Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2001 | 11:05 a.m.
In a cryptic message before he was arrested on a charge of murdering a daughter, a 73-year-old man asked for forgiveness for "what I done," according to police records.
Kenneth Moore, who had an initial appearance in court this morning, is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Aug. 22 on murder charges in connection with the May 24 slaying of his 49-year-old daughter, Loretta Beechler.
Moore and his family have faced allegations of a homicide before in the 1977 death of his 3-year-old grandson. Moore and his wife were questioned. Moore passed a polygraph test and was never charged in the death of the child in California.
The mother of the boy was arrested, but the charges were later dropped, said Curtis Brown, a deputy public defender who is representing Moore.
However, Moore was charged with murder in connection with Beechler's killing, but it took more than 10 weeks of investigation and moving past initial impressions before police could make an arrest.
Kamalla LaQueta, another daughter, wrote two letters to Metro Police detectives. In one letter, dated July 2, she said that, when staying with her father after the May 24 slaying of Beechler, Moore, who she said was drunk at the time, told her: "When you spread Loretta's ashes, tell her I'm sorry for what I done," according to a declaration of warrant seeking murder charges against Moore.
"When she asked Moore what he had done, he replied, 'She'll know what I'm talking about,' " according to the report.
Beechler's body was found May 24 about 5:50 a.m. in the 2200 block of Bledsoe Lane near Nellis and Lake Mead boulevards. The 49-year-old woman was about 75 to 100 yards from her father's home.
When police initially talked with Moore, he was in a wheelchair, and police thought he may not have been physically able to commit the crime.
"Certainly that morning I don't belive he was the focus," said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit. "The first impression was that he was an invalid."
But that impression started to change as police uncovered more information about Moore.
LaQueta, Beechler's sister, apparently became suspicious of her father. Moore often uses a wheelchair, and in the first letter to homicide detectives, LaQueta wrote that she wanted to determine whether her father was physically able to kill Beechler and move her body.
She moved a large mirror into the living room. "Moore had gotten out of a wheelchair he uses frequently and lifted the mirror. He carried it into the garage and stored it there. He returned to the house and sat in the wheelchair," according to the report.
The mirror, a 4 foot-by-4-foot semi-circle, weighs about 35 pounds.
"We certainly believe he was capable," Petersen said. "It was useful information and another piece of the puzzle."
Brown said his client may be able to get out of the wheelchair and walk short distances. Moore appeared in court this morning in a wheelchair.
"Irrespective of what is in the police reports, he is pretty feeble. He can walk, but he can't carry anything of substance," Brown said.
Another piece of information helpful to the police came from Beechler's daughter, Rainbow Beechler-Lewis. The day after the slaying she called a detective to say she had "seen what looked like a bite mark on the left forearm of Kenneth Moore," according to the report.
Police photographed the mark, and a forensic odontologist, Dr. Larry Pierce, compared the photographs of the bite mark to a casting of Beechler's teeth.
"He found that the mark was definitely a bite mark and had come from the teeth of Loretta Beechler," according to the report. "The bite was on the forearm, near the elbow and was positioned with the upper teeth toward the outside of the arm and the lower teeth toward the inside of the arm. This is consistent with the bite having occurred while the arm was encircling the victim's neck or face from behind."
Moore talked with detectives only days before his arrest, just as he did on the day his daughter's body was found.
Moore gave conflicting statements about the night before police found Beechler's body. In May, he said he went to bed about 10:30 p.m. the night before his daughter's body was found, but he woke up several times during the night. He said he didn't see Beechler after he went to bed. But when questioned two months later he said he went to bed at 10:30 p.m. and didn't wake up during the night, according to the report.
He also said he didn't know how he got the bite mark on his arm. When confronted with the evidence he said he didn't remember getting into a struggle with Beechler.
"He also admitted that he had been prone to anger if provoked on certain subjects. At no time during the interview did Moore deny killing Beechler or being bitten by her. He simply (repeated) that he didn't remember those things occurring," according to the report.
Sun reporter
Kim Smith contributed to this story.
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