In the summer of 2024, a missing person case that began in Perry County, Alabama, culminated in a grim discovery in neighboring Dallas County and the arrests of two individuals. The victim was identified as 23-year-old Christian Moore of Newbern. Moore was last seen leaving his residence at 1 a.m. on a Thursday morning. A search for him was initiated, involving a helicopter and State Bureau of Investigation agents, after indications of foul play arose.
Phone records initially led
investigators to believe Moore might have been in Bibb County, but the search eventually shifted to Dallas County after his phone pinged in that area. There, on County Road 230 in Valley Grande, authorities located Moore's truck, which had been completely burned. Inside the vehicle, they found a charred body, which investigators believed to be Moore.
The investigation revealed that Moore had been visiting a woman named Artavis Thomas at her home, where another man, Anthony Finney, was also present. An altercation reportedly broke out, leading to gunfire. Following the incident, authorities allege that Thomas and Finney placed Moore's body in the passenger side of his own truck. Finney then allegedly drove Moore's vehicle, with Thomas following in another car, to County Road 230, where they set the truck on fire with Moore's body inside.
Artavis Thomas of Perry County was arrested in July and charged with murder, tampering with evidence, criminal mischief in the first degree, and abuse of a corpse. Anthony Finney, a 30-year-old from Montgomery, was also identified as a suspect and a search for him was initiated by police and U.S. Marshals. After eluding capture and reportedly leaving the state, Finney returned to Alabama and turned himself in to the Selma Police Department in August. He faces the same charges as Thomas: murder, tampering with evidence, criminal mischief in the first degree, and abuse of a corpse. Both suspects were being held in the Dallas County Jail without bond awaiting court proceedings.
