Heather Elvis Murder Case
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/35967763/sidney-moorer-to-go-to-trial-on-obstruction-of-justice-charge-tied-with-heather-elvis-disappearance
CONWAY, SC (WMBF) – Sidney Moorer, the man accused of kidnapping missing woman Heather Elvis and obstructing the investigation into her disappearance, will head to trial in Horry County for obstruction of justice on Aug. 28, according to court documents.
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He will be tried separately for kidnapping in Georgetown County.
Moorer is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to investigators about making a call to Elvis from a pay phone on the night of her disappearance. This was revealed during his first trial last year.
Moorer’s first trial for the kidnapping of Heather Elvis took place in Horry County in June 2016 and ended with a hung jury. Ten jurors believed Moorer was guilty after a week of testimony, but two jurors found him not guilty and a mistrial was declared.
Since that trial, Judge Markley Dennis granted a change of venue because of what he called “social media saturation.” Moorer’s retrial for kidnapping will happen in Georgetown County. A date for this trial has not yet been announced.
Sidney Moorer and his wife, Tammy Moorer, were both originally charged with murdering Heather Elvis, but those charges were dropped in March 2016.
In preparation for his obstruction of justice trial, Sidney Moorer’s defense attorneys, Kirk Truslow and James Galmore, filed a number of motions this week to suppress evidence.
One motion asked that testimony and evidence of “alleged crimes and/or acts for which the defendant is not currently on trial” be suppressed, according to court documents.
The motion points out that Sidney Moorer’s murder warrant was dismissed and his first kidnapping trial ended with a mistrial.
“This has been a highly publicized case,” the motion stated. “If such evidence was introduced, the jury could make the mistake of deciding the case on an improper basis, such as an emotional basis.”
Another motion asked the court two suppress two videotaped statements made by the defendant to police on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, 2013, according to court records. Heather Elvis was last heard from in the early-morning hours of Dec. 18, 2013.
The Moorers were arrested in February 2014 in connection with the disappearance of Elvis, who was 20 years old when she went missing.
Prosecutors are unable to discuss the case due to a court-appointed gag order that remains in place.
Moorer actually spent time behind bars for breaking that gag order. He was sentenced to five months in jail last July for talking to the press during his trial, but ultimately only served two of them.
In addition to when a new trial will be take place, another element of this story that has yet to be told is the kidnapping trial of Tammy Moorer.
During her husband’s trial, bits and pieces describing her possible involvement in Heather Elvis’ disappearance were recounted for the jury. However, for now, no date has been set for her to appear before a judge and jury of her own.
Related stories:
Tammy @ Sidney Moorer
Heather Elvis
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