Man, 74, pleads guilty in daughter’s death

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001 | 8:54 a.m.

Kenneth Moore's advanced age, weak heart and other frailties may have saved him a mandated life sentence, but he still faces the possibility of spending the rest of his natural life in prison -- or possibly getting probation -- in the killing of his daughter.

A plea bargain in the slaying of 49-year-old Loretta Beechler was reached Wednesday with the 74-year-old Moore pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the strangulation death. He had faced the possibility of life with or without parole for first-degree murder but now faces one to 10 years when he goes before District Judge John McGroarty at 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 16 for sentencing.

Deputy Public Defender Curtis Brown will argue for probation while Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz will seek the 10-year maximum, which, given Moore's questionable health, could effectively put him behind bars for the balance of his life.

"The jury would have seen a man in a wheelchair with a bad heart and would have questioned whether he had the physical strength" (to commit the crime and drag the body to another location where it was found), Schwartz said after the hearing. "There also is a lack of a motive."

Brown, also outside the courtroom, said that although he felt the state's case was "not 100 percent," the plea was a good one for his client because it opens the door for Moore to receive probation.

Both sides agreed that a key piece of evidence that could have led to a conviction was a bite mark on Moore's left forearm that forensic experts had determined was from Beechler.

Moore, wearing jail fatigues and sitting in a wheelchair, watched intently as Schwartz outlined how the prosecution would have presented its case had it gone to trial. Schwartz said a police detective would have testified that Moore said that if he did have anything to do with his daughter's death he "must have snapped."

Moore entered an Alford plea, under which a defendant does not have to admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution could prove its case.

Moore also faces up to a maximum $10,000 fine, restitution and a court assessment fee. Murder charges, however, were dismissed.

McGroarty also reduced Moore's bail from $50,000 cash or $500,000 bond to $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond. Moore is a homeowner and needs only to put up a piece of property worth $50,000 to secure his freedom until sentencing.

Beechler's body was found shortly before 6 a.m. May 24 in the 2200 block of Bledsoe Lane near Nellis and Lake Mead boulevards. She was about 75 to 100 yards from her father's home. Moore was charged with murder after 10 weeks of investigation because police were not initially convinced he had the physical ability to do the act.

The bite mark on his arm, however, and letters written to Metro Police by another of Moore's daughters, Kamalla LaQueta, convinced investigators otherwise. In a July 2 letter, LaQueta wrote that Moore told her: "When you spread Loretta's ashes, tell her I'm sorry for what I done." Schwartz repeated that statement in court Wednesday.