Wright County Record logo and header

Former Wright County man charged for trying to ram vehicle with children into creek

Was charged for second degree murder in 1991

Posted

A man with Wright County ties and a past run in with the law received four felony charges for his role in attempting to ram a vehicle with children inside into a creek.

The incident took place at the Old Jenkins Bridge located on a farm road in Aurora on Sunday, July 26.

According to a probable cause statement, William Rodney Moore, 50, now of Aurora, reportedly drove his 2007 Dodge Caravan into the right side front bumper of a 2002 Mitsubishi Endeavor that included a driver and three children inside.

The children an infant, a toddler and an older child.

Moore allegedly accelerated in an attempt to push the vehicle into the water. The other driver was able to break free from Moore’s vehicle when she inadvertently backed into a ditch.

Moore then blocked her vehicle from further escape.

He exited the vehicle, wrapped his arm in his shirt, then began striking the driver’s side window in attempt to gain entry.

Upon hearing the other driver dialing 911, Moore left the scene.

The victim told deputies that she feared for her life and the lives of her children.

The oldest child in the car during the incident told deputies she felt extremely terrified and believed she was going to die.

Moore has been charged with four counts of first-degree domestic assault and is being held in the Barry County Jail with a cash-only bond of $100,000.

In Dec. 1991, Moore plead guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced at the time to life in prison for the beating death of Leon Colten, 75, of Seymour, in August of that year. Colten’s body was found on a road northeast of Hartville, this according to a story that published in the Dec. 25, 1991 issue of the Mountain Grove News-Journal.

His original charge was reduced after he made a guilty plea.

“This prior action demonstrates the defendant has an historic disregard for the sanctity of human life,” said Barry County Deputy Thaddaeus Harris in the probable cause statement report.