Dorice "Dee Dee" Donegan Moore (mugshot)
Dorice “Dee Dee” Donegan Moore is charged with first degree murder in the death of lottery winning millionaire Abraham Shakespeare. She is currently behind bars in the Hillsborough County Jail. Investigators acted quickly on a lead that Abraham’s body could be buried on the property adjacent to the home where Moore lived.
Abraham Shakespeare was a truck driver’s assistant who hit the $31 million jackpot in the Florida lottery in 2006. He spent modestly, only purchasing a Nissan Altima, a $1 million home in a gated community and a used Rolex from a pawn shop. Shakespeare told people he was on a budget and wanted to help the poor. He often lent money to friend and strangers, and ultimately, just wanted to be happy. Sadly, Shakespeare hasn’t been seen since April 2009. His mother told investigators she last spoke to him in February 2009, but he wasn’t reported missing until November 2009. In speaking with Investigator Wood from the Polk County Sheriff’s office, she has confirmed to me that Dorice Donegan “Dee Dee” Moore is a person of interest in this case. According to police, Moore is believed to have offered to give away a home worth approximately $200,000 in exchange for the recipient making a false report to law enforcement regarding an alleged recent sighting of Shakespeare.
Moore claims she helped Shakespeare disappear so he could get away from money hungry people. Investigators say she paid one of Shakespeare’s relatives $5,000.00 to hand deliver a birthday card containing cash to Shakespeare’s mother in an effort to make her think the card was from him.
Here is a summary of the press conference earlier this month: A little after 5 p.m. this evening, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee says detectives arrested Dorice Donegan Moore in Eastern Hillsborough County as she was driving her truck on State Road 39. According to the probable cause affidavit between April 6 and 7, 2009 at an unknown hour, Abraham Shakespeare was murdered.
Sheriff Gee says Moore arranged for an undisclosed witness to use a backhoe to dig a hole which was to be used for burying construction debris at her residence. She later had the worker come back to fill the in the hole. The witness identified the area where Shakespeare was found as the place he was asked to dig a hole.
Sheriff Gee says Moore wrote a letter to the victim’s mother in December 2009 in the guise of Abraham claiming to be alright. She also used Abraham’s cell phone to send messages to friends and family with the same claims. On December 27, 2009 Moore had an undisclosed witness pretend to be Abraham and make a phone call to Shakespeare’s mother claiming, once again, to be okay. Moore later admitted to detectives that she took steps to ensure others would believe the victim was still alive. Between December 29, 2009 and January 21, 2010, Moore approached an undisclosed witness asking if he knew of anyone awaiting sentencing that would be willing to take responsibility for the killing of Abraham Shakespeare in exchange for $50,000. She then told the witness that he and an accomplice would have to dig up the body and move it to another location.
On January 25, 2010, Moore met with a witness and gave him a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver and told him it was the weapon that killed Abraham Shakespeare. Sheriff Gee says that on the same day, Moore showed the witness the concrete slab where Abraham was buried. It was agreed that the body would be exhumed at 8 p.m. She then told the witness she would leave a truck to transport the body, and gave him the keys. Moore showed the witness the contents of the trailer she had purchased which included a trough, bleach, gloves, and plastic sheeting. Moore admitted to detectives she had purchased bags of lime to spread over the body when it was buried. On January 28, 2010, Abraham Shakespeare’s body was located and positively identified through fingerprints. The medical examiner’s office determined the death to be a violent homicide. This case involved not only the murder of Abraham Shakespeare, but also the possible fraud involving his fortune which is still under investigation.
It is thought that Abraham was murdered inside Moore’s single story ranch house. Sheriff Gee says, “We will seek justice for [Shakespeare] and will find all players involved, whether directly with the murder, or with the theft of his lottery winnings. We will get to all these things.”
Tags: "Dee Dee", abraham shakespeare, Donegan Moore charged with murder, lottery jackpot winner, murder
