Joyce Moore was a kind and loving 60-year-old woman, known to her family and neighbors in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a generous person who would help anyone she could. A mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she was described by her childhood best friend as "my person," and her daughters remembered her overwhelming love for her family.
On the morning of Wednesday, February 22, 2023, a man knocked on the door of Moore's apartment in The Meridian complex off East Paulding Road.
When she opened it, he shot her. Police were called to the scene around 11:30 a.m. and found Moore inside, deceased. The Allen County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that Joyce Moore, a White female, died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Her death was ruled a homicide. In the wake of the killing, her daughters expressed their shock and fear, unable to understand why anyone would target their mother so violently.
The Fort Wayne Police Department investigation moved quickly. That same evening, around 9 p.m., officers located and arrested a suspect, 25-year-old Eric Underwood-McCarrol, in the area of Julian Street and Wayne Trace. He was subsequently charged with one count of murder. While court documents did not immediately reveal a motive, prosecutors would later note that Moore had trusted her killer.
In January 2024, a jury in Allen Superior Court found Eric Underwood-McCarrol guilty of murdering Joyce Moore. During his sentencing hearing on March 8, 2024, members of both families gave emotional testimony. Moore’s daughters and friends spoke of their profound loss, with one daughter stating, "He changed so many lives by taking one." Underwood-McCarrol’s family expressed their deep sympathies, describing him as a kindhearted person and suggesting that undiagnosed mental health issues may have led to the tragedy. His mother recalled that Moore herself had once called him "a good young man."
Underwood-McCarrol apologized to Moore’s family and his own before the court. The judge sentenced him to 75 years in prison for the murder, which the prosecution had described as an "execution." As of his sentencing in March 2024, Underwood-McCarrol planned to file an appeal.
