AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 23-year-old man is facing a murder charge after his 81-year-old neighbor was found dead inside his southeast Austin apartment last weekend, according to an arrest affidavit.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, family members of Leonard Foster, 81, asked for a welfare check because they had not heard from him since Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Family members went to Foster’s apartment and found that the front door was unlocked, and no one was there.
About an hour later, the family called police again and said Foster’s vehicle was now on scene and being driven by a man who they described as tall and wearing a hat, blue jeans, and a blue/white shirt. The man was identified by police as Tamorian Moore, 23.
The family told police this seemed unusual because Foster did not allow anyone else to drive his vehicle.
Police received several more reports over the next half hour about the man, according to the affidavit. They are detailed below:
3 p.m.: Caller said they witnessed a Black man walking to Foster’s apartment carrying trash bags and “looking nervous.”
3:15: Secondary caller reports the same man was wearing latex gloves and carrying trash bags, then got into a black GMC pickup truck. Police ran the license plate number and it came back as belonging to Foster.
3:27: Caller said the same man pointed a gun at them, causing the caller to leave the area in fear of being shot.
3:59: APD officers arrive on the scene and found Moore carrying a black trash bag over his shoulder.
According to the affidavit, Moore then started running from officers, the affidavit stated. He was detained shortly after.
An officer discovered a handgun in his right pants pocket, and officers found a door key in his possession. The affidavit stated that officers also noted Moore’s shoes were wet and smelled like a strong cleaning product.
According to the affidavit, police found a pillow with red stains consistent with blood and paper towels containing what also appeared to be blood inside the trash bag.
Officers conducted a welfare check inside the apartment and found two jugs of bleach on the kitchen counter that looked like they had been used. The affidavit noted that bleach is commonly used for cleanup in homicide cases.
Police interviewed Moore, who said he lived at the apartment complex but did not give his unit number.
Moore said he “lived across from a pedophile” who had “been watching him since he moved in,” according to the affidavit. When police questioned him about this, Moore said he didn’t want to talk about him.
When an officer asked Moore if he killed Foster, Moore responded that he didn’t, but Lucifer did. Moore said he didn’t know how because he “blacked out,” according to the affidavit.
An officer who responded to the scene noted that he heard loud music coming from the apartment across from Foster’s and did not receive a response when knocking on the door during canvassing for potential witnesses.
Later that night, a detective used the door key that was found in Moore’s possession on the apartment across from Foster’s. The key was a match and it unlocked the front door.
Immediately upon entering Moore’s apartment, the officer found Foster’s body, the affidavit states.
Moore was charged with murder based on his statements and evidence collected at the scene, according to the affidavit.
Attorney information for Moore wasn’t immediately available. KXAN will update this story if it receives a statement on Moore’s behalf.
According to online booking records, Moore was booked into the Travis County Jail at 3:28 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 19. His bond was set at $1,000,000.