Florida Woman Found Guilty In Murder Of Lottery Winner
Tampa, FL — A woman was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the slaying of a central Florida lottery winner.
Dorice “Dee Dee Moore” was sentenced to a mandatory sentence of life without parole by Judge Emmet Battles, who called her “cold, calculating, and cruel.” Battles also sentenced Moore to an additional minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years for using a gun in the commission of a felony. She has 30 days to appeal the sentence.
Jurors deliberated for over three hours before finding Moore guilty. She showed no emotion as the jury foreman read the verdict.
“I can sleep good at night because I know I had done the very best job,” defense attorney Byron Hileman said. “I feel sad for the victim. I feel sad for their families. I feel sad for the defendant because these types of cases are no-win situations.”
Moore was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 47-year-old Abraham Shakespeare, who won a $30 million Florida Lotto jackpot in 2006. Moore approached Shakespeare, who was illiterate, in 2008 about writing a book discussing how people had taken advantage of him after he won the lottery.
Shakespeare had given away or spent most of his winnings at the time he and Moore met. She eventually became his financial advisor and controlled all of his assets.
Shakespeare disappeared in 2009 and was body was found under a concrete slab behind Moore’s Hillsborough home in January 2010. Moore identified the gun that was used to kill Shakespeare as hers, but her lawyer claimed the evidence against her was circumstantial.
