A Gary man is charged with killing his wife.
Garry Moore, 65, has been charged with murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon in the July 11, 2023, death of Tanya Moore, 55.
The U.S. Marshals arrested Moore on Feb. 24 in Mobile, Alabama. He was extradited to Lake County last week. He is in custody, held without bond. His next court date is March 21.
Gary Police responded around 4:50 a.m. July 11, 2023, to their home on the 2200 block of Kentucky Street. A cop found Moore trying to do CPR on her. A gun was on the counter.
Moore said they had been married for 35 years. He claimed to police that their argument stemmed from when he cheated in 2017 and she “couldn’t let it go,” court documents state. She was in the process of moving out. He said she ran into their “office” to grab a gun.
Saying he was a “9th degree black belt,” he did a martial arts move to turn the barrel away from him. It went off, hitting her in the chest. He asked if she was OK, then called 911.
Investigators discounted most of his story.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office ruled her death a homicide. She had no gunpowder residue on her, contradicting Moore’s claims he was near her when she was shot. No drugs were found in her system.
Police alleged Moore took over a minute to tell a 911 dispatcher his wife was shot. He said he last fired the gun “up” to two days earlier. A firearms expert later estimated he was 3-4 feet away.
Investigators learned Moore kept the gun in a nightstand, not the office, and that his wife had been moving out before she was shot.
In a second interview, Moore claimed he had a second cellphone but sold it. It was a phone to contact other women, he said.
Investigators later found it in the ceiling at Bland School of Martial Arts, 1282 Broadway Ave., his martial arts studio.
After another search warrant, police could not find Tanya’s phone. The office was jammed with furniture and other stuff, with police discounting that she could get in the room for a gun.
No DNA from the couple was found on the gun.
mcolias@post-trib.com