TAMPA, Fla. — Just over a week ago, a friend of a missing Florida lottery winner approached an acquaintance with a chilling request, according to detectives: Dig up the body of the dead man in her backyard.
That woman, Dorice "DeeDee" Moore, was charged Tuesday with trying to conceal the slaying of the man who disappeared after winning millions. The dead man, Abraham Shakespeare, was last seen in April — more than two years after he took a lump-sum payment of $17 million on a $30 million jackpot.
Moore has denied hurting Shakespeare, but police say she tried to find someone she could pay to take the rap for the 43-year-old's killing and someone to move his body. At the same time, she was also taking "steps to make it appear that the victim was still alive," investigators said in an affidavit released after her arrest. She's charged as an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
So far, no one else has been charged. But that could change, officials said Tuesday evening.
"I won't say we have identified all of the players involved," said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee. "We're going to find out everyone that was involved. We're going to seek justice."
Moore's arrest is another twist in the monthslong, bizarre case.
Detectives said Shakespeare was killed on April 6 or 7, 2009, at a home in a rural town east of Tampa. He was buried, officials said, at the home next door, which according to property records was purchased by Moore and listed in the name of her boyfriend.
Investigators said in the affidavit released Tuesday that Moore recently asked an unnamed witness if he knew anyone who was awaiting sentencing to prison and would be willing to take the rap for killing Shakespeare in exchange for $50,000.
She also told an unnamed witness — it's not clear whether it was the same person — to dig up the body and move it to another location, according to the affidavit. Authorities said she showed the person where the body was buried on Jan. 25 and provided a pickup truck to transport it, along with bleach and plastic sheeting. Police began digging up her backyard the next day.
Shakespeare was last seen in April, and officials in Polk County — where he lived and was reported missing — have long thought he was slain. Investigators had announced earlier Tuesday that an autopsy showed the Lakeland resident died of "homicidal violence" but would not give specifics.
In January, Polk officials named Moore, 37, a "person of interest" in Shakespeare's disappearance. She befriended him after he claimed the winning ticket in 2006.
Moore said she wanted to write a book about Shakespeare, but officials said she actually scammed him out of money. Property records show she bought a $1 million home from Shakespeare for $655,000 and she acknowledged moving $2 million of his money into her bank account.
In the affidavit, detectives said Moore wrote a letter to Shakespeare's mother, claiming to be him — even though the lottery winner was barely literate.
Detectives also said Moore had an unnamed witness make a cell phone call to Shakespeare's mother, pretending to be him.
In an interview Monday with The Tampa Tribune, Moore said she anticipated being arrested. Shakespeare's body was found Thursday buried 5 feet deep under a 30-by-30-foot concrete slab behind the home Moore owns with her boyfriend. Moore told the paper that she ordered it poured for use as a boat and camper skirt.
However, Moore said she never hurt Shakespeare.
"I would never take another human's life. No amount of money in the world is worth that," she said.
Moore's attorney, John Liguori, said he's not surprised his client was arrested, considering recent developments in the investigation. But Liguori said the killer could still be on the loose.
"DeeDee may be a valuable witness against anyone responsible for the actual murder of Abraham Shakespeare," Liguori said.
It's too early to speculate about the possibility of a plea bargain, Liguori said. He acknowledged that more serious charges could be filed later against his client.
Family members say Shakespeare, a truck driver's assistant, was constantly hounded for a piece of his winnings.
Last week, Shakespeare's brother told The Associated Press that Shakespeare often wished he had never bought the winning ticket.
"'I'd have been better off broke.' He said that to me all the time," Robert Brown said.
Thanks to Jazi76 for the tip.
There's a special place in hell for people like her.
Why would anyone take the blame for a murder in exchange for $50,000? You cant spend it if you are in prison,Duhh! Criminals are stupid!
Thats why we have such smart detectives,why do people think they can outsmart them.Thank you Florida police department you should all get an award for a job well done....I've said it for many years they are not paid enough for what they do for us.Without them where would we be.
It's GODS job to forgive dee dee moore. It's Floridas job to arrange the meeting.
I am glad that she's behind bars. How stupid can you be! To ask someone to dig up the body and take the wrap for the murder? I am glad that person reported her!
I sure wouldnt want to be in the same cell with her.
poor bloke, i feel sorry for him and his family. :( I like the fact theyre going after the money to. at least his estate will have a chance of prospering from his unfortunate " win "?
Sorry Scott311, unfortunately if a person is serving a life sentence $50,000 on your account in prison could buy you a lot of canteen. I work for the prison system and someone could put the money on a persons books and they wouldn't have to worry about buying anything at the store if they were going into prison with nothing.
And again, I agree with you both, but in a case like this she will probably get about 12 years with a plea bargain, but lets follow this case to see what happens, it will be interesting to find out how it ends.
We all wish that we could win the "BIG ONE", but like Mr. Shakespeare had told his brother "I often wished that I had never bought the winning ticket". My wife often thinks that it would be good to have "THAT WINNING TICKET", but after listening to so many winners it really changes your life, and mostly bad, because a lot of times family and friends are never satisfied with the amount you give them and I know with my wife wouldn't want to share with anyone, LOL. You would have a lot of dilemmas that you will have to go through especially dealing with people at work who will be coming at you for handouts. I know for me that it would be hard and some people would disagree, and say, I would like that opportunity, but take the time to listen to some of the horror storys like this one, he didn't have to die, but somebody got greedy and wanted to use the fact that he wasn't literate as a way to separate Mr. Shakespeare from his money. Tell me what you think about that?
I really hope they throw the book at her and whoever else was involved.
In my opinion, the majority of people who win the lottery, and say that they wish they never bought the winning ticket, are the same ones who think that they can go back to their old neighborhood or behave in a manner in which they believe money will buy them out.
For instance, after Shakespeare won the lottery, and purchased his house, he still went back to the old hang out spot. Now as everyone knows, that is not always a wise choice, especially if the old hang out is located in a deprived area. He wanted to prove to his friends and family members that he is still the same person, in which I believe he was, but he also failed to realize "Money changes the people around you". He also stated that he wanted to help the poor, in which that did not come into fruition. Setting up a charitable account or donating to not-for-profit organizations is a start, but giving $1 million dollars to a man named "Big Man", is where he went about it the wrong way. Once you give to someone, and everyone else around you knows this, that is where the trouble begins.
As far as dealing with people at work, depending on your line of work, you would either have to change jobs or retire, and do something that you always dreamed of. Brad Duke is a lottery winner, that took time-off from work to get away from the hagglers and returned to his old job once the attention calmed down. Co-workers who ask for hand-outs, are people with no morals, and that is who you should distance yourself from. Remember, there is no such things are true friends in the workplace. Some of them will stab you in the back to get a promotion.
"If you don't make a plan to win the lottery, then you already made a plan to fail". It's true, even though we hate to admit it. Lottery winners need to get themselves a financial team, try to find ways to stay grounded, stop giving hand-outs that will need benefit the recipient (medical/educational), and limit drinking and do not use drugs (tons of previous lottery winners made this bad move). If you feel that you have to prove to your friends that you are the same person, then you need new friends. A true friend will not let money get in-between a friendship, and usually, it does not take a lottery win to know this.
file this under whaaa whaaaa whaaaa