Felon repeatedly stabbed, strangled roommate found in a pool of blood, Gulfport police say
A convicted felon had been out of prison for six months when he was arrested for the stabbing and strangulation death of a roommate at a halfway house in Gulfport for convicted felons, according to testimony in a court hearing.
Christopher Anthony Moore, 42, is being held on a charge of first-degree murder in the Aug. 3 killing of Darrel Parker.
On Wednesday, Moore appeared in Harrison County Justice Court for a preliminary hearing where Gulfport police Detective Katie Hartman testified that Moore attacked Parker during an argument.
According to Hartman, police went to the home in the 15000 block of St. Charles Street after receiving a call from a witness who lived at the home but fled when he saw Moore allegedly holding Parker in a headlock in the kitchen.
The witness, Hartman said, took off after he said Moore asked him for a knife.
Stab wounds to the face, head, neck, lungs and back
Other witnesses, Hartman said, reported seeing Moore repeatedly stabbing the victim and later sitting on top of Parker with his hands on his throat and strangling him.
At the scene, Hartman said, police officers found two broken knife blades on the floor by the victim and another knife covered in blood in a nearby trashcan.
Parker, she said, had various stab wounds to the lungs, face, head, neck and back and was unresponsive in a pool of blood on the floor of the kitchen when police got there.
A preliminary autopsy, she said, showed that Parker died of stab wounds to the lungs and strangulation. He had been stabbed more than eight times.
Police found Moore in the home covered in blood. After he was taken into custody, Hartman said, Moore refused to talk to police about the events leading up to and during the attack.
Moore’s attorney, public defender Tyler Ladner, pointed out that Moore had a injury to the palm of his hand that he said suggested could have resulted from an attack on Moore by the victim.
However, Hartman said, the injury to Moore’s hand appeared to be consistent with the type of wound he would have if a knife slipped in his hand while he was allegedly stabbing the victim.
A habitual offender with various prior convictions
In arguments Wednesday, Ladner asked the judge to consider lowering Moore’s $2 million bond.
Harrison County prosecuting attorney Herman Cox objected to a lower bond, pointing out that Moore had been previously convicted as a habitual offender in Pearl River County and had just gotten out of prison in February.
Moore had served about 6 1/2 years of a 12 1/2 year sentence for armed robbery in Pearl River County when he was released on parole in February.
According to the armed robbery indictment obtained by the Sun Herald, Moore was convicted of a Dec. 18, 2013, armed robbery at Tobacco Shack in Picayune.
During the robbery, the indictment says, Moore was armed with a pistol when he stole $272 from the store and fled.
Afterward, Moore fled the scene and later attempted to avoid arrest by fleeing from the arresting officer.
A Pearl River grand jury later indicted Moore on the charge of armed robbery and an additional charge of felony fleeing in that case.
He had also been previously arrested for the sale of a controlled substance in Pearl River County.
Other run-ins with law enforcement
Moore had other run-ins with police in Picayune prior to his armed robbery indictment.
On Aug. 30, 2004, the records show that Moore was convicted on a felony charge of possessing precursors used to manufacture methamphetamine. He was sentenced to five years in prison in that case.
In a second conviction on July 19, 2010, Moore received a 10-year sentence for conspiracy to possess precursor chemicals to make methamphetamine.
In each the earlier cases, Moore served a year or more in prison for the crimes before he was released.
After hearing evidence in the case, Judge Dianne Ladner found enough evidence to bind the first-degree murder case against Moore over to a Harrison County grand jury for indictment.
In addition, the judge kept Moore’s bond on the murder charge at $2 million, citing his prior criminal history and violent nature of the latest crime he’s accused of committing.
The state’s Department of Corrections has also placed a hold on Moore for a parole violation.
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 11:25 AM.
