MD - Transgender boy, 17, multiple sclerosis, parents charged w/murder thru medical neglect, six other children, death cult religion, Rockville, 2022

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  • #1
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. — Horrifying new details were revealed Thursday in the case of a Montgomery County couple accused of murdering their disabled child through medical neglect.

A judge in Rockville ordered Dominique and Cynthia Moore to be held without bond in the death of their transgender son, and the neglect of six other children.

Cynthia Moore’s mother says the couple struggled with mental illness and at times took part in a kind of death cult religion that had the entire family laying in caskets.

She says she struggled to help them and their nine children.

"It’s amazing all these government agencies in it now. Where was the school system? Where was the people who were supposed to be protecting these other than her? …. Nobody came into their home," Cynthia Jones said through tears after the court hearing.

On the front door of the alleged house of horrors in Montgomery Village: signs demanding privacy and calling the charges lies.

Detectives say Dominique and Cynthia Moore and their nine children were living in almost unimaginable squalor. Animal feces littering the floor, no working toilets, no electricity, and a nearly empty fridge.

"It’s painful, and there’s nothing I can do. I just want to help my child that’s all and my grandchildren," Cynthia Jones said.

Police were first called to the townhouse a year ago, after paramedics found the 17-year-old, who reportedly had multiple sclerosis and diabetes, dead. Cynthia Moore allegedly told them she’d given her child apple juice and that they’d choked and collapsed.

After a year-long investigation, police charged the couple with second degree murder, alleging the teen would still be alive if they’d ever taken her to the doctor.

They were emaciated and just 79 pounds, unable to walk or care for themselves, having slowly wasted away for months, according to prosecutors.
 
  • #2
Oh, this case is making me so mad.


The prosecutor told the judge both parents basically watched the victim slowly die for months. The prosecutor described police and first responders finding the unresponsive teen nearly a year ago, in a make-shift bed located in the living room. At that point, it was said the teen could no longer walk. The prosecutor said the whole family had to witness this at the same time and described the victim as also having an abscess on their back.
That sibling said the 17-year-old victim was transgender male whose name is Morgan. However, not all family members respected this.

The sibling wept, while telling FOX 5, "I woke up and he was dead and I never got to say goodbye to him. We were supposed to take him to Japan and take him to see things he liked – and he never went anywhere besides movie theaters or the playground and that’s upsetting because he never got to live a life or work or have friends or do anything. He just lived his life online, and then he died."

"I just want my brother to be remembered as the artist and the person he was. He was as good person," the sibling added, "and I want people who are transphobic and not accepting of their children to accept their kids for who they are and love them no matter what."
Authorities say there were a total of ten total adult and minor children living in the same home with their parents. The six minor children, ages five to 15 years old, were removed after their sibling's death and placed in foster care.
it was believed the children would only communicate with people outside their immediate family when they were using an X-BOX game console,
The children were believed to have been home-schooled, although a detective noted in court documents there was evidence of developmental delays. Police said none of the six children interviewed were able to give an account of what their school day is like.

Quotes snipped by me. I'm so angry and so upset for him. P.S. considering the statement that "not all family members respected" his identity, and the sibling's later statement about parents not being accepting of their kids, I wouldn't be surprised if it later comes out that part of the reason the neglect got so bad was transphobia...
 
  • #3
Also, the fact that only a few news publications are using his correct pronouns (part of it is probably that some haven't updated yet, or simply don't know, and I understand that) is making me tear up. This poor kid isn't getting respect, even in death.
 
  • #4
Everything about this is so tragic and preventable. I'm not an emotional person but the interview from his sibling made me tear up. I'm hoping for quick justice for Morgan and that his siblings are safe and can heal.

Also, I'm glad to hear that his 'parents' are actually being charged with murder. I've noticed a lot of times when disabled kids die from neglect they aren't charged as severely.
 
  • #5
Multiple sclerosis is extremely uncommon in teenagers, although I suppose it's not impossible. RIP, young person.
 
  • #6
Pediatric multiple sclerosis: a review
Multiple Sclerosis in the Very Young

I don't have MS but I do have similar chronic illnesses so I'm familiar with the diagnosis – it is most commonly seen in ages 20-40 but between 3%-5% (although some estimate as high as 10%) of cases are diagnosed before the age of 16. Not common, but definitely possible.

It's terribly isolating to have a severe chronic illness, and was probably even more isolating for this poor kid...

P.S. I hope this doesn't come off as me being a know-it-all - it's easy to come off that way via text .
 
  • #7
Everything about this is so tragic and preventable. I'm not an emotional person but the interview from his sibling made me tear up. I'm hoping for quick justice for Morgan and that his siblings are safe and can heal.

Also, I'm glad to hear that his 'parents' are actually being charged with murder. I've noticed a lot of times when disabled kids die from neglect they aren't charged as severely.

Yep, disabled people are about twice as more likely than able-bodied people to be victims of crimes by relatives. Attacks from strangers or acquaintances are also typically labeled as "crimes of opportunity" instead of hate crimes. Then you get into the fact that disabled people are less likely to report violent crimes to police since they're so often committed by relatives or people they rely on.

It makes me sick how often people brush over the deaths of disabled people. It feels like the justice system thinks our lives matter less. I'm hoping so strongly that Morgan's sorry excuse for parents are found guilty.

Data Sources:
https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/capd0919st.pdf
Hate Crime Data Collection Guidelines and Training Manual | Law Enforcement
 
  • #8
I'm physically disabled myself and have been since birth so cases like Morgan's hit very close to home for me. There's also May May Hargrave, who passed away from neglect last month and also has a thread here... Her COD was ruled a homicide but her 'carers' (losing that VERY loosely) were only charged with neglect. Like with Morgan, there were so many warning signs but nothing was done. It makes me so mad.
 
  • #9
Awful awful awful!!!
 
  • #10
Morgan Moore

According to The Washington Post (note misgendering in article):

The case took a year to put together; even completing an autopsy was difficult because of the dearth of medical records for the child, prosecutors said. Medical examiners ultimately ruled the teen’s death a homicide caused by “complications of neurological disorder.” Investigators assert the child wouldn’t have died had she “received the medical attention she desperately needed
 

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