Bio

Richard Allen Moran was born in 1954. Before the murders, Moran had a history of drug and alcohol use. Reports published after his execution stated that he later blamed his own lifestyle involving drugs and alcohol for the crimes. Court records also show that Moran’s cocaine use was connected to medical problems, including seizures, and that he was taking medication when he later chose to waive counsel and plead guilty.

Moran had previously been married to Linda Vandervoort. By August 1984, they had been divorced for about six to eight months. Their relationship became part of the case after Moran killed Vandervoort nine days after the Red Pearl Saloon murders.

Murder Story

On August 2, 1984, Richard Allen Moran entered the Red Pearl Saloon in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a woman named Tammy Cortez. Inside the bar were bartender Sandra DeVere and cook Russell Rhoades. Moran pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and shot both of them. After the shootings, he took money from the bar, carried out the cash register, and set fires inside the building before leaving.

Nine days later, on August 11, 1984, Moran went to the apartment of his former wife, Linda Vandervoort. After a short conversation, he shot and killed her. He then tried to kill himself by shooting himself and cutting his wrists. Police found him inside the apartment.

At first, Moran claimed that intruders were responsible. On August 13, 1984, while he was in the hospital, he confessed to all three murders. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Moran first pleaded not guilty, but later changed his pleas to guilty. He also chose to dismiss his attorneys and represent himself. On January 21, 1985, he was sentenced to death for the three murders. The Nevada Supreme Court later upheld the two death sentences for the Red Pearl Saloon murders but overturned the death sentence for Linda Vandervoort’s murder, changing that sentence to life in prison without parole.

Moran continued appealing his case, and it later reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Godinez v. Moran. The case focused on whether he was legally competent to plead guilty and waive his right to an attorney. The Supreme Court ruled that the same competency standard applied.

Richard Allen Moran remained on death row for the Red Pearl Saloon murders. He was executed by lethal injection in Nevada on March 30, 1996, at age 42.