Donnell Davis, a 28-year-old Black man from Laurel, Delaware, disappeared after traveling to the Seaford area in September 2017. He was last known to have been at a residence in the 23000 block of Dove Road late on September 12. When his family could not locate him, they reported him missing on September 15. Delaware State Police searched the residence and the surrounding property, but the initial effort produced no sign of Davis and no immediate explanation for what had happened to him.
As investigators reconstructed his final movements, they learned that Davis had been inside the Dove Road home of Michael C. Moore. According to police, Davis and Moore became involved in a verbal argument. During the confrontation, Moore displayed a handgun and shot Davis. Although Davis managed to run from the residence after being wounded, he later died from his injuries. Authorities said his body was then placed in a vehicle, driven across the state line into Maryland and concealed in a wooded area near Federalsburg.
The case remained unresolved publicly for several months while Delaware and Maryland authorities continued their investigation. On February 27, 2018, Maryland State Police assisted with a search of woods on the east side of River Road in Federalsburg. Human remains were discovered and exhumed, then transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. DNA testing performed with assistance from the Delaware Division of Forensic Science confirmed that the remains belonged to Davis. The discovery transformed the missing-person investigation into a homicide case and provided investigators with evidence connecting Moore to the killing.
On March 23, 2018, the Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team went to Moore's Seaford residence and arrested him without incident. Moore, who was 47 at the time of his arrest, was initially charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. After being arraigned, he was committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of a $2.5 million cash-only bond.
The prosecution was ultimately resolved through a guilty plea rather than a trial. Moore pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. In October 2019, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation. No additional suspects or arrests were publicly identified in connection with Davis's death.
