Tenaha Man Pleads to Murder of Infant Daughter

William MooreAngela MooreJuly 13, 2015 - A Tenaha man has pleaded guilty on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 to the murder of his 6-month-old infant daughter earlier this year.

William Bryce Moore, 28, of Tenaha pleaded before Charles "Brick" Dickerson, 123rd Judicial District Court Judge, to murder in the first degree which is a reduction of the original charge of capital murder. According to the plea agreement, Moore has been sentenced to 40 years incarceration in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division with 140 days credit for time served and no fine.

Moore's defense attorney was Dexter A. Jones. Without the plea agreement, Moore faced a punishment of 5-99 years or life in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

According to the original information provided by the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, deputies responded to the Kyle Parmer Trailer Park located on County Road 4356 at 3:49am on February 16, 2015. 6-month-old infant Ariana Moore was transported from the scene by ambulance and was pronounced deceased by Maxie Eaves, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, at Nacogdoches Medical Center - Center Emergency Department.

The mother of the infant Angela Marie Moore, 25, of Tenaha pleaded guilty to manslaughter, 2nd degree felony, in the 273rd District Court on Friday, June 19, 2015. She received 5 years incarceration in prison and agreed to testify against her husband William Moore in his capital murder trial.

Angela Moore is currently being held in the Carol Young Medical Complex due to pregnancy. Her maximum sentence date is February 20, 2020; however, her projected release date is June 11, 2017. She will be eligible for parole on September 18, 2015.