When 19-year-old Virginia joined the U.S. Air Force, a superior officer’s sexual abuse turned her lifelong dream into a daily nightmare. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
When Sergeant Walker began harassing Virginia, his powerful military rank kept her from speaking out against his appalling behavior. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Sergeant Walker isolated Virginia and assaulted her in an Air Force dorm room. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Virginia fought for justice not just for herself, but also for nine other victims who suffered Walker’s abuse. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Virginia experienced PTSD from the sexual abuse she suffered at Lackland Air Force Base. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Virginia explains the extreme intensity of Air Force basic training. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Colonel Don Christensen left the Air Force after 23 years to dedicate his career to eradicating sexual assault in the military. -Lackland Military Scandal, Oxygen (S1, E1)
In suburban California, an intruder brutally attacks and kills Joan Dawley. As the Dawley family grieves, it’s up to LAPD detectives to crack the case. Secret home movies uncover a shocking tale of deceit, and a monster lurking behind the scenes. -Stages of Grief, American Monster (S3,E1)
Preview: Being the other woman’ is a lonely life. Some turn rejection into rage. A call girl craved the high life, a teen mom eradicated her rival, and a lesbian love affair ripped a family apart. These Deadly Women refused to play Second Best’. -Deadly Women (S8,E10)
Full Episode: There’s an old saying that a burden shared is a burden halved. But when people team up to commit murder, the weight of their guilt remains just as heavy. Investigators must rely on forensic science to capture partners in crime. -Partners in Crime, The New Detectives (S5,E2)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Full Episode: Defense attorneys, Chris Tritico and Stephen Jones, detail their time representing Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in his capital murder trial and their efforts to spare him the death penalty. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Date: April 19, 1995 Victims: Oklahoma City bombing left 168 people dead and hundreds more injured Offender: Timothy McVeigh, Army veteran Location: Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Circumstances: Accused Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was the most hated man in Ok City, he was demonized by the public and in the media, Stephen Jones and Chris Tritico were assigned as his defense attorneys, 25 young children died in the explosion and this weighed heavily on the defense attorneys, there was a lot of pressure defending McVeigh in a capital murder case because he was facing the death penalty, McVeigh was in federal prison in Englewood, Colorado while awaiting trial, TM was coherent and aware of his surroundings and circumstances, he wasn’t the crazy person the attorneys were expecting, he was charged in federal court for a weapons of mass destruction charge and multiple first degree murder charges, TM would not even look at an insanity defense, he initially wanted to plead guilty but the law did not allow it, TM was the boy next door although his parents had a difficult marriage, TM hated bullies because he was bullied in school, after high school, he joined the military, won the Army commendation medal, the bronze star, he was on the General’s staff, he got orders for special operations school but he was out of shape, he quit after three days and this ended his military career, that began the spiral in TM’s life, he started going around the country selling guns at gun shows, he was concerned about the federal government taking over their lives, when the 51 day Waco siege occurred in February 1993, he really became concerned about federal government overreach, TM said he went there and saw the government throw fire incendiary devices into the house and burned it down, he thought the government committed outrageous crimes against the Branch Davidian compound, this act set in motion the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City because that office planned the majority of the siege on Waco, one hour after the bombing, Tim was stopped for not having a license plate, the police officer wrote him a ticket, he found a weapon, TM was placed in jail, meanwhile an investigator found a VIN on a part from the Ryder truck and they traced it back to the rental agency, they created a police sketch based on the description of the man who rented the Ryder truck, someone recognized the sketch at a hotel and it traced back to Timothy McVeigh, he was arrested for the Oklahoma City bombing, President Bill Clinton announced the feds would seek the death penalty, the government had to prove these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt in order to execute him, defense couldn’t use the ‘necessity defense’ because TM murdered children, the government claimed only TM was involved, eventually Army veteran Terry Nichols was arrested for conspiracy in the Ok City bombing, he was in the same platoon in the Army as TM, it added a new person in the conspiracy, the defense used the arrest of Terry Nichols to prove that Terry was involved in the bombing and TM was not but Terry constructed a series of events that gave him an alibi on the day of the bombing, TM’s consistent theme was he did not want anyone else blamed for the bombing, he admitted to how he constructed the bomb and he wanted to take sole responsibility for the act, but the attorneys did not believe that he acted alone, they suspected Terry Nichols and others were involved, TM decided he wanted to go out as the mastermind, then someone stole some documents from one of the attorneys and leaked them to the media, the media printed that TM wanted people to die to pay for the oppression of the government and get their attention, Dallas Morning News broke the story, they learned a defense team member was the one who leaked the documents, he didn’t do it for money, he thought TM’s attorneys would get him off the charges, TM lost trust in his attorneys three weeks before the trial, he refused to meet with the attorneys initially but he agreed to meet with Chris Tritico only, the attorneys were concerned that 6 weeks wasn’t enough time to prepare for a death penalty trial, during trial, one of the witnesses saw someone get out of the Ryder truck and it wasn’t TM, almost immediately after this, the bomb went off, the defense used forensics to show there was no forensic evidence tying TM to the bomb or bombing, their job was to create reasonable doubt, there was an extra leg found and the body had not been identified, this could be the man the witness observed, an existence of another man would lend to the conspiracy theory therefore that’s an argument that TM should not be given the death sentence because he may be needed for future testimony, government presented a good and effective case by calling on survivors of those who died in the bombing, after the trial started, the attorneys got to know TM well, he was a very smart individual, they felt had TM never met Terry Nichols and lost his military career, none of this would have happened, TM had way more depth to him than anyone ever really knew, it was hard to imagine he killed 168 people after the attorneys formed a friendship with him, regardless they were going to work hard to represent TM with vigor, closing arguments was a big deal for these defense attorneys and they felt a lot of pressure because TM’s life was on the line, the jury deliberated for 2 1/2 days, after the guilty verdict, one of TM’s attorneys was asked to help stop the execution because the federal government withheld 100 boxes of evidence, McVeigh was waiting in a federal prison in Indiana, Tim chose to stop the appeals because he did not want to live the life he was living in super max anymore even if they could have reduced his death sentence, TM was silent until the end Disposition: Timothy McVeigh was found guilty on all 11 federal counts including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, use of a weapon of mass destruction by explosive, and all the first degree murder counts; McVeigh was sentenced to death by lethal injection; McVeigh was executed on June 11, 2001
Notable Quotes: “To be a criminal defense lawyer, you have to adopt a philosophy that the justice of a society is measured by how it treats it’s worst people, not it’s best.” -Stephen Jones, Timothy McVeigh’s attorney
Source: ‘In Defense of: Timothy McVeigh’ Oxygen
Timothy McVeigh, US Army veteran (Photo: Reddit)
Oxygen:
Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people after bombing a federal building in Oklahoma City. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Defense lawyer Chris Tritico recalls his visit to a federal prison in Colorado that put him face to face with Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
A stolen interview with Timothy McVeigh shocks both the public and his own defense team. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
McVeigh’s attorneys remember the gut-wrenching testimonies of those who lost loved ones in the Oklahoma City Bombing. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Chris Tritico’s family remembers the difficulties they faced throughout Timothy McVeigh’s trial. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
“When someone is facing the loss of their life, you have to put everything you have into that.” -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Chris forgot to examine his zipper while cross-examining witnesses. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Stephen Jones reveals a conversation with client Timothy McVeigh that he has never repeated until now. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
Chris Tritico does not support crime; he supports the constitution. -In Defense Of, Oxygen (S1, E1)
During the Branch Davidian trial Dan Cogdell received a letter of support from Timothy McVeigh, a man who would later be known as the Oklahoma City Bomber. -In Defense Of, Oxygen
In the News:
In one of the most chilling interviews on the broadcast, Ed Bradley talked to McVeigh a year before his execution. -60 Minutes
Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh Sentenced to Death. -AP Archive
McVeigh’s father reaction to judge decision. -AP Archive
Interview with McVeigh’s lawyer after last meal. -AP Archive
Documentary:
Timothy McVeigh. We’ve been told so much about him, the Oklahoma City bombing, and what it meant for America. But what if it’s all a lie? -Corbett Report
An army surgeon, Jeffrey MacDonald, is the lone survivor of a brutal 1970 home invasion that claims the lives of his wife and daughters. But authorities doubt his story of murderous hippies and believe MacDonald is the culprit. -Jeffrey MacDonald: The Accused, People Magazine Investigates (S1,E11)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
ID Go: A Filipino woman falls for a married US Navy Officer who will do anything to keep his mistress and his money. -An Officer, Not a Gentleman, Forbidden: Dying for Love (S1,E4)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
When an elderly Vietnam vet is stabbed to death, Seattle detectives expose a crime ring led by a Gypsy con woman and killer. Finally she’s exposed for defrauding millions from her victims and murdering those who’ve stood in her way. -Senseless in Seattle, Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen (S1,E5)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
ID Go: An elite California Lakeside Community is rocked to its core when two well-to-do gentlemen go to war over an 18-inch property line discrepancy. One neighbor takes the dispute to new levels when he hires a hitman to permanently solve the problem. -Welcome to Murder Street, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E6)
Year: 2003 Murder-for-Hire Victim: Tom Wess, Jr. Offender: William Weismann, Navy veteran, Retiree, 66 (assault charge on record, restraining orders, lost court case, someone trashed property, revenge) Location: Lake of the Pines, Nevada County, California Circumstances: Escalating property line dispute, attempted murder-for-hire Disposition: Plea deal, 2 counts of solicitation to commit murder, sentenced to 5 years in prison (2004)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
ID Go: In Miami, a young mother has no choice but to shut the door on her warring neighbors as a three-year feud over a patch of land and differing moral standards reaches a bloody and tragic conclusion. -Home’s Where the Hearse Is, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E5)
Retiree Baldomero Fernandez, 62, murdered Army veteran James Escoto, 29, in Miami, Florida on October 4, 1986. Fernandez claimed self-defense but the evidence said otherwise. Fernandez shot Jimmy multiple times and then bashed his head in with a rock to kill him. Jimmy’s son believes this homicide was pre-meditated. After a plea deal, Baldomero Fernandez was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 7 years in prison but he only served 3 years.
James ‘Jimmy’ Escoto, U.S. Army Veteran (Photo Credit: Investigation Discovery)
ID Go: The Phillips’ family moves to a quiet seafront town in Maine to escape a crime wave in Indiana. But their dream home comes with a not so dreamy ex-military neighbor. A barrage of gunfire between the houses one night shatters both families forever. -Red Picket Fences, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E2)
On August 29, 1989, Navy veteran Richard Uffelman and his two sons opened fire from their living room window and shot and killed their neighbors Michael and Florence Phillips in Machiasport, Maine. The Phillips family moved back to Maine so they could be closer to their family and the ocean, and they wanted to escape crime in Indiana. Shortly before they moved to Maine, a murder occurred outside their home and this was it for them; they wanted to raise their son Michael in a safe environment. Richard and Anita Uffelman and their two sons were the new neighbors of the Phillips in Maine. Richard was described as an authoritarian and a believer in good order and discipline. He worked at the local post office and taught his two children to shoot guns. Initially the neighbors were good friends and their boys played together. At some point, family came to visit the Phillips for a week. The happy family reunited outside on the front lawn while they barbecued, drank some beers, and enjoyed one another’s company. Apparently Richard found a broken bottle on his lawn during the event and automatically assumed the Phillips threw the bottle on his lawn. Richard called the police to complain about the incident but there was no proof since the Phillips denied doing it. This was it for Richard; the Phillips home interfered with his view of the ocean and he was going to exact his revenge.
After this first broken bottle incident, Richard continued to call the police complaining that the neighbors were throwing bottles on his property. He would bag them up and give them to the police as evidence. The Phillips continued to deny the allegations. The police were beginning to get concerned for the Phillips. Then Richard’s wife Anita called the Phillips family and told them that Richard did not want their two sons playing with Michael anymore. Florence was confused. Soon Richard began harassing them while they were outside on their lawn. He used a megaphone and yelled at them until they went back into their house. The Phillips became fearful of him because he was quite literally bullying them. Richard upped the anti and put up some bright lights that shined directly on their home. He also shot guns in front of his home with his two boys on a regular basis which to the Phillips began feeling threatening. They called the police to ask Uffelman to stop shooting the guns because it felt like he was flexing his muscles but their was nothing illegal about shooting guns for target practice in Maine. The police couldn’t do anything. They needed evidence so Michael and Florence set up a video camera to start taping the behavior because they were not the gun types.
Tension and fear was building daily. The Phillips called the police on Richard Uffelman and Uffelman called the police on them. Now Richard wanted a protection order. It was obvious to police that Richard was getting paranoid and he had some fear that could not be alleviated by the police. Uffelman wanted to play war. Uffelman began dressing in full military fatigues with his two sons and they all carried guns and marched together as if they were in the military or a militia. The kids were impacted by Richard’s paranoia as well; as a matter of fact the whole family was brainwashed. Eventually the Phillips were afraid of Uffelman and his two sons. The Phillips left the city to get away from violence and now they were in the middle of it. They decided to file a harassment suit to get Richard Uffelman to stop. At this point, they felt trapped in their own home and they continued to videotape because it was their only option. One day Richard and his two sons armed with guns started chasing the Phillip’s son after school as if he was prey. The trio scared the entire Phillips family and they called the police again. The cops took it seriously and knew things were not going to turn out right. The Phillips got a protection order and then went on a vacation to Indiana to visit family in July 1989.
While the Phillips were visiting with family, they began viewing the videotapes. All of them were terrified at what they were witnessing but the Phillips were stuck financially. They assured their family they would be fine but in reality they were afraid Richard Uffelman would kill them when they got back. They asked their family to raise their son Michael if Uffelman killed them. They left for Maine the next day because it was their home and they had no other option. They got back to the war zone and the front lines had moved closer to home. When they got out of their vehicle, they realized that someone had dumped gasoline on their front porch. They witnessed someone running in the shadows from their home to Uffelman’s home. They called the police again but they didn’t have any proof that Uffelman had done it. They all recognized that Uffelman was raising the stakes. Unfortunately the system was at a stand still until someone made an overt act. On August 29, 1989, family visited the Phillips because they were celebrating a pregnancy in the family. The Phillips revealed to them that dealing with Uffelman was very stressful because they hadn’t caught anything of value for their harassment case. In this case, the best evidence would come too late.
Michael and Florence Phillips left the house that evening for a walk, just like every other night. This time Michael was carrying a gun as they walked in an effort to let Richard know that they were not going to take it. Then all of a sudden Richard and both of his sons began shooting at both of them from the living room of their home as they walked. The remaining family in the home were fearful that they were going to kill young Michael next. Meanwhile, Michael and Florence are struggling to move to safety in the woods to escape the barrage of gunfire. Uffelman did go to the Phillips home but turned around and left. After this near miss, the three family members in the home left to protect young Michael. They were not sure how Michael and Florence were doing at this point; they were not sure if they had been murdered or if they were still alive. Police arrived on the scene and knocked on Richard Uffelman’s door. They found him sitting at his kitchen table which was covered with handguns and firearms. The police were worried about their own safety but Uffelman surrendered without incident and he was taken into police custody. Michael and Florence Phillips both died at the scene in the woods where they attempted to escape the gunman.
Richard Uffelman, US Navy Veteran
Richard Uffelman was arrested for murder after the Phillips’ bodies were found. His two sons participated in the shootings as well and together they fired twenty-five rounds or so from the inside of their home. Investigators concluded the two boys were doing what they were told to do; they were victims too and as a result were not charged. Upon search of the property, police learned that Uffelman’s land was rigged with trip wire and his home was riddled with explosives. Bomb technicians were called in to remove the undetonated devices. Police also found secret passageways and tunnels. Uffelman tried to claim self-defense at his trial but the video coverage the Phillips had showed otherwise. The videotapes revealed that Uffelman went outside to check to see if his prey were dead; his murderous intent was all captured on film. Richard Uffelman was sentenced to life in prison for the first degree murders of Michael and Florence Phillips. Young Michael sued Richard Uffelman in Maine Superior Court and was awarded a wrongful death judgement for $513,320 but he has never received a dime. According to a YouTube site called Abandonment of Maine, shortly after new owners moved into the Uffelman home, the house caught on fire and burned to the ground.
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Preview: In the rolling hills of Lenoir, North Carolina, retired Vietnam veteran Roland Younce sells off a patch of his land to Tony Moore and his young family to build their forever home on. Unfortunately, things turn ugly. -Lies, Lawns & Murder, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E1)
“Roland Younce, 63, of Caldwell County, North Carolina, allowed his pit bull to roam free in the small rural neighborhood. This decision would prove to have deadly consequences. In January 2008, Younce’s pit bull bit the two young daughters of his 44-year-old neighbor, Tony Moore. As a result, Moore sued Younce for the cost of the medical bills. The judge ruled in Younce’s favor and dismissed the lawsuit. This caused an 18-month feud between the two men. They called the police on each other over frivolous actions and filed several lawsuits against each other.”
Tony and Amy Moore and their two daughters moved into a new home in Lenoir, North Carolina in 2007. Tony and Amy bought their home from Roland Younce, a Vietnam veteran in his 60s, and also their neighbor. Roland was a single man with a dog he considered family and his daughter and her husband lived with him. Tony survived a tragedy and lost one of his legs in a vehicle accident. As a result, Tony stayed home with the girls and Amy worked full-time to support the family. Tony depended on his 4-wheeler to get around the property. Tony and Amy loved their new home and appreciated all their kind neighbors. They all depended on one another to make it work. At first the Moores were friendly with Roland Younce. The neighbors would occasionally BBQ together but they noticed Roland didn’t leave his home very much. Roland’s daughter Alicia on the other hand was a breath of fresh air. She played with the girls and they had a lot of fun. One day, Alicia invited the two girls over to her home to check out her movie collection. The girls stayed on the porch while Alicia went inside Roland’s home to retrieve the movies. One of the girls admitted to opening the door and Roland’s dog Harley lunged towards them and began biting both of them. They were seriously hurt with puncture wounds and had to be taken to the hospital. Roland agreed to pay the hospital bills.
As the hospital bills started rolling in, Tony brought them over to Roland and Roland paid for the first bill he received. Meanwhile, the kids got back to playing and having fun in their backyard. According to Alicia, Tony brought Roland another hospital bill that was for the exact amount as the first one. Roland thought Tony was trying to get him to pay the same bill twice so he refused to pay it. Tony and Amy didn’t feel they should have to pay for any of the bills so Tony filed a judgement against Roland in civil court. Things only got worse when the court sided with Roland on the matter. Nevertheless, Roland asked his son-in-law to tell Tony he would pay $20 a month until it was paid off. Apparently, Tony said no to the offer and demanded all of it. This was when everything went to hell and the tension continued to simmer between the once friendly neighbors. At this point, the friendship was dead so Tony built a property border using some trees to help create more privacy. Roland didn’t like it because he felt they were getting too close to his property line. One day, Tony discovered his disability checks stopped showing up in the mail. He immediately suspected Roland of taking them from the mailbox but he couldn’t prove it. So in retaliation, he would get on his ATV, drive around the property, and make a bunch of noise.
The ATV noise annoyed Roland because he wanted peace and quiet at his home. Tony was on his ATV almost everyday and the blaring engine was getting on Roland’s last nerves. Alicia said Roland was triggered by the noise and he would have flashbacks from his time in the Vietnam war. His dog Harley helped comfort him but both sides were gearing up for combat and no one was backing down. Tony’s disability checks still hadn’t shown up so he asked Roland about it. Of course, Roland denied having any information about the missing checks. Then Roland started bringing his dog outside in what felt like an intimidation tactic to scare the Moore family. And not only was the Moore’s mail disappearing but some trees they planted on their property were missing too. The Moores put up a surveillance camera to see if they could catch the person who was removing the trees from their property. The video captured what looked like Roland Younce’s figure so they took it to the police. But the video wasn’t clear enough for the police to take action. They needed concrete evidence before they could do anything about it. Then one day, Roland went to his mailbox to get the mail only to discover it had been glued shut. He was not able to get the key in the keyhole to open the mailbox. Roland called the police department but they told him the same thing. If he didn’t see Tony do it then their hands were tied.
The police were frustrated by now because they were unable to get these two neighbors to settle down. It appeared both of them wanted to keep things going. Then in another act of intimidation, Roland would take his dog out when Tony’s two daughters came home from school. They were scared to get off the bus knowing the dog had hurt them in the past. Roland would allow the dog to lunge at them and then pull him back. They literally felt terrorized by Roland and the dog. In response, Tony threatened to kill the dog if the intimidation continued. Roland loved his dog and was deeply attached. Roland’s daughter Alicia felt like Tony was the one pushing buttons. Roland expressed concerned to Alicia and her husband that he was going to explode one day. Just months after Tony and Amy Moore bought their new home, they were locked in a war with their neighbor Roland Younce. In another act of aggression, Tony was out on his ATV one day with his daughters and ran over a board with nails in it. It flew up and hit the back of the ATV. Tony was furious because the nails could have seriously injured one of the girls. Tony reported the incident and once again because Tony didn’t see Roland put it there, there was nothing they could do. The Moore family felt isolated and alone in their battle with Roland because no one could help them. They thought Roland could do whatever he liked with no consequences.
Most thought Tony would back down for the sake of his kids but that’s not how things went down. Tony didn’t like feeling like a prisoner in his own home. The police tried to give them advice but neither side would budge. Then one day, the kids went outside and noticed someone had thrown logs in their yard. They alerted their father and all three of them threw the logs back on Roland’s property. Tony and the girls were caught red handed so Roland and his family started throwing the logs back on Tony’s property. Then Roland’s son-in-law Ricky threw a log that almost hit one of the girls. As a result, Tony pulled out a gun and threatened Ricky. He said if he hurt his daughters, he would shoot him. Ricky didn’t back down and told Tony to shoot him because he wasn’t scared. Tony indeed shot near them so Ricky threw a log at him and it hit and injured Tony. The police were called and Roland and Ricky got arrested for assault on a handicap person and a child. Ricky understood why the police arrested him but he didn’t understand why they arrested Roland. Roland didn’t have anything to do with this incident. It also seemed strange that Roland went to jail but Tony didn’t. Apparently, Tony didn’t get arrested because he was in a wheelchair. The two were jailed with no bond and couldn’t get anyone to help them. It took two weeks for Roland and Ricky to get out of jail and both came home with a new level of anger.
Ricky admitted he wanted to hurt people and eliminate the threat. And each time Roland was arrested, it just made him madder and madder. One day Roland threatened to kill Tony so Tony called 911 and the police suggested he leave the home. Roland blocked him in his driveway with his truck and Tony felt trapped. So he made the decision to back up anyways in an attempt to get out of the driveway and wrecked Roland’s truck. After this, Alicia and Ricky moved out of Roland’s home because the whole thing got to be too much and the situation was escalating. Alicia said Roland felt abandoned and the neighborhood feud with Tony continued. Both men were armed and dangerous. Tony felt like Roland was waiting for a confrontation and as a result Tony was always armed. Roland was pushing Tony’s limits too. The two just didn’t like one another. One day Amy left for an overnight trip with work. She said she hated leaving her family because she couldn’t make sure everything was okay at home. On May 27, 2009, Tony heard something on the back porch and when he looked to see what was going on, he was facing Roland’s angry dog at his door. In response, Tony shot the dog. Roland heard the shot and immediately went looking for his dog. Roland threatened Tony and told him if he shot his dog, he was going to kill him. Amy was in Springfield, Missouri (over 1000+ miles away) when she received a phone call from Tony who told her he shot the dog.
Amy knew right away this was not good because Tony took Roland’s best friend away from him. She knew things were fixing to get really bad. Roland called the police to report that Tony shot his dog and he begged the police to get to the scene as quickly as possible because he was going to kill Tony. Tony had called the police as well. When the police arrived at the scene, they didn’t observe anything unusual initially. When the Moores realized the police were there, they started coming out of the home and immediately they all heard gunfire. Roland was shooting at them with a rifle and Tony and one of the girls had been shot. They ran back into their home. Unbeknownst to them, one of the police officers had been shot as well. Roland continued shooting through the windows of Tony’s home. More police were dispatched to the scene. The unharmed daughter contacted her mom and told her what happened. Amy Moore told her to call the police because Roland was still at large. Once the additional officers arrived at the scene, they immediately started treating the officer who had been shot. Dispatch informed the police that Tony and one of the girls had been shot as well and needed their help. The police decided to chance it so they could get to Tony and Ashley. They did not know where Roland was but time was ticking because Tony and his daughter were losing blood. The police decided to use the car as a shield so they could get to them.
The police went towards the home and Tony’s daughter summoned them from the garage. Roland started shooting at them again and this time he hit another police officer. The police shot back in the dark until all of a sudden the shooting stopped. The Police rescued Tony and his girls and took them to the hospital. Amy Moore got emergency flights back to North Carolina so she could get home to her family. Alicia headed to her father’s place after she heard about the chaos only to learn that her dad had been killed in an officer involved shooting. The police didn’t want to kill Roland but had no choice. The next day, Alicia and Ricky went to Roland’s home to see if they could figure out what happened. They found the dog certificate torn up and could see where he cried on those pieces of paper. Roland was devastated by the loss of his dog and he decided to take justice into his own hands. All those injured on the scene lived but they were seriously harmed with lasting impacts. One of the police officers lost his career because of the injuries. And after about a year on the job, the other injured police officer realized he just couldn’t do the work anymore. This one night of violence impacted all involved. It was traumatizing, preventable, and tragic that anyone had to lose their life because they couldn’t work out their differences.
ID Go: In North Carolina, a retired Vietnam veteran sells off a piece of his land to a young family. No one can predict the modern day Hatfield McCoy neighbor feud that will ensue and the midnight shootout that will end it. -Lies, Lawns & Murder, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E1)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 