Shore was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, to Robert and Deanna Shore. Both of his parents were in the military, so the family moved a lot. Shore had two younger sisters named Laurel and Gina. Eventually, they settled in Houston, Texas.

Shore's parents often fought and had relationships outside their marriage. They divorced in 1976. Shore later said that his father often hit him and that his mother molested him when he was 13. From a young age, Shore showed troubling behavior. He hurt a neighbor's cat and molested his female classmates and sometimes his sisters' younger friends.

In 1983, Shore married Gina Lynn Worley. They had two daughters, Amber and Tiffany. The couple divorced ten years later. Shore married Amy Lynch in 1997, but they divorced after she accused him of being abusive. During Shore's murder trial, his daughters testified that he had drugged, abused, and raped them.

Shore's first known victim was Laurie Tremblay, a 15-year-old girl he killed on September 26, 1986. Laurie was walking to school when Shore attacked her. After trying to sexually assault her, he strangled her and left her body behind a Mexican restaurant in Houston. On April 16, 1992, Shore sexually assaulted and strangled 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada. Maria was a Mexican immigrant working as a nanny. Her body was found behind a Dairy Queen the same day.

On October 19, 1993, Shore entered the home of 14-year-old Selma Janske. He bound and sexually assaulted her before fleeing on foot. Shore's next victim was 9-year-old Diana Rebollar, whom he beat, sexually assaulted, and strangled on August 8, 1994. Diana lived in the Houston Heights area. She was last seen at a local grocery store and found the next day on a loading dock. A neighbor gave police a lead about a van in the area, and she was linked to Maria Estrada's case by a rope with a bamboo stick found around her neck.

On July 6, 1995, Shore strangled 16-year-old Dana Sanchez. He offered her a ride in his van and killed her after she rejected his sexual advances. A week later, Shore himself called a local news station to tell the police where to find her body. In 1998, Shore was convicted of molesting his two daughters and had to give a DNA sample. In 2000, detectives tested DNA from Maria Estrada's case and got a full genetic profile. However, problems at the lab delayed the match until 2003, leading to Shore's arrest for her murder.

During an 11-hour interrogation, Shore confessed to killing Maria Estrada, Diana Rebollar, Dana Sanchez, and Laurie Tremblay. He also confessed to raping a 14-year-old girl in 1994. Detectives didn't connect Tremblay's case to the others because she was strangled differently. Shore said he switched methods because he hurt his finger while killing Tremblay.

Shore was only charged with Maria Estrada's murder due to the strong forensic evidence. His trial started in late October 2004. The jury found him guilty of capital murder. During sentencing, one of his surviving victims testified. The jury recommended the death penalty, which Shore had asked for, and he was sentenced to death on November 15, 2004.

Shore was executed by lethal injection on January 18, 2018, at 6:28 p.m. He was 55 years old. Before his execution, he said, "I made my peace," and his last words were, “Ooh-ee, I can feel that!”