Schaumburg man held without bail in murder of Berwyn couple
Authorities said a Schaumburg medical transport driver befriended a Vietnam veteran he took back-and-forth to the hospital, but "lost control" when he killed the man and his wife in their Berwyn home.
Roger Scoby, 40, was ordered held without bail Saturday after being charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Ira Moore, 67, and his wife, Tommie Moore, 70. Police say he provided a videotaped confession admitting to the crime following his arrest Thursday.
Scoby, wearing black glasses and a gray sweatshirt during his afternoon bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, waved to his grandmother in the audience, who waved back. She declined to comment after the hearing.
Scoby, an Uber driver and an employee of a bus transportation company that contracts with the Hines VA hospital, provided Ira Moore rides to the local VA, but also struck up a friendship with him, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Ferrell said in court Saturday. Scoby made occasional social visits to the victims' house on the 3000 block of South Oak Park Avenue in Berwyn, including a visit around 3 p.m. March 30, bringing with him a six-pack of beer, Ferrell said.
Ira Moore, a double amputee with diabetes, was in the kitchen in his wheelchair when authorities say Scoby shot him in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. Tommie Moore came into the kitchen, where Scoby stabbed her in the chest with a 12-inch kitchen knife, then fired a gunshot to her head, Ferrell said.
Authorities say Scoby fled with two guns that belonged to Ira Moore and four shell casings.
Early the next morning, the victims' nephew, who lives in the upstairs apartment of the two-story house, noticed the first-floor light still on. He walked into the kitchen and discovered his uncle face down on the ground and his aunt nearby with the knife protruding from her chest - both in pools of blood, Ferrell said.
The nephew later told police he recalled hearing a "popping and thud," followed by another popping and thud the previous afternoon, but thought only they had dropped something.
Police later connected physical evidence from the house and Scoby's vehicle to him, including fingerprints on a bottle of Mickey's malt liquor beer. Surveillance video from a Stickney liquor store also shows Scoby purchasing the six-pack he brought to the Moore's house, Ferrell said.
Andrew Holmes, a Chicago community activist, was in court Saturday to represent the victims' family, who were burying their loved ones the same day. He said he had to hold back tears as prosecutors described details of the crime, and admitted it would continue to be hard on the family.
"He was befriended and betrayed, and that's tough," said Holmes, who helped police canvass the Berwyn neighborhood to find witnesses who may have heard or seen something. "You have to watch who your friends are."
Scoby served 10 years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery in 1994, and received a sentence of probation in 1993 for criminal trespass to vehicle.
Scoby's public defender said he has worked at MV Transportation for the last three years, is single with two children, and lives with his mother in Chicago. But Berwyn police say he has been living with his fiance at her Schaumburg apartment for less than a year.
Rick Fox, a Hines VA spokesman, said the agency's agreements with transportation providers require background checks for all drivers. He added that the agency "will be working with our providers to fully understand this situation and take actions as appropriate."
Ira Moore had been receiving care at the hospital for years, and was known to the staff as someone "who was always more concerned about his wife than himself," Fox said. Hines employees were "shocked and saddened" by the news about the Moores, Fox added.
Officials at MV Transportation didn't respond to a request for comment Saturday.