A husband \u0026 wife are tied up and murdered
In the winter of 1978, a young couple's life was brutally cut short in their rural home in Montpelier, located in Blackford County, Indiana. Margaret Moser, a 22-year-old female, and her 20-year-old husband, Bruce, were found murdered on January 6, 1978, though it is believed they were killed two days earlier. The discovery was made after Bruce failed to show up for work for two consecutive days, prompting a welfare check by police.
Upon entering the Moser's mobile home, authorities were met with a horrific scene. Bruce Moser was found on the bedroom floor, his hands tied behind his back, and he had been shot in the head. Margaret Moser had been tied to the bed, sexually assaulted, and shot multiple times in the head. The couple's 17-month-old daughter was found alive in the home, dehydrated but otherwise unharmed, having been alone with her deceased parents for two days. Investigators determined that the weapon used in the killings was Bruce Moser's own rifle.
The investigation into the double homicide explored several potential motives and suspects. An early theory connected the murders to a previous case in which Bruce Moser had been a witness. In that case, three men, Pete Walters, Jon Kennedy, and Richard Mills, were arrested for the murder of Ronald Parks. Bruce had witnessed the three men fleeing the scene of Parks' murder. Kennedy was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony against Walters, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Mills received a lesser sentence for his involvement. While both Kennedy and Mills were questioned in the Moser slayings, they denied any involvement and provided alibis.
Another significant person of interest in the case was Robert Leslie, a truck driver with a history of violent crimes. Leslie was a suspect in several other homicides and a kidnapping across multiple states. It was established that his trucking route passed by the Mosers' home, and he had even stopped there once to use their phone. Before he could be fully investigated in connection with the Moser murders, Robert Leslie committed suicide in a Detroit motel room. In a suicide note, he confessed to the murder of another young woman but reportedly denied his involvement in the deaths of Bruce and Margaret Moser to his sister. Despite being a prime suspect, Leslie was never definitively linked to the crime. The double murder of Margaret and Bruce Moser remains officially unsolved, a cold case that has haunted the community for decades.
