Shoreline man found guilty in his wife's killing

A Shoreline man accused of killing his wife last year was found guilty of second-degree murder yesterday in King County Superior Court.

A jury returned the verdict against Jeffrey Duane Moses, 38, after more than three days of deliberation. The jury rejected the defense claim that Moses' wife, Jennifer Moses, 34, killed herself with a pistol on Sept. 27, 2002.

The defense maintained at trial that Jennifer Moses was clinically depressed and under the influence of a religious cult and had been fighting severe alcohol and drug addictions.

Deputy Prosecutor Hugh Barber argued that Jeffrey Moses, who had a history of domestic violence, killed his wife execution-style by pushing her to the ground and shooting her when it became apparent she intended to leave him.

Moses claimed that he'd tried to wrest the gun from her and that was why the bullet wound was between her ear and her spine, which experts for the prosecution said was the least likely place to find a fatal wound in a suicide.

Police and prosecutors said Moses was outside the couple's new Shoreline condominium with one of the couple's two young sons on his shoulder, drinking a beer and crying when they arrived.

Moses first told them that everything was fine and then said that his wife had killed herself. He became belligerent when police wanted to go into the house, according to court documents. Police said that when they entered the house they found Jennifer Moses' body wrapped in a carpet.

Prosecutors said the two had been drinking and arguing when Jennifer Moses, a lab technician at a cancer-research center, put her keys in her pocket and prepared to leave.

Prosecutors said she had downloaded a do-it-yourself divorce kit from the Internet just days before and that Jeffrey Moses could not bear the thought.

The trial, played out over several weeks in the courtroom of Judge Steven Gonzales, drew standing-room-only crowds on several occasions. Those attending included the victim's family members, friends and colleagues and family members of the defendant.

Jeffrey Moses, convicted of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement, faces a standard sentence range of between 20 to 28 years at his scheduled sentencing Dec. 5. Prosecutors say they will ask for a longer sentence, in part because there were children in the house when the crime occurred.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com