In the quiet area just west of Parachute, Colorado, a grim discovery was made on the evening of May 11, 2021. Sixty-year-old Wayne Moore, a male who lived in his vehicle in and around the small town, was found deceased in his car, which was parked on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 6. Responding to a call about an injured person, deputies from the Garfield County Sheriff's Office arrived to find Moore unresponsive, having been shot multiple times.
The scene was quickly determined to be a homicide, prompting an extensive investigation.
For nearly three years, the case of who killed Wayne Moore remained a troubling question for the community and investigators. Detectives from the Garfield County Sheriff's Office, along with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Parachute Police Department, worked the case, conducting numerous interviews and executing several search warrants. The methodical analysis of physical evidence eventually pointed them toward a suspect. While the public was assured there was no ongoing threat, the unresolved nature of the killing left a sense of unease.
A significant breakthrough in the investigation came in May 2024, almost exactly three years after Moore's death. John Michael Worley, a 30-year-old resident of Parachute, was identified as the primary suspect. On May 10, 2024, investigators secured a warrant for his arrest, and he was taken into custody without incident later that day. Worley was charged with first-degree murder, stalking, and tampering with physical evidence, indicating a complex and premeditated crime.
Following his arrest, John Michael Worley was held at the Garfield County Jail on a $5 million bond. In January, the bond was reduced to $200,000 cash-only, but a subsequent request for a further reduction was denied in August 2025, with the judge citing the serious nature of the alleged 'execution style' killing. As the legal proceedings continue, a three-week jury trial for Worley has been scheduled to begin in February 2026, marking the next chapter in the long road toward potential justice for the death of Wayne Moore.
