On Valentine’s Day 2017, Jeff Hesterley ate lunch with his girlfriend Leisa A. Holt — it was the last time he saw her alive. Holt, 60, was found dead and dismembered in her Vancouver home days later on the couple’s seven month anniversary.
“That will be the anniversary that Jeff Hesterley will never forget,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said Monday during opening statements in Kenneth Jay Moore’s murder trial.
Moore, 48, is accused of killing his mother at their Maplewood residence. He is charged in Clark County Superior Court with first-degree murder and second-degree assault after being arrested following a two-hour standoff with police.
Moore was pushed into the courtroom in a wheelchair. A stenographer took notes for him, and he held a pair of glasses up to read them during the proceedings. Moore communicated with attorneys by passing notes and made several hand gestures but did not speak.
In his opening statement to jurors, Vu outlined the couple’s final moments together and the circumstances leading to the discovery of Holt’s body.
Hesterley and Holt, who met while working at a Hilton hotel in Portland, had another thing in common. Holt cared for her adult son — Moore, whom she considered to be incapacitated — while Hesterley looked after his elderly parents. The night before their final lunch, the couple stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Vancouver for a brief retreat, Vu said.
The last known photograph of Holt was taken around 2 p.m. Feb. 14 when she made a purchase at Banana Republic. She sent her last text message to a co-worker later that night and messages received a few hours after that were unopened, Vu said.
In the following days, Holt didn’t show up for work or answer any of Hesterley’s text messages.
“They were love birds,” Vu said. “They texted constantly.”
A concerned Hesterley arrived at Holt’s home, 3715 E. 18th St., the morning of Feb. 17. He knocked on the door several times, but no one answered.
“At this point, he was getting alarmed,” Vu said.
Hesterley then used a key Holt had given him to open the front door. Moore, who was sitting on a couch in the front room, jumped up, clenched his fists and yelled at him to leave. Hesterley had never seen Moore before, despite spending several nights at the house, but recognized his voice from conversations between him and his mom through a bedroom door, Vu said.
After seeing scratches on Moore’s face, Hesterley asked him what he had done to his mother, Vu said. Moore denied doing anything, and Hesterley backed outside until the door was slammed shut.
Hesterley called police.
Several officers arrived and pounded on the front door, asking anyone who was inside to answer. After not receiving a response, the officers used Hesterley’s key to open the door, Vancouver police Officer Brian Schaffer testified Monday.
The officers entered the home, which was quiet and dark from drawn curtains, Schaffer said.
“It was dark inside to the point that I needed a flashlight,” he said.
At one point, Schaffer noticed what appeared to be a man holding a rifle. The man was standing with his back firmly against a wall in a hallway around the corner from the officers, Schaffer said.
“I got the impression that he was planning to ambush us,” he said.
The officers quickly retreated outside. At some point, Vancouver police Officer Brett Bailey, who had entered through the back of the house, had the rifle pointed at his head before he retreated as well, Vu said.
A SWAT team was called in a short time later. After using a loudspeaker to ask anyone inside the house to come out, several flash bangs — explosive devices that temporarily disorient a person’s senses — were deployed. Moore exited the house and was arrested.
In a search of the home, police found Holt’s torso inside a shower and her legs inside two plastic bags in the kitchen, Vu said. The prosecutor also said that a pool of blood was discovered next to her bed.
Holt died of multiple blunt-force head injuries, and her death was ruled a homicide by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Several different cutting instruments — with Moore’s DNA on them — were found throughout the home, and a .22-caliber rifle was found on Moore’s bed. Some pieces of duct tape on Holt’s leg also had her son’s fingerprints on them, Vu said.
Holt suffered defensive wounds to her fingers, hands and wrists; her larynx had been fractured, and she had several deep cuts to her throat and head, Vu said.
Hundreds of photos and dozens of witnesses will also be used to prove that Moore killed Holt in a pre-meditated attack and committed assault by pointing a firearm at a responding officer, Vu said.
“The evidence in this case will be so overwhelming that it will be proof without a reasonable doubt,” he said.
Louis Byrd Jr., Moore’s court-appointed attorney, reminded jurors in his brief opening statement that prosecutors have the burden of proof and that Vu’s opening statement is not considered evidence. He did not comment further.
Moore’s trial continues today.
