Authorities: Death of woman outside her home being investigated as homicide

By Journal staff | Sunday, November 23, 2008

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Autopsy evidence indicates what her family has been thinking -- someone killed 50-year-old Laura Moore, who was found outside her home the day after Halloween.

The Pennington County Sheriff's Office and Rapid City Police Department are not discussing details, but investigators are interviewing "people of interest" and now classify the case as a homicide.

Lt. Marty Graves of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office said Friday that the county coroner's office had received provisional autopsy results on Moore and the head injuries she suffered.

"The results had revealed a subdural hematoma, which was due to blunt force trauma to her head," Graves said.

City police officers and an ambulance crew responded to a medical call Nov. 1 about 4:12 p.m. at a home in the 100 block of East Watertown Street. Moore was found unresponsive outside the residence. She was taken by ambulance to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Authorities gathered and processed evidence discovered at the scene.

Investigators continue to interview potential suspects and people who knew her. "I can't comment on any person of interest at this time," Graves said. "We're moving forward to determine the facts of the case."

Moore's daughter, Crystal Moore of Belle Fourche, said Friday that she is relieved about what the autopsy results revealed.

"It was what the family has been thinking. ... We were afraid that they were going to say it was an accidental death," she said.

Moore said her mother had arthritis and had recently undergone surgery to replace both of her hips, but despite the pain, her mother was outgoing and enjoyed meeting people. She had been getting back in the swing of day-to-day living and was just starting to feel better after the surgery.

"She didn't have these big plans or big things going on in her life. It was a simple little life," Crystal Moore said.

The new evidence revealed in her mother's autopsy may clear up the family's questions about what happened to her, she said.

"They're going to figure things out, and that's great," she said.