Bio

Richard Donald Moore was born on June 5, 1931. Before the murders, he lived in Indiana and had been married to Rhonda Caldwell. Their divorce was finalized shortly before the killings. Court records state that Moore killed Rhonda only eight days after the divorce.

The murders were rooted in the breakdown of Moore’s relationship with Rhonda Caldwell. After the divorce, Moore went to the home of Rhonda’s parents in Indianapolis. What began as a domestic confrontation quickly turned into a fatal shooting that left three people dead and others wounded.

Murder Story

On November 6, 1979, Richard D. Moore went to the Indianapolis home where his ex-wife, Rhonda L. Caldwell, was staying with her parents, John H. Caldwell and Ruth B. Caldwell. Moore and Rhonda had divorced only eight days earlier. According to case summaries, Moore spoke with Rhonda in the carport for a short time. Rhonda then began crying and moved back toward the house, warning her parents to get inside and lock the doors because Moore had a gun.

Moore was armed with a shotgun. During the attack, he shot and killed John H. Caldwell in the living room and shot Rhonda Caldwell in the kitchen. Ruth Caldwell was also shot and seriously injured in the arm and buttocks. Police were called to the scene as the violence continued.

Indianapolis Police Officer Gerald F. Griffin arrived in full uniform while responding to the emergency. Moore shot and killed Griffin through the front doorway. Another uniformed officer, Cicero Mukes, was shot while getting out of a marked patrol car but survived. The State later charged Moore with three murders and several additional offenses, including attempted murder and criminal confinement.

On November 7, 1979, Moore was formally charged with the murders of Rhonda Caldwell, John Caldwell, and Officer Gerald Griffin. He was also charged with attempted murder and confinement offenses connected to the wounded victims and the confrontation inside the home. Moore later pleaded guilty to three counts of murder without a plea agreement. After the court accepted the guilty pleas, the State dismissed the remaining attempted murder and confinement charges.

On October 24, 1980, Moore was sentenced to death. The death sentence was based on aggravating circumstances that included the murder of a law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty and the fact that Moore committed multiple murders. The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence in 1985.

Moore later received post-conviction relief in 1995, but the State appealed. In 1997, the Indiana Supreme Court reinstated his guilty pleas and sent the case back for a new sentencing proceeding. After a new sentencing hearing, Moore was again sentenced to death on January 13, 2000. The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed that death sentence in 2002, and the United States Supreme Court declined review in 2003. Later death-row records report that he died of cancer on December 23, 2006, at age 75.