The 1984 abduction and murder of 12-year-old Jenipher 'JJ' Gilbert, taken from Carl Albert Junior High School in Midwest City after a football game and found slain near Harrah, Oklahoma. Dewey George Moore, a violent repeat offender, was convicted on hair-and-fiber evidence and sentenced to death plus 999 years; he died on death row with his appeals still pending. The case is shadowed by the later discrediting of OCPD chemist Joyce Gilchrist and DA Robert 'Bob' Macy.
Decades of suspended and short sentences (1957, 1974, 1980) ended in murder. "It's amazing what someone can get away with in the court system."
One of Oklahoma's first convictions built mainly on hair and fiber evidence, showcased with a new $10,000 polarizing microscope — just before DNA testing arrived.
"Black Magic" and "Cowboy Bob." Later proof of doctored evidence and prosecutorial misconduct casts doubt even on a case against a man who looks guilty.
Moore insisted police planted the evidence, a charge seemingly echoed by the 1999 mortician's affidavit.
Chief Bill Bradley's plea to teach children about danger, and what school-event security looked like in 1984.
JJ's never-recovered scarlet-and-gray pep club uniform: possible trophy, possible lost evidence.
Click any exhibit to open the original scan.
In 1985 Dewey George Moore was convicted of FIRST-DEGREE MALICE-AFORETHOUGHT MURDER and KIDNAPPING, after former conviction of two or more felonies, and sentenced to DEATH plus 999 years (Oklahoma County, Case No. CRF-84-4759).
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and death sentence on January 17, 1990 (Moore v. State, 1990 OK CR 5, 788 P.2d 387).
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied relief in 1999 (Moore v. Gibson, 195 F.3d 1152).
OCPD chemist Joyce Gilchrist was fired in September 2001 for flawed casework and lab mismanagement; an FBI review found her testimony "went beyond the acceptable limits of science." Her evidence figured in 23 death sentences (12 carried out), and the state reviewed more than 1,700 of her cases. She died June 14, 2015.
Oklahoma County DA from 1980 to 2001, Macy was later accused of conspiring with Gilchrist on 23 of his 54 death-row convictions and of routinely withholding exculpatory evidence.
Dewey Moore died on death row (reported 2004) with his appeals still pending. His conviction was never overturned, but the Gilchrist-Macy fallout leaves a permanent cloud over the forensic case.
The complete verbatim podcast script, preserved exactly as recorded.
Episode 4:
Hello everyone and welcome Okie Investigations. My Name is Trevor Shelby. In this episode we are going to discuss the story of a young girl who went missing after a middle school football game in Midwest City, Oklahoma. This case remains one of the most shocking violent crimes in Oklahoma’s History that still has people asking questions. In this episode we will discuss What happened, Why and what's happened since.
But first, if you are a first time listener, to experience this podcast to its finest, hit that subscribe button so when we have new episodes, you will be the first to know. Then, head on over to our facebook page. Here we can all discuss the case together and and perhaps come up with our own theories on the many cases that will be featured on this show. You can find us at Facebook.com
This episode is probably going to be the first multi part episode that we will have on this show. When I first set out to do Okie Investigations, I was setting up to conduct face to face interviews with friends and families of those who will be featured on this show. That was about January of 2020, just before COVID really hit the united states. I had to rethink what I was doing and how I was going to do it and that's how this show was born. I have a few cases set aside that I’m hoping when all of this calms down I can do a few interviews, or even conduct them over Zoom. But, I’ve been really impressed with the response so far that I received on this show. Thank you to those that have reached out and suggested cases. I have received about 20 messages on facebook with possible cases to look into. I plan on looking into each and every one of them. I cannot guarantee that they will be featured as an episode but we will see what we can do.
Another thing I want to mention is the poster for Fawn and Rozlin Abell is still going strong. If you haven't already, check out our facebook page at facebook.com/okieinvestigations and share it. Its been shared hundreds of times and been seen by thousands and thousands of people. Part of that success is because I received a small donation to run the poster as an add on facebook. If you would like to contribute to keeping the missing posters ads running and supporting the show, go to our anchor page at anchor.com/okieinvestigations. There you will see a support button. Or you can also send donations via cash app to $okiei.
Now, lets get on with the show.
The 1980’s was an odd time. I spent my childhood being a wild and crazy kid in Choctaw Oklahoma. I lived just a few houses down from our school and it was common, especially on football game nights, we would walk with friends down to the local plaza, hang out, and then return back to the school to watch our schools football team. For me, it was a way to hang out with friends without so much parental supervision. There were times that I didn't get back until late at night, my parents never worried so much even though the TV’s were always reminding them to check to see where we were.
---Its 10 O’Clock---
I tell you all this because today's story happened just a couple of miles from where I went to school. In Midwest City Oklahoma, 1984. For those of you who don't already know this, OKlahoma is a big Football state and Midwest City Schools were always a big football team. Thursday September 27th ended up being a dwery day but the football season was just heating up so many students were excited about the coming game. One of those students was Jenipher Junaell Gilbert, who went by the name of JJ to her school friends and falcity. JJ was a cute 12 year old middle school student who was known for her intelligence and kindness. She surrounded herself with great friends and although she was quiet spoken, her friends would have nothing but nice things to say about her. This year she was in the pep club and was ready to cheer on the team.
That day, Principal Larry Springfield told the members of the Pep club that they didn't need to attend today's game due to the dismal weather conditions. But to his surprise, JJ was the first girl in line to purchase and pick up her scarlet and gray pep club uniform.
Before the Game, JJ and some of her friends went in early to hang out with the team before they had to go onto the field. For many of them, this would be the last time they would get to do so.
It’s amazing what can happen in a blink of an eye and with so many people around. This gae was attended by over 500 people. People who were Fans, Parents, Students, Teachers, Off Duty Police Officers. But only a few witnessed what happened.
By all accounts, everything at the game went fine, after the game, nothing would ever be the same.
What was planned for that night was that JJ’s step father was going to pick her up right after the game. Jerry arrived and when he pulled up to the school's parking lot, he decided that he was going to circle around and come back due to so many parents already there to pick up their kids.
I don't know if you remember what it's like to pick up children, but it can be a nightmare. Even today, going and getting your kids from a school event can be a mad house so I totally don't blame Jerry for this.
Jerry came back around and JJ was nowhere to be seen. Jerry waited and waited and soon he was one of the last people there. He knew something was not right, this was not like JJ at all.
And so the parents contacted the police that night.
I can't imagine what it would be like to have a kid that was missing and not know what to do other than call the police. There one time in my life that I can remember where I felt so homeless and needed to find my child. I was at work when my wife called me and told me that my daughter was not at the child care place that she went to after school. They tell her that she never got off the bus. So they just thought she was sick or something and didn't call us. So here it is, hours later and I have no clue where my daughter is. Well, we ended up taking the bus that came to our neighborhood with a friend and went to her friend's house that was just down the road from our house. So by the time we get home, she's waiting at our house because she was done playing with her friend.
This family however, was waiting overnight with no idea where their little girl was. They had no clue if she were in danger or if she were safe or not. Sadly, in this case she was not safe at all.
The Midwest City Police and the Jr. High worked quickly together with trying to figure out what happened to JJ. The Principal talked to all of the kids over the school's intercom system and told them that JJ was missing since the game and that they needed to know if anyone had any information on JJ’s movements after the game. 20 students in all came forward with what they knew of what happened. One story that was given to authorities was that after the game, JJ walked out front where the parents typically come up to pick up their kids. She talked to friends while waiting and said she spotted her Step Father. She then started walking to the front of the main building to be picked up. Another student came forward with some more detail, he stated that he saw someone pushing a struggling JJ into a car and then they drove off together. Although this student would be the only one to report such a thing, it was quite possible his account was true.
The next morning, several youths were headed down a country road in Harrah Oklahoma, just 10 miles from the Midwest City Jr. High. And they saw something odd on the side of the road. To their horror, it was the semi nude body of a young girl. They quickly alerted police. It wasn't long for the police to figure out who this was. It was sweet, innocent JJ.
When police arrived, JJ was only wearing her bra and underwear that was pulled down to her knees. Police believed that she was not murdered at this location, but was dumped here.
To support this theory was that it looked like at one time JJ had been bound and gagged. She had several marks around her wrists and face that should suggest that she was kept alive for some time and was restrained in some fashion.
The Family and School were alerted the same day to the discovery of JJ’s body. It was tragic. Friends of JJ were interviewed by the local news and many of them had wonderful things to say about JJ. Some of the students didn't want to be identified due to the nature of the killing. This was now a town that had a murderer on the loose and everyone feared that he would strike again.
Saturday, September 30th, just a couple of days after the abduction, the police had this to say in a Daily Oklahoman Article. (Breakthrough seen in Slaying - read first three paragraphs.)
Now, this seems like not a lot of information here, but reading between the lines. They have some clues they are following that ls leading them somewhere and they have possibly found some evidence. Also, since the discovery of the body, the medical examiner was trying to figure out the cause of death. It seems that at this point, JJ was believed to have been strangled and possibly sexually assaulted.
One of the main talking points during this time was how can something like this happen to anyone when the school should be one of the safest places for our kids to be at. The school's response to all of this is that there is no 100% full proof way to protect everyone at the games. What Midwest City did for security at the time was to have as many teachers come to the games along with two off duty police officers. Together, they would keep an eye on things as best as possible. Other schools in Oklahoma reportedly did the same or similar. Bill Bradley The Nichols Hills police chief was interviewed by the Daily Oklahoman and had this to say about it. “I think that we are afraid to meet the problem head on. Talking to a 12 year old about being abducted; being sexually abused and being killed is very uncomfortable. But it is necessary. Children should be educated, make the child aware of becoming a victim, tell your children to always stay in a group. Children are curious, they are more vulnerable when alone.
As a parent you don't want to scare your children. But, you may do more harm than good if you don't teach them about the dangers that are in this world. So many kids, even today, think that they are invulnerable. They think that there is nothing in this world that can harm them. But the sad truth to all of this is that there are people out there that will take advantage of children, they will harm them, they can kill them. What Chief Bradly said 30 years ago stands even truer now than ever. Kids have more access to the outside world with the help from technology. Make sure you are constantly checking their devices and keep your children safe.
Now, Thursday night, the same night as the abduction, a man just a half mile from the Midwest City school reported that his car was stolen. The next day his car was found two miles from the school. The only problem was, someone was driving it. A man with a colorful history of violence.
Next week we will move forward with this case. Join us as we delve further into the background of this mystery man who has attacked before…. Did he do it again?
But first, Here is a short tail of Oklahoma’s Darker History….
Episode 6
Hello everyone and welcome Okie Investigations. My Name is Trevor Shelby. In this episode we are going to continue the story of a young girl who went missing after a middle school football game in Midwest City, Oklahoma. If you missed part one, go back to last Sunday’s episode and start there. This case remains one of the most shocking violent crimes in Oklahoma’s History that still has people asking questions. In this episode we will discuss What happened, Why and what's happened since.
But first, if you are a first time listener, to experience this podcast to its finest, hit that subscribe button so when we have new episodes, you will be the first to know. Then, head on over to our facebook page. Here we can all discuss the case together and perhaps come up with our own theories on the many cases that will be featured on this show. You can find us at Facebook.com/okieinvestigations
I hope everyone has had a great week. This week we added a show to our lineup. Wednesday’s will feature a Dark side of Oklahoma History story. It’s a shorter story lineup but will feature some great forgotten Oklahoma Stories that were big news in their time. These Oklahoma History stories have been a lot of fun to look into. It’s also interesting when you read something and you hear and see names of Oklahomans of the past that night have Hospitals, Lakes or Highways named after them.
Another thing I want to mention is the poster for Fawn and Rozlin Abell is still going strong. If you haven't already, check out our facebook page at facebook.com/okieinvestigations and share it. It's been shared hundreds of times and been seen by thousands and thousands of people. If you haven't done so already, go to our facebook and check out that post, share it. Someone out there knows what's happened to those two girls and hopefully after seeing that there are others out there who still care, they will come forward with the information. If you want to contribute to the show, please share it to social media and give it a rating on the podcast network you are listening on. It helps us more than you know.
Now, enough of all that. Lets get on with the show.
Now, if you remember. 12 Year old Jenipher Junaell Gilbert better known as JJ disappeared thursday september 27th 1984 after a middle school football game while waiting for her step dad to come and pick her up. Her body was found the next day, 10 miles away in Harrah Oklahoma. She was left with only a bra on and her underwear down around her ankles. The same day JJ’s body was found, a man was pulled over a half a mile from the Midwest City Jr. High school.
The Man driving the car was Dewy Moore who lived in Midwest City and at the time, he appeared to be driving to his home which is at a Trailer Park near the school. Now, I know which trailer park they are talking about. This is 36 years later but its a very sketchy place. I believe that there are people still living there but it doesn't look safe at all. None of the houses that are there look to be in good condition and most of them look to be abandoned.
The police pulled Moore over because the car he was driving was reported stolen the night before. He was arrested and booked into the Midwest City Jail. It was quickly apparent with witness descriptions of the car that was used in the abduction and Moore’s past, that he was going to be the first prime suspect in this case. When he was arraigned, the judge decided to hold Moore on 300 thousand bail so that there was little chance he would be able to get out. This would give the investigators time to look into Moore as a suspect without the worry of him either running away or going out to find another victim.
Now, one of the things that the Harrah Police took note of was the tire tracks that looked fresh near where the killer dumped JJ’s body. It was noted that these tracks could very well be the ones made by the Murderer. Now, the Midwest City Police had a car that they could match up to those tracks and see if they were a perfect match or not. This was high on the list of things to do to see if they could take a step closer to eliminating Moore as a suspect or not.
Another thing the local police decided to do was to enlist the help of the Oklahoma City Police Department in collecting and examining fiber’s that may be found in the car itself. This was top of the line evidence of its time. This is just a couple of years prior to DNA testing being used as evidence in a criminal care and was not considered at this time. What was considered was a 10 thousand dollar polarizing microscope. The Daily Oklahoman had a report by Charles Gaylor that quoted the Police Chemist Janice Davis as saying about the microscope “Before, we could just get the central characteristics of fibers, but the polarizing scope allows us to identify what types of fiber we’re dealing with” “She continues “For example nylon fibers refract differently than rayon fiber. The method shows more conclusively that certain fibers came from the same course. This is especially true if the fiber is from an uncommon source such as a rug manufactured only for a short period of time.”
What was really cool about this microscope was that it was obtained through a joint effort of local agencies with the thought in mind that they would all benefit from it. The Oklahoma County Sheriff's department made the purchase and it was handled by the lab with the Oklahoma City Police Department. Police Departments in OKlahoma County would now have access to this to better their cases and help put the right people behind bars.
So, one of the things that the police were searching for was JJ’s uniform. It wasn't near her body and at the time so there were probably several different thoughts on this, the main being that finding it would probably mean that they could find evidence on the uniform to link someone to JJ’s death or they might find it in the possession of the person who did it. Taken almost like a trophy. Either way, it could easily be a smoking gun in this case.
Almost a week after the discovery of JJ’s body, the police have yet to find the pep school uniform. But they do have an announcement to make. A Article in the Daily Oklahoman Written by by Andy Morgan was titled Murder Clues found in bag. This article details two men finding a bag on top of a Breeden’s Grocery on 29th street. Now, it doesn't state this in the article but I can only assume that the two men who found the bag and altered it to the police were employee’s of the store. Because otherwise, I don't see why anyone would care about a sack sitting somewhere. The Sunday after the murder, a man notices a sack on top of the breedens grocery store while he was leaving to go home. It was just a normal sack, sitting up there near the AC units. A few days later, the same man notices it again. So he and a friend decide they want to see what's in the sack. The friend gets on top of the roof, turns the sack over and when he sees what spills out, he immediately asks his friend to call the cops.
What was i n the sack you ask? A Knife, A Belt and some Tape. Now, by the time this was found it was big news in Midwest City that a local man was arrested for murder. He lived just down the road from this store and everyone knew that the police were searching for evidence so naturally, they alerted the police.
This evidence could now be linked with any other evidence that might be found in the car. This was a big win for the police if they could be linked to the killer.
Now 47 year old Dewey Moore was currently waiting in Jail for the case to move forward in the Auto theft. But on the outside, the public were being introduced to 20 year old Dewey Moore and learning of his awful actions of his past. In less than a week the newspapers that were covering the case had a hold of a lot of public information on Moore and they were printing it all.
In 1957, while attending college in Oklahoma City, Moore was charged with attacking a waitress and then robbing her. Moore was found guilty and was sentenced to 5 years in prison but all of those 5 years were suspended. So, he did no prison time. In 1974 Moore was convicted with attempted rape of a 5 year old girl in Midwest City, Oklahoma. He was given a 3 year sentence and was again given a suspended sentence. One year of that was revoked because he when began doing time in Texas for Aggravated Kidnapping and indecency with a child. In 1980 Moore was let out of prison and just months later he was again in jail for attacking and cutting a women with a knife, choking a 9 year old boy and a 11 year old girl, sealing a car and robbery. Moore plead guilty and was sentenced to 3 years in prison for each charge and the sentence would run concurrently so the most time he would do all together would be 3 years. Soon after he was out of prison again, he would quickly remarry and just days after the wedding, he attacked his wife during intercorse and threatened her two children. He spent a year in a half in jail during the trial and was given time served.
He was released in May of 1984. Just months before the murder.
This man, for a lock of a better term was a real ticking time bomb. You can see, not only the type of crimes escalating but the frequency in which they happen as well. 1957, 1974, 1980, 1984. He went from attacking a woman to attempted rape, to kidnapping, to attacking his own wife and threatening the lifes of her children, to possibly murder.
It’s amazing what someone can get away with in the Court System.
12 days after the discovery of JJ’s body the Police charged Dewey Moore with the murder. District Attorney Robert H Macy stated that Moore used his hands to smother JJ to death and that it was such a cruel way to die. Macy also said that this was a case that he was going to personally se thorough and he was seeking the death penalty.
This would be a first in the state of Oklahoma because as of yet, they had not convicted anyone based mainly on fiber and hair evidence. The trial would not be ready to start for almost a year due to the nature of the testing needed to be done by both the proccusion and the defence. Although there was not a lot of evidence, the labs compared fibers found on JJ’s body with those that were in the car that Moore was driving and in his trailer.
When Jury selection came up they had a difficult task finding just about anyone who hasn't read about the case or had seen it reported on in the local news media. Many of the questions asked by Prosecutor Robery H Macy was if they had what it took to look a man in the face and return a death verdict. The defence asked prospective jurors that if convicted, would they have the courage to sentence for life even though this murder involved a 12 year old girl.
The trial was quick and to the point. The Prosecution brought forward Janice Davis and Joyce Gilcrest who were police chemists for the Oklahoma City Police Department. On the stand, Davis was able to outline 49 places throughout Moor’s car and Home that had hair and fibers that matched those found on JJ’s body. She also stated that the evidence collected in the bag found on top of the grocery store had countless hairs stuck to the tape that was inside.
The percussion rested the case based on this evidence knowing it was very strong. The Jury came back with a Guilty verdict. When the Jury read the verdict, Moore slumped in his chair in defeat. But this was not over, the sentencing phase was about to begin and the percussion brought forward the many women that Moore had wronged throughout his life. The Defence brought forward Moore’s mother who did little besides defend how her and his father raised Dewey as a child.
Moore was sentenced to Death.
Moore answered questions to reporters as he left the courthouse. He called the trial “The best frame Bob Macy ever put up in his life.” He then stated that the police in Midwest City had planted the evidence used against him to convict him.
As crazy as that sounds, almost 14 years later it was those allegations among other real evidence that would reopen this tragic murder case.
In 1999 an affidavit from a mortician who prepared the body of JJ for burial stated that police came and collected har samples from JJ’s body. One of his co-workers who is now dead decided to follow the officers when they left. He told his co-worker that the officers went straight to Moore’s home and then they entered through a window. Shortly after that, the police found the evidence in the home. But most of this was not taken seriously since one of the men is now dead and the other waited so long to say something about it.
What opened the case even further was the fact that Joyce Gilchrist who was a supervisor at the time of JJ’s death also worked and testified on this case. In 2001 it became evident that throughout her 21 year career as a chemist with the Oklahoma City Police Department, she had doctored and destroyed evidence in order to gain a favorable outcome for the prosecution. This case was one of the many that was on the top of this list to be looked into since it was a death penalty case.
Moore was in the process of appealing his sentence when he died in prison in 2004.
The actions of Gilcrest will probably be covered in more detail on another show. But to put it simply, her actions throughout her career put real doubt in every case she worked on, including this one. Moore was a real bad guy. We covered that pretty well. But it's sad that there will always be this cloud of doubt that will hang over this case. Especially if he was innocent and someone got away with murder.
Join us next wedneday as we jump into the Okie Time Machine. I got a real good one lined up that I think you all will enjoy. Make sure you subscribe to the show so that when we have new episodes, you will be the first to know.