East Haven Mother Charged in Her Children's Deaths Pleads ‘Not Guilty'

An East Haven, Connecticut, mother charged with the murders of her two young children and who is suspected of poisoning them has pleaded not guilty, according to police. 

LeRoya Moore, 36, of Strong Street in East Haven, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and three counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree in connection with the deaths of her children, Aleisha Moore, 6, and Daaron Moore, 8.

Police found the children's bodies when they responded to a 911 call reporting a medical emergency on June 2.

One of LeRoya's friends called police after receiving a letter sent from the mother, saying she planned on committing suicide, the caller told 911 dispatchers.

During a phone call with the friend, LeRoya said she'd cut herself and told the friend she couldn't come in the house because her children were lying down inside, according to the recorded calls. That's when the friend called 911.

Police were able to get LeRoya out of the house and noticed cuts on her wrists. Inside the home, police found an active gas leak before a disturbing scene. 

Both children, who were fully clothed and on top of a blanket on the floor, appeared to have been dead for "an extended period of time," according to police.

"Their bodies were bloated to the point the skin appeared to be split and an odor consistent with that of human decomposition filled the residence," police said in the affidavit.

Autopsies were performed on the children.

However, police found 46 bottles and boxes of medication, some of which were near the children, and believe the children's deaths were the result of poisoning.

The community and the father of two kids found dead in an East Haven home gathered at a vigil in their memory.

When police spoke with LeRoya Moore, she was despondent. When police asked where the children were located, she said, "I stabbed them, I released them" and nodded when asked if she hurt her children, according to the affidavit.

Police obtained a search and seizure warrant on June 2 to search the Moore home and found a typed document on the ground near the children's feet.

"I don't know the reason why, but we were meant to die today," the letter signed by Moore said, "they should not be left to burden anyone because I am the only one who could love them like a mother. Not an institution or a social worker."

She added that she let them have fun right before the end, according to court documents.

"My older kids escaped the same fate because I was too depressed to move to make it happen," the letter went on to say.

The Department of Children and Families has been investigating Moore since 1997 and DCF had removed the three oldest of her five children from the home by DCF, according to the arrest warrant.

However, Aleisha and Daaron were left with their mother.

Moore pleaded not guilty.

After her arrest, Moore was place on a $2 million bond. She is next expected to appear in court Dec. 21.

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