INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Jackson County prosecutors announced Friday that they are dropping all charges against Micah Moore, 25, once accused in the bizarre murder case of Bethany Ann Deaton, 27, who was found dead in the backseat of a van on Oct. 30, 2012, at Longview Lake.
“My office concluded that we could not ethically continue to pursue the case given the current evidence against Micah Moore,” Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker stated. “The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.”
Police say there was a suicide note in the van.
But then, Moore came forward on November 9, 2012, and told police Bethany didn’t kill herself but was instead murdered on the order of her husband, Tyler Deaton, the leader of a close-knit religious group in which court documents say the members had sex with each other.
Court documents said Moore admitted to suffocating Deaton because members of the group feared she would reveal to her therapist ongoing sexual activity that Moore considered sexual assault.
In the statement released Friday, prosecutors said they dropped the charges because the evidence is considered unreliable. Prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker listed the following examples:
- Moore’s DNA was not found on the bag used to suffocate the victim but her DNA was found on the bag. DNA samples were taken from multiple persons close to the victim and her associates, but without positive results.
- Handwriting analysis of a note found with the victim concluded she had written it.
- Seroquel was not found in the victim’s system, although Moore stated in his confession to police that she was given that drug.
- No electronic evidence that Moore pointed to was found to corroborate his statement to police.
- The medical examiner’s office concluded, in a ruling transmitted to us on Oct. 7, 2014, that Bethany’s manner of death was undetermined. We believe the medical examiner’s office – which we rely heavily upon as the state’s expert – did a thorough review.
- The religious practices of those involved raised questions regarding their credibility and veracity.
“The death of Bethany Deaton remains a great tragedy. She was a talented and gifted young woman whose life ended too soon. Our deepest sympathies continue to go out to her family. This decision was reached after consultation with the victim’s family,” Peters-Baker said.
Moore’s attorney, Melanie Morgan, released the following statement to FOX 4:
“The dismissal of the charges marks the end of a very stressful ordeal for Micah Moore and his family. Micah suffered from what was diagnosed as a reactive psychotic episode triggered by the suicide of his friend, the realization that he was part of a cult and its sudden dismantling by untrained individuals in a religious fervor. Many participants described it as an exorcism. In the course of that episode, Micah made false statements to law enforcement regarding Bethany Deaton’s death. Despite recanting those statements to law enforcement the same day they were made, Micah was charged with first degree murder. Not only was Micah’s innocence determined through an exhaustive investigation, the investigation revealed that Ms. Deaton’s tragic suicide was the result of untreated severe depression. Micah deeply regrets that his statements, even though retracted quickly and contradicted by the physical evidence, compounded the pain suffered by Ms. Deaton’s family.”
For past stories on the case, click here.
