Kathleen Dorsett

Last updated
Kathleen Dorsett
Born (1974-07-02) July 2, 1974 (age 50)
Occupation(s)Convicted killer, former elementary school teacher
Criminal statusImprisoned at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, New Jersey
SpouseStephen Moore (2007-2010) (deceased)
Children1 daughter
Parent(s)Thomas and Lesley Dorsett
Motive Child custody battle
Conviction(s) Murder, desecration of human remains, attempted murder
Criminal penalty58 years in prison

Kathleen Dorsett (born July 2, 1974) is a former Neptune, New Jersey schoolteacher who was convicted of the August 2010 murder of her ex-husband, Stephen Moore, in May 2013. [1] Her father, Thomas Dorsett, also pled guilty to the murder, and Dorsett's mother, Lesley Dorsett, a former member of the Ocean Township Board of Education, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in 2013. [2] The case made headlines across New Jersey and throughout the United States. [3]

Contents

Background

Kathleen Dorsett, a kindergarten and third grade teacher at the Gables School in Neptune Township, New Jersey, [3] and Stephen Moore, a salesman at a local Honda dealership, and former speed skater, married in June 2007. [2] The following year, Kathleen gave birth to the couple's only daughter, Elizabeth. Shortly after though, the couple began disagreeing about how to best care for their daughter. Eventually the couple began divorce proceedings and a custody battle ensued. The divorce was later finalized in June 2010, with Kathleen receiving primary physical custody. [4]

After the divorce, Kathleen's parents, Thomas and Lesley Dorsett, planned to move to Florida with their daughter Kathleen and her daughter. However, the couple would have had to help Stephen Moore move there too, so he could have access to their daughter. This would require Thomas Dorsett providing financial assistance to Moore for the first six months following the move. [4]

Murder

On August 16, 2010, Stephen Moore was dropping off his daughter at Kathleen's parent's home in Oakhurst, New Jersey. Following the exchange, Stephen was beaten to death by Kathleen's father, Thomas Dorsett, in the driveway of their home, while Kathleen was allegedly changing the child's diaper. [1] Later that day, when he failed to show up to work at the Honda dealership, Stephen was reported as a missing person by his employer. Two days later, on August 18, 2010, Stephen's body was found in the back of his mother's burning 2001 Nissan Altima in Long Branch, New Jersey. [5]

Investigation

Shortly after the murder on August 23, Kathleen Dorsett was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of fourth-degree tampering with evidence. [6] Following his daughter's arrest, Thomas Dorsett attempted suicide by ingesting refrigerant outside his attorney's office. [7] He survived and was charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of fourth-degree tampering with evidence, and one count of third-degree witness tampering. [8] Another man, Anthony Morris, was charged with arson and desecration of human remains; he had allegedly been paid $3,000 by Thomas Dorsett to burn Stephen Moore's mother's car with his body in the trunk. Kathleen and Thomas Dorsett were held at the Monmouth County jail on $1.5 million and $2.5 million cash bail, respectively. [8]

While in jail awaiting trial, Kathleen Dorsett and her mother Lesley were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder for attempting to arrange and solicit a hit man to kill Stephen Moore's mother, Evlyn, who received custody of his daughter after Kathleen's arrest. During this investigation, it was also discovered that the Dorsett family was involved in money laundering, as they had attempted to conceal $96,000 worth of assets. In November 2010, all three Dorsetts were charged with money laundering. [9]

Convictions

In April 2011, Anthony Morris pled guilty to conspiracy to disturb or desecrate human remains. Under his plea agreement, he was sentenced to less than seven years in prison. [9]

In May 2013, Kathleen, Thomas, and Lesley Dorsett pled guilty to all charges against them.

Kathleen Dorsett was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, 20 years for attempted murder, and 8 years for conspiracy. She is serving her sentences, running consecutively, at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, New Jersey. She is eligible for parole in August 2057, when she will be 83 years old. [10] Since her incarceration, the New Jersey Department of Education has stripped Kathleen of her teaching certificates. [11]

Thomas Dorsett was sentenced to 30 years for murder and 15 years for conspiracy to commit arson. He is serving his sentences at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. He will be eligible for parole in August 2040, he will be 93 [12] years old. [13]

Lesley Dorsett was sentenced to 7 years for conspiracy to commit murder. Like her daughter, she was incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women. She became eligible for parole in December 2016 and has now been released. [14]

Evlyn Moore, Stephen Moore's mother, had custody of Stephen and Kathleen's daughter until 2021, when she passed away at the age of 86. The daughter, Elizabeth, continues to live with other family members, just as Stephen would have wanted.

In the media

Stephen Moore's murder was featured on Dateline NBC in April 2015 [15] and the Oxygen channel's series Snapped in August 2015. [16]

It was also featured on Dateline NBC on May 1, 2021 episode named Family Affair [17]

Related Research Articles

Sara Jane Olson is an American far-left activist who was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1975. The group disbanded and she was a fugitive for decades before being arrested. In 2001, she pleaded guilty to attempted murder related to a failed bombing plot. In 2003 she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder related the death of a customer during a botched bank robbery the SLA committed in California. Known then as Soliah, she was also accused of helping a group hide Patty Hearst, a kidnapped newspaper heiress, in 1974. After being federally indicted in 1976, Soliah was a wanted fugitive for several decades. She lived for periods in Zimbabwe and the U.S. states of Washington and Minnesota.

The Genovese crime family, also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American Mafia. The Genovese family has generally maintained a varying degree of influence over many of the smaller mob families outside New York, including ties with the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Patriarca, and Buffalo crime families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzen Wright</span> American basketball player (1975–2010)

Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright was an American professional basketball player for thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted seventh overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers and also played for the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Craig Michael Titus is an American convicted murderer. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and arson in the death on December 14, 2005 of 28-year-old Melissa James, a personal assistant to him and his wife, Kelly Ryan, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was sentenced in 2008 to 21 to 55 years in prison.

Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women is a prison facility for women of the state of New Jersey Department of Corrections, located in Union Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, near Clinton. Its official abbreviation is EMCFW. The facility was named for Edna Mahan, one of the first female correctional superintendents in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family Tree DNA</span> Commercial genetic testing company

FamilyTreeDNA is a division of Gene by Gene, a commercial genetic testing company based in Houston, Texas. FamilyTreeDNA offers analysis of autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA to individuals for genealogical purpose. With a database of more than two million records, it is the most popular company worldwide for Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA, and the fourth most popular for autosomal DNA. In Europe, it is the most common also for autosomal DNA. FamilyTreeDNA as a division of Gene by Gene were acquired by MYDNA, Inc., an Australian company, in January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Markel</span> American lawyer, academic, and murder victim (1972–2014)

Daniel Eric Markel was a Canadian-born attorney and a law professor, who wrote various works on retribution in criminal law and sentencing, with a focus on the role of punishment in the criminal justice system. A native of Toronto, he earned a J.D. degree from Harvard University in 2001 and after working as a law clerk to a federal judge and as an associate at a law firm, joined the faculty of Florida State University in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Peterson</span> American former police sergeant and convicted murderer

Drew Walter Peterson is an American convicted murderer and former Bolingbrook, Illinois, police sergeant who was found guilty in 2012 of the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a few months after their 2003 divorce. Peterson first received national publicity in 2007 when his fourth wife, Stacy Ann Cales Peterson, disappeared. Although the police and Stacy Ann's family suspect foul play, she has never been found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pi Delta Psi</span> American collegiate Asian-American-interest fraternity

Pi Delta Psi (ΠΔΨ) is an Asian American-interest cultural fraternity founded at Binghamton University on February 20, 1994. As of 2020, the organization listed over 3,000-lifetime members spanning 30 undergraduate chapters and 1 alumni chapter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aasha Davis</span> American actress

Aasha Davis is an American actress best known for her roles as Waverly Grady on Friday Night Lights and Chelsea Lewis on South of Nowhere.

Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014.

The Genovese crime family's New Jersey faction is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Genovese crime family who control organized crime activities within the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey faction is divided into multiple crews each led by a different caporegime who oversees illegal criminal activities in labor racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking and extortion. The Genovese crime family's New Jersey faction has maintained a strong presence in the Northern Jersey area since the early prohibition era. A number of powerful mobsters within the New Jersey faction such as Guarino "Willie" Moretti, Gerardo "Jerry" Catena and Louis "Bobby" Manna have each held positions within the Genovese family's administration. From the 1990s until his death in 2010, Tino "the Greek" Fiumara was one of the most powerful caporegimes in the New Jersey faction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Leroy Lane</span> American murderer

Adam Leroy Lane is a convicted murderer and suspected serial killer who was dubbed the Highway Killer because his crimes took place near highways, which he frequently traveled due to his job as a truck driver.

Philadelphia basement kidnapping, also known as the Basement of Horrors, describes the discovery of four people, being held against their will, in conditions of deprivation on October 17, 2011, in the basement of an apartment building in the Tacony neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Larissa Schuster is an American convicted murderer who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2008 for committing the July 2003 murder of her estranged husband Timothy Schuster by submerging his body in hydrochloric acid. Due to the unusual manner in which she committed the murder, Larissa's case made national headlines. She has been dubbed "the Acid Lady" by various media outlets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton</span> Low-security United States prison in Ohio

The Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates near Elkton, Ohio. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also has an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses low and minimum-security male inmates.

The Richmond Hill explosion took place on November 10, 2012, in the Richmond Hill subdivision in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The home of Monserrate Shirley was the center of the explosion that resulted in the deaths of next-door neighbors John "Dion" Longworth and his wife Jennifer, the injuries of seven others, and $4 million in property damage. Prosecutors alleged that the natural gas explosion was intentionally set to collect insurance money. Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard, and three others were convicted and sentenced to prison on various charges, including felony murder for Leonard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucker Reed</span> American novelist and civil rights activist convicted of manslaughter (born 1989)

Aisling Tucker Moore-Reed, known by her pen name Tucker Reed, is an American novelist and former civil rights activist who has been found liable for defamation and who was convicted of manslaughter in May 2020. Reed co-authored the young adult novel Amber House published in October 2012 and its sequel Neverwas, released internationally in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CeCe Moore</span> American genetic genealogist (born 1969)

CeCe Moore is an American genetic genealogist who has been described as the country's foremost such entrepreneur. She has appeared on many TV shows and worked as a genetic genealogy researcher for others such as Finding Your Roots. She has reportedly helped law enforcement agencies in identifying suspects in over 300 cold cases using DNA and genetic genealogy. In May 2020, she began appearing in a prime time ABC television series called The Genetic Detective in which each episode recounts a cold case she helped solve. In addition to her television work, she is known for pioneering the genetic genealogy methodologies used by adoptees and others of unknown origin for identifying biological family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Elizabeth Olten</span> 2009 crime in Missouri, United States

Elizabeth Olten was a 9-year-old girl who was murdered by her neighbor Alyssa Bustamante, who was 15 at the time, in St. Martins, Missouri on October 21, 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 Michelle Sahn (2013-05-09). "Father, daughter plead guilty to murder". USA Today . Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  2. 1 2 Robert Franklin (2013-05-15). "Kathleen Dorsett to Serve at Least 51 Years in Murder of Ex-Husband". SAVE Services. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  3. 1 2 "Nancy Grace New Jersey Kindergarten Teacher Charged With Murdering Ex-Husband". CNN. 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  4. 1 2 MaryAnn Spoto (2013-05-09). "Ocean Township woman, parents admit roles in ex's slaying". The Star-Ledger . Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  5. ↑ Deepa Bharath (2010-08-20). "Friends of H.B. native burned in trunk in state of shock". The Orange County Register . Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  6. ↑ Deepa Bharath (2010-08-23). "Officials: Ex-wife killed man and torched body in car". The Orange County Register . Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  7. ↑ MaryAnn Spoto (2011-06-14). "Judge rules lawyer can represent Ocean Township man in killing of former son-in-law". The Star-Ledger . Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  8. 1 2 Deepa Bharath (2010-08-24). "Update: Police say father-in-law involved in HB native's murder". The Orange County Register . Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  9. 1 2 Christopher Sheldon (2011-04-20). "Long Branch Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy to Disturb or Desecrate Human Remains". Long Branch Patch. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  10. ↑ "Offender Details: Kathleen M Dorsett". Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  11. ↑ "In the Matter of the Certificates of Kathleen M. Dorsett" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Education. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  12. ↑ "Father and daughter get long prison sentences for killing her ex-husband in N.J." 9 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Offender Details: Thomas Dorsett". Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  14. ↑ "Offender Details: Lesley D Dorsett". Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  15. ↑ "Dateline NBC: NJ Woman, Father Murder Her Ex-Husband". 2paragraphs. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  16. ↑ "Snapped: Kathleen Dorsett". Oxygen Official Site. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  17. ↑ "Watch Dateline Episode: Family Affair". NBC.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.