Alibi check

YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

Investigating Officer(s): Det. T. Armstrong, Det. S. Murphy
Incident No.: 003897-31G-2024
Case Description: Kelly Moran death investigation

Investigators have compiled the following summary of the witnesses' alibis for July 31, 2024, between 4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Information on the results of attempts to verify the alibis is also included.

Confirmation types:

  • Yes = The alibi was confirmed for the entire time period
  • No = No part of the alibi could be corroborated.
  • Tentative = Corroboration for all or part of the witness's time comes from someone with a personal relationship with the witness or questionable reliability.
  • Partially = Part of the alibi was confirmed or tentatively confirmed, but one or more portions of the witness's time remain uncorroborated.

J Cuthbert

Description: Married to Nicolette Cuthbert, one of Kelly's friends; occasionally socialized with the Morans

Alibi: James said he was playing poker with colleagues at Dr. Tilden's residence until "quite late."

Possible Motive: No known motive. Described the victim as "a moody, difficult woman," but displayed no strong dislike or resentment toward her.

Confirmed? Yes. Co-workers at the Yoknapatawpha Cancer Center said Cuthbert left around 5:00 p.m. His colleague, Dr. Moore, said he left at the same time as James and drove behind him to Dr. Tilden's house. Moore, Tilden, and others at the poker game confirmed that Cuthbert was there well past 8:15 p.m.

Dark-haired man with glasses in a doctor's exam room

N Cuthbert

Description: Kelly's friend; regularly spent time with Kelly, Trish, Karen, and sometimes Lorraine

Alibi: Nicolette said she was at home alone, but spoke with her daughter on the telephone.

Possible Motive: No known motive. Described her relationship with Kelly as "like sisters."

Confirmed? Partially. Telephone records show a call from Bruges, Belgium at 7:33 p.m. that lasted 41 minutes, but no corroboration of her whereabouts prior to that time has been found. Cuthbert also claimed her husband returned home while she was on the phone with her daughter, but numerous witnesses, including her husband, contradict that claim.

Blonde woman in the Grove on gameday in Oxford

D Estrada

Description: Married to Lorraine Estrada, one of Kelly's friends; occasionally socialized with the Morans

Alibi: David said he was at a conference at the University of Mississippi until about 9:30 p.m.

Possible Motive: No known motive. Described Kelly as "a little spacey sometimes" but claimed not to know her well as Kelly was mainly his wife's friend.

Confirmed? Yes. Other conference attendees reported seeing him there. No witness statements indicated he left or was not seen for more than a few minutes at any point during the meeting.

Unsmiling balding man with glasses

L Estrada

Description: Kelly's friend; regularly spent time with Kelly and sometimes Nicolette, Trish, and Karen

Alibi: Lorraine said she was at work at Gordon's Pharmacy doing inventory until 11:00 p.m.

Possible Motive: No known motive, but witnesses have hinted at possible recent tension between Lorraine and Kelly.

Confirmed? Partially. Co-workers confirmed that Lorraine was at work that night but said she was in the back doing inventory much of the time and out of their sight.

Woman with a blonde pixie haircut in a pharmacy

T Lee

Description: Kelly's friend; regularly spent time with Kelly, Nicolette, Karen, and sometimes Lorraine

Alibi: Trish said she was shopping in Memphis, TN with her mother all day.

Possible Motive: No known motive, but Kelly's husband mentioned a falling out between Trish and Kelly approximately two weeks before Kelly's death. No other witnesses have said anything about this alleged dispute between Trish and Kelly.

Confirmed? Yes. Trish's mother, Alicia Henderson, and credit card records corroborate that Trish was in Memphis until approximately 8:30 p.m.

Woman with a short, dark bob and dark-rimmed glasses

W Lee

Description: Married to Trish Lee, one of Kelly's friends; occasionally socialized with the Morans

Alibi: Warren said he was working at his business, Oxford Printing, until about 9:30 p.m. Stepped out to "grab a burger and a beer" earlier in the evening.

Possible Motive: Didn't like the way Kelly treated his wife. Described Kelly as "Snide. Two-faced. Cutting."

Confirmed? Partially. Employees at Oxford Printing confirmed Warren was working that night and that he went out for dinner around 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. and was gone for 45 minutes to an hour. Witnesses at The Roadhouse said Warren came in that night around 7:00 p.m., ate quickly, and left. Warren paid in cash so there are no credit card records to corroborate or refute the timeline.

Man with salt-and-pepper mustache and goatee

Moran

Description: Kelly's husband

Alibi: Russell said he was at work at the Yoknapatawpha County District Attorney's office until approximately 7:45 p.m. and arrived at his residence at approximately 8:00 p.m.

Possible Motive: May have wanted out of his marriage. Some witnesses have claimed Russell was unfaithful to Kelly, but Russell denies those allegations.

Confirmed? Partially. Harry Samuels, the night guard at the county offices, confirmed he saw Russell leave around 7:45 p.m., but he could not vouch for Russell's whereabouts during the rest of the period of interest. Co-workers in the DA's office said Russell was at work that afternoon, but most of them left for the day by 6:00 p.m. and could not corroborate his whereabouts after that time. 911 records show Russell called to report finding his wife's body at 8:08 p.m.

Smiling man with dark, close-cropped hair and graying goatee

Ross

Description: Convicted drug dealer; sometime police informant

Alibi: Kenny did not say where he was during the time period of interest.

Possible Motive: May have had some kind of dispute with Kelly over her prescription pain medication, but Kenny denies knowing Kelly and no provable links between the two have been established.

Confirmed? No.

Man with dark blond hair and a heavy beard

K West

Description: Kelly's friend; regularly spent time with Kelly, Nicolette, Trish, and sometimes Lorraine

Alibi: Karen said she and her husband went to dinner and a movie.

Possible Motive: Admitted to having an argument with Kelly the morning of the murder. Other witnesses have hinted at possible recent tension between Karen and Kelly.

Confirmed? No. Karen's husband said he was at work during the time period of interest, and no witnesses were found to corroborate her whereabouts during that period. Phone records show Karen called Kelly at 4:25 p.m. on July 31, and they spoke for five minutes.

Woman with long dark hair

M West

Description: Married to Karen West, one of Kelly's friends; occasionally socialized with the Morans

Alibi: Michael said he was at his office making calls to his clients.

Possible Motive: No known motive. Described Kelly as "a bad investment, all around."

Confirmed? Yes. Phone records from Michael's office and statements from the clients he contacted confirm that he was at his office during the time period of interest.

Slightly smiling man with short dark hair and scruffy facial hair


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