A St. Louis County man was suffering from a psychotic disorder when he smothered his two young children in the mud of the Mississippi River in August 2004 making him not responsible for the crime, his defense attorney argued this morning.Assistant Public Defender Jeff Estes will try to convince a St. Louis judge that Anthony Moore, 27, charged with two counts of first-degree murder, is not guilty by reason of insanity in a non-jury trial that began today.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Joan Burger will hear evidence this week from witnesses, relatives and psychiatrists before she renders a verdict.
Moore is accused of killing his children Kanya Derrick Anderson, 9 months, and Toni Mickyla Camille Moore, 2, in the North Riverfront Park, a city park along Riverview Drive south of the Chain of Rocks Bridge.
Prosecutor Ed Postawko said in his opening statement that Moore acted deliberate when he pulled the children out of the car and pushed their faces into the mud.
During the trial this morning, Moore yawned and doodled on paper while the weeping mothers of the two children described the last time they saw their children.
They testified that Moore picked up the children on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2004, after he attended church services. He asked Kanya’s mother, Aisha Henderson, if their son had been Baptized.
“It surprised me,†she told the court. “He has never talked about religion before.â€
Moore’s sister, Tara Harris, testified that Moore acted normal when he bathed and dressed the children the next morning, hours before they died. He left their house with plans to take them to a photo studio to get a family portrait.
“It was like a normal morning,†Harris testified.
Harris said the next time she saw her brother, he was walking down their street in north St. Louis County about 3:30 p.m. speaking incoherently. He was covered with mud and “foaming at the mouth,†she said. The children were not with him.
Neighbors and witnesses directed Harris and her aunt to the park where Moore had been. At the park, they found the children laying in the mud in front of Moore’s car at the end of the boat ramp.
A St. Louis County police officer testified that Moore was agitated and incoherent when he struggled with arresting officers, police said. They subdued him with a Taser gun and took him to the hospital.
Both prosecuting and defense attorneys expect to call health experts this afternoon to testify about Moore’s mental state at the time of the crime.
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Oh that is a good one! He was insane so he forced the babies face in the mud! I think he just did not want to pay child support. Hey, looser babies are expensive! Who does this guy think he is foolin’?
09 Apr 07 at 9:59 p #oldest defense in the world. So is he still insane considering the death of his children elicited yawns and doodling or was he just bored by the inconvenience of the trial. It is unbelievable how people can so easily excuse such vile behavior.
27 May 07 at 9:59 p #Having known Anthony Moore for 27 years, I would like to share with you the fact that he suffers from tourette syndrome. It’s something we were genetically predisposed to. Having had to deal with this throughout my adolence and early adulthood I know how hard it is when your brain is sending signals telling you to do something and you cannot control your actions. My niece and nephew were a blessing to our family and are missed everyday. Child support was not an issue because, as a family, we all shared the responsibility for caring and supporting Little Toni and Kanye. So once again the legal system has failed to take into consideration the expert testimony of two separate pyschiatrists’ statements (the defense and the state) that he could not have appreciated the wrongfulness of his actions at the time of this incident because of mental disease or defect. Instead, the legal system convicted him because he was “yawning” and “doodling”.
31 May 07 at 9:59 p #