Who killed Stephen Moore? ‘Dateline: Secrets Uncovered’ shows how Kathleen Dorsett orchestrated the murder
OAKHURST, NEW JERSEY: Stephen Moore was killed by Thomas Dorsett, the father of Kathleen Dorsett, Stephen's ex-wife.
Stephen was killed as part of a plot orchestrated by Kathleen Dorsett, his ex-wife who did not want her estranged husband to have their daughter during the divorce. As a result, Thomas Dorsett beat Stephen to death in the driveway of his house.
Kathleen Dorsett later admitted to helping her father, Thomas Dorsett, place Stephen Moore's body in the trunk of his mother's car, which her father then drove away. She disclosed that she met her father at a restaurant in Long Branch and followed him to another location in the same area to abandon the car.
Afterward, she drove her father home, and they cleaned up the area where Moore had been killed. Additionally, prosecutors revealed that Thomas Dorsett paid Anthony Morris of Long Branch $3,000 to set the car on fire with Moore's body inside.
Who was Stephen Moore?
Stephen Moore was a resident of Oakhurst, New Jersey, where he worked as a salesman at a local Honda dealership.
Prior to his career in sales, Moore was involved in speed skating. He married Kathleen Dorsett in 2007, and they had a daughter together. Before he was cruelly murdered by Kathleen Dorsett's parents he was engaged in a custody battle over his daughter.
On August 16, 2010, while dropping off his daughter at Kathleen's parents' home, Moore was tragically beaten to death in the driveway by Kathleen's father, Thomas Dorsett. His body was later found in the burning car of his mother in Long Branch, New Jersey, on August 18, 2010.
Moore's untimely death shocked the community and led to a high-profile investigation and legal proceedings against those involved in his murder.
What happened between Stephen Moore and his wife Kathleen Dorsett?
Kathleen Dorsett, a teacher at the Gables School in Neptune Township, New Jersey, and Stephen Moore tied the knot in June 2007.
The couple welcomed their only daughter shortly after. However, their relationship became strained following the birth of their daughter as they had disagreements over parenting. These conflicts escalated, leading to divorce proceedings and a custody battle, which concluded with Kathleen being granted primary physical custody after the divorce was finalized in June 2010.
Following the divorce, Kathleen's parents, Thomas and Lesley Dorsett, planned to relocate to Florida along with Kathleen and her daughter. However, facilitating Stephen Moore's move to Florida as well, to maintain his access to their daughter, required financial assistance from Thomas Dorsett for the first six months after the relocation.
Why did Kathleen Dorsett and her parents, Thomas and Lesley Dorsett, kill Stephen Moore?
On August 16, 2010, Stephen Moore arrived at Kathleen's parent's home in Oakhurst, New Jersey, to drop off his daughter.
It was during this exchange that Kathleen sent him to retrieve tools he had left at the back of the house. "I took my daughter into the house, knowing all the time my father was back there, waiting to kill him," Dorsett confessed during the trial, recalling the events.
As she was changing her daughter's diaper, she heard screams emanating from the driveway and knew that her father had succesfully killed her estranged husband.
After hearing her ex-husband's dying screams, Kathleen Dorsett went outside and found him lying in the driveway. She knelt next to him to shield his body from her neighbor, who was yelling from her window, asking what was wrong. Later that day, she informed the neighbor that the "dog was having a seizure", according to testimony from a former county jail inmate during the trial.
Two days later, on August 18, 2010, Stephen's body was discovered in the burning wreckage of his mother's 2001 Nissan Altima, located in Long Branch, New Jersey.
What charges were pressed against Kathleen Dorsett and her parents?
Kathleen Dorsett, along with her parents Thomas and Lesley Dorsett, received a cumulative sentence of 110 years in prison for their involvement in the death of Stephen Moore in 2010.
Kathleen Dorsett received a sentence of 58 years in prison for charges including murder, conspiracy to disturb human remains, and attempted murder. She will be eligible for parole after serving 47 years of her sentence.
Thomas Dorsett was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder of Moore and arson for hire related to disposing of the body. He must serve a minimum of 30 years before being considered for parole.
Lesley Dorsett was sentenced to 7 years for conspiracy to commit murder. She served her sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women and became eligible for parole in December 2016. She has since been released.
Prior to their sentencing, all three had entered guilty pleas related to Moore's death. Additionally, Kathleen and her mother admitted to conspiring to murder Moore's mother to prevent her from testifying against them and to hinder her efforts to gain custody of Kathleen's daughter.
Thomas Dorsett lost his bid to 'withdraw his plea' during his trial
Thomas Dorsett, the father of former Neptune teacher Kathleen Dorsett, was denied his request to "withdraw his plea" in connection to Stephen Moore's murder plot.
He pleaded guilty in 2013 to conspiring with his daughter in the murder of her ex-husband, Stephen Moore. Dorsett confessed to beating Moore to death and hiring an accomplice to set fire to the car containing his body. Consequently, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison with no chance for parole until serving 30 years.
Despite his claim of receiving "ineffective assistance from his attorney" during plea negotiations, an appeals court rejected his argument. The court noted that his guilty plea was a crucial condition for his wife, Lesley, to receive a shorter sentence than if she went to trial.
'Dateline: Secrets Uncovered' Season 12 airs new episodes every Wednesday at 8 pm ET on NBC and is available for streaming on Peacock the following day.