Silver Spring man found guilty for shooting and killing his girlfriend and unborn child

SILVER SPRING, Md. (7News) — For the first time in the history of Montgomery County, a man has been convicted of murder for the death of a viable, but unborn fetus.

A jury convicted Torrey Damien Moore, 33, of Silver Spring, on two counts of first-degree murder for the death of his girlfriend Denise Middleton and her unborn child.

Middleton was eight and a half months pregnant at the time of her death, and doctors determined later that her pregnancy was viable.

RELATED | Body of pregnant woman found in White Oak apartment of accused Shell station shooter ID'ed

More was also found guilty of two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a felony, one count of crime of violence against a pregnant person, and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.

Moore faces a possible life sentence without the possibility of parole. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28, 2025.

Moore is awaiting sentencing in a second case, the shooting death of 61-year-old Shell Station employee Ayalew Wondimu, which he was found guilty of in May. This sentencing hearing for this case is scheduled for February 20, 2025. He faces life in prison for this crime as well.

This strange saga began back in 2022 at a Shell gas station convenience store on the 11100 block of New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring.

On February 8, 2022, Moore entered the Dash In convenience store at the gas station.

On surveillance footage, Moore is seen shooting Wondimu, the store's clerk, times before fleeing the scene.

When Montgomery County Police officers arrived at Moore’s apartment in the 11000 block of Oak Leaf Drive in Silver Spring the next day to serve an arrest warrant, they found the body of a pregnant woman.

Denise Middleton, who was 26 at the time of her death, was in an advanced stage of decomposition. She had been shot seven times.

According to detectives, Moore and Middleton were captured on surveillance video in the lobby of their apartment on Oak Leaf Drive around 7 p.m. on October 9, 2022. It was the last time Middleton was seen alive. Detectives believe Moore shot Middleton in the minutes that followed.

Approximately one hour later, Moore was captured on the apartment's elevator surveillance video in leaving the crime scene alone.

Cell phone data showed Moore traveled the country for the next 26 days. His search engine history during that time included the terms, “How long does it take for a dead body to smell?” and “How to move a dead body without being seen.”

Moore lived in this apartment with the decomposing body until his arrest on December 9, 2024.