A West Virginia woman is facing murder charges nearly two years after she allegedly killed her 81-year-old mother by injecting her with insulin.
Kelly Moore, now 61, had been living with her mother Ethel Moore in Grafton in May 2023 after she had been elected to care for her because she was not married and there “wasn’t anybody else” to do it, according to the Grafton Police Department.
Just before midnight on May 25, 2023, police responded to a report of cardiac arrest at the home and found Ethel Moore dead at the scene.
Moore told police that her mother’s blood sugar had spiked to 250 so she gave her 20 units of her own insulin. She added that her mother, who recently had a full hip replacement, had not been feeling well for a couple of days.
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As she described her mother’s health ailments to police, officers noticed she “seemed very annoyed,” according to court documents obtained by Law&Crime.
Moore explained that her mother had heart problems, arthritis, dementia and “all kinds of s*** wrong with her” and told police “that’s why I’m here with her,” police said.
It was later claimed that on the day of her death, Ethel Moore had called her other daughter who lived in Florida and claimed Kelly Moore “wasn’t doing nothing for her,” according to the affidavit. So the sister called from Florida “freaking out” about her not helping.
Moore had been living with her mother in order to take care of her (West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
Moore reportedly checked her mother’s blood sugar twice and found that it was high both times, which led to her injecting her mother with 20 units of insulin in the shoulder.
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Although Moore, who weighs about 275 pounds, is diabetic and says she is prescribed insulin, her mother, who was just 130 pounds, is not, police said. The insulin Moore injected had not been prescribed to her mother.
An autopsy determined Ethel Moore died of insulin shock and the manner of death was homicide, police said.
Kelly Moore’s sister said she was never told that her mother was injected with insulin, leading her to believe she died of complications of the hip surgery, according to court documents.
Ethel Moore died of insulin shock and the manner of death was homicide, police said (Bartlett Funeral Home and Crematory)
Moore is charged with murder and is currently in custody at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
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According to Ethel Moore’s obituary, she “liked taking trips to Walmart and McDonalds where she always found someone to talk to. She also enjoyed relaxing while reading a good book, loved spending time with her family and cherished the time she spent with each of them.”
Join the Main Street Morgantown family-friendly holiday shopping event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 13) in Downtown Morgantown.
The event will feature a district-wide scavenger hunt for a chance to win prizes and the opportunity to explore holiday pop-up markets by Hoot and Howl, The Co-Op and Apothecary Ale House.
While exploring downtown shops, participants who spot DASH the Dog can collect stamps. Each stamp brings participants closer to the chance of winning prizes from downtown merchants such as gift cards and goods. To qualify for prizes, completed Downtown Dash Guides with five or more stamps must be turned into Hoot and Howl, The Co-Op, Apothecary Ale House or at Breezeline’s play-to-win tent on Courthouse Square.
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As a break from shopping, parents and their little ones can visit Kids Craft, Cookies & Cocoa Central at the WARD Building to enjoy a complimentary hot cocoa and cookie bar and children’s crafts provided by Hotel Morgan sponsored by Main Street Morgantown and Breezeline.
Visitors can also visit the beautiful 25-foot-tall holiday tree on display at Courthouse Square, a collaboration between the City of Morgantown, Monongalia County and Main Street Morgantown.
Sponsored by Breezeline, the Downtown Dash celebrates the holiday season, promotes walking and shopping throughout the downtown district, and supports local businesses by driving foot traffic directly to storefronts.
WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia First Foundation visited the Wheeling Police Department to commend its efforts in addressing the area’s mental health and opioid crisis.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger presented to the WVFF board, highlighting the department’s progress.
Schwertfeger attributed a 14% decrease in Group A crimes from 2024 to 2025 to the department’s crisis intervention program.
“Just another great partnership,” he said. “More collaboration in this area that we are very proud of and we want to keep the momentum going,.”
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WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board praised the program’s success.
“This in particular, the CIT program, that isn’t just in the ether, but is showing success – actual scientific success about de-escalation, about bringing together services providers and to boots on the ground and first responders, this is vitally important to not only this region but the entire state,” Board said.
The visit was part of WVFF’s ‘Hold the Line’ tour across the state.
Now that you know about West Virginia’s2026 recruiting class, I figured it’d be a good time to give a little insight into those who were once committed to the Mountaineers and landed elsewhere.
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What happened, and where did they go?
QB Brodie McWhorter (Mississippi State)
McWhorter committed to Neal Brown and his coaching staff, but reopened his recruitment when the coaching change was made. Rich Rodriguez did recruit him at the beginning, holding several conversations with him before backing off and pursuing Jyron Hughley and Legend Bey. Hughley committed, Bey committed to Ohio State (signed with Tennessee), while WVU added two more quarterbacks in Wyatt Brown and John Johnson III.
RB Jett Walker (Texas)
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Walker fit the bill for what Rodriguez wanted in the backfield. A big, physical presence who could absorb contact and hammer it in between the tackles. With multiple backs committed and feeling good about a few others, WVU didn’t feel pressed to hold onto him. Walker flipped to Minnesota and then flipped to Texas just three weeks later
WR Jeffar Jean-Noel (Georgia Tech)
Jean-Noel was the second recruit to commit to Rodriguez in the 2026 class, but reopened his recruitment in mid-April. He then considered Purdue, Pitt, Kentucky, UCF, and Florida State before landing at Georgia Tech.
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OL Justyn Lyles (Marshall)
The Mountaineers had a number of offensive line commits, and with the late additions of Kevin Brown and Aidan Woods, and their chances of securing Jonas Muya, Lyles took a visit to Marshall and flipped his commitment.
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LB Caleb Gordon (North Carolina)
Gordon’s commitment to WVU was very brief. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest of the bunch, announcing his pledge on November 24th and then flipping to NC State on the first day of the early signing period (December 3rd).
LB Daiveon Taylor (Kent State)
Taylor was the first commit in the class; however, it was so early that he was committed to Neal Brown’s staff, announcing his decision in April of 2024. He backed off that pledge the very day Brown was fired (December 1st) and eventually signed with Kent State.
CB Emari Peterson (unsigned)
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Peterson decommitted from WVU just days before signing day, likely due to the Mountaineers zeroing in on a pair of JUCO corners in Rayshawn Reynolds and Da’Mun Allen. He will sign in February and currently has offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Liberty, LSU, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Toledo, Wake Forest, and a few others.
S Aaron Edwards (committed to Tulsa)
West Virginia chose to part ways with Edwards and ultimately replaced his spot with fellow JUCO safety Da’Mare Williams.
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S Jaylon Jones (undecided)
Jones decommitted in late October and did not sign during the early signing period. He will likely choose between Central Michigan, Hawai’i, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas State.
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S Taj Powell (Louisville)
Taj is the brother of former Mountaineer basketball guard Jonathan Powell, who is now at North Carolina. He decommitted the day after West Virginia lost to Ohio and flipped to Louisville that same day.
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