She Was Forced to Share Custody of Their Daughter — So She Had Someone Kill Her Ex in Front of the Girl
A Florida mother has been found guilty of premeditated murder after authorities say she encouraged her former stepfather to kill the father of her child after the victim won a shared custody arrangement for the daughter they shared.
Florida State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden said in a news release last week that Rachiel Moore was found guilty of premeditated murder and tampering with evidence. Moore, 27, was sentenced to life without parole in state prison for the 2023 murder of Colby Vinson, according to Madden.
Vinson, 24, was shot and killed by Moore's former stepfather Jason L. Curtis shortly after returning home from the grocery store with his and Moore's young daughter, according to the 2023 warrant for Curtis' arrest, obtained by PEOPLE.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office warrant said Vinson was shot 'outside his front door' while he appeared to be loading groceries from his car. Police said Vinson had recently been 'awarded 50/50 custody' of his and Moore's daughter less than a week prior to his killing.
'The investigation revealed that Rachiel Moore, the mother of the minor child, communicated with her former stepfather Jason Curtis all week in reference to Curtis driving down from Alabama to kill Colby Vinson,' the Florida State Attorney's statement on Moore's sentencing said. 'Rachiel Moore paid Curtis gas money to make the trip and provided all of Colby's personal information for Jason Curtis to identify, locate, and murder Colby Vinson.'According to the warrant, Moore paid Curtis $50 for gas after communicating with him via Facebook Messenger. After Moore initially told Curtis about the result of her and Vinson's custody battle, Santa Rosa police said her former stepfather sent her photos of guns and knives, telling Moore 'not to worry about it.'Moore told police 'this looks bad for her' and that she 'didn't think [Curtis] would do something like this,' the 2023 warrant says. Moore later deleted the Facebook Messenger app from her phone, believing it would delete the conversation between them.
Deputies responding to the March 2023 murder scene said they found Moore and Vinson's then-4-year-old daughter sitting next to her father's body, according to local WEAR.
Curtis was sentenced to life in prison last year, according to the outlet.
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