named Ezekiel. She had been shot seven times and was in an advanced state of decomposition, indicating she had been dead for approximately two months.

Surveillance footage revealed that Moore and Middleton entered an elevator together at their apartment complex around 7 p.m. on October 9, 2022, and engaged in a physical altercation. Investigators believe Moore then shot and killed Middleton inside the apartment. About an hour later, Moore left the apartment and reportedly “traveled the country” for about a month. During this time, his Google searches included phrases such as “How long does it take for a dead body to smell?” and “How to move a dead body without being seen.” Moore returned to his apartment in early November and lived with Middleton’s body for about a month before the murder of Wondimu.

A motive for the killings remains unclear, deeply upsetting the victims’ families. Moore’s defense attorney argued in court filings that his client suffered from schizophrenia, suggesting his mental illness contributed to his detachment from reality, evidenced by the fact that he continued to live in the apartment with Middleton’s body.

A jury convicted Moore of Wondimu’s murder in May 2024, and a separate jury found him guilty of the murder of Middleton and her unborn fetus in November of the previous year. Wondimu’s widow addressed the court, expressing her profound loss and heartbreak.