Truth On Trial

Who Killed A Doctor's Young Beautiful Wife?

(CBS)  Decatur, Ala., sitting along the banks of the often murky Tennessee River, was once a booming river city with a thriving railroad.

Local crime reporter Jonathan Baggs says nothing shattered that quiet city like the case of 34-year-old Daniel Wade Moore. The ordeal Moore's been through has left him yearning for life's most simple pleasures, like sitting on the front porch with his sister.

Daniel learned about life the hard way - Decatur is home, except when he was living on Alabama's death row.

Daniel, who works for the local electric company, has his simple life back. But a constant part of that life is an unimaginable possibility: that he could once again become a dead man walking.

Nearly six years ago, Daniel was convicted of the murder of Karen Tipton and sent to death row. In 2005, the conviction was overturned, but he now faces another trial, and once again the death penalty.

"Time and time again you get a little bit of hope only to have the carpet jerked right out from under you. You can only take that so many times before you learn to quit hoping," he tells correspondent Erin Moriarty.

Dr. David Tipton also struggles to hang on to hope. He once lived in Decatur, on the other side of the tracks from Daniel.

Tipton, a psychiatrist, was raising his daughters Caroline and Catherine in their leafy Decatur neighborhood until something went terribly wrong: the brutal murder of Karen.

What happened nine years ago to Karen would connect David to Daniel in ways neither man could have imagined. Certainly not back in 1984, when David, a medical student, first met the beautiful blonde technician at an Alabama hospital.

Karen's brother Lance and sister Laurie say after five years of dating, Karen decided David was the one. "She said at one point, you know, 'He is just a great guy. He's gonna make some person a great husband. It might as well be me,'" Laurie remembers.

The first thing Karen wanted to do was start a family.

But the Tiptons' seemingly idyllic like came to an abrupt end on March 12, 1999, when David says he came home from work earlier than usual that day to go to the theatre.

When he walked from the garage into the house, he noticed the deadbolt on the door was not locked. Inside, he also noticed that the alarm panel had been removed from the wall. He found it lying on a kitchen counter.

"It was unusual. But it was not so weird. Given the fact that our alarm system was not working and we were expecting it to be fixed," he remembers.

David went into the foyer to hang up his coat. As he was calling for his wife, he says he noticed a small drop of blood on a tile in the foyer. "The next thing I saw was more blood. In the foyer, toward the door," he remembers. "And I walked up the stairs and was the most surprised person on the face of the earth to find a dead body there that looked somewhat like Karen."

Karen’s nude body was lying at the top of the stairs. She had been stabbed 28 times, and her throat had been cut.

David called 911. "She is dead. I have no idea where my children are. There's blood everywhere. I’m really concerned about my children," he told the operator.

Investigators began searching for clues, as officers tracked down the Tipton children, who were still at school where they had never been picked up.

Who would kill this 39-year-old housewife and mother? The crime scene was puzzling: David reported that Karen's purse and some jewelry were missing, but her diamond ring was still on her finger and there was no evidence of forced entry. Most striking of all was how brutal and vicious the killing was - a sign to investigators that the killer may have been someone who knew Karen.

"Even from the beginning, I realized that I had to be a suspect. Because I was the first on the scene and the husband. I knew that," David says.

Police believed Karen was murdered sometime between 1 p.m. - after a phone call to a friend - and 2:30 pm when she was supposed to pick up the kids from school. David's office manager said he left his office in neighboring Huntsville at 3:30 p.m.

Jonathan Baggs, then working for the Decatur Daily, heard the report come across his police radio. He says that once police ruled out Karen's husband, they faced another problem. "There was a lot of pressure to solve this case and solve it very quickly," he remembers.

But days, then weeks went by with no solid leads.

Until one month later, when a high speed chase of a random shoplifter ended with the arrest of Daniel Wade Moore, then just 24 years old. Some 48 hours later, in a twist no one could have predicted, police believed they had found Karen's killer.

[litmiss]

DWM found "not guilty" on all counts. 5/15/09

[kenjbis]

I cannot believe the injustice from this case. Trials are suppose to be about the 5 w's (who what when were and why). A defense team is to prove its point on those points. This case is about slander and rumors and heresay with no proof to backup the defenses claim. The entire defenses case is slanted to build hypothetical alternitives with absolutely no real facts to back them up. It is the judges duty to not alow that in his court room but in this mockery of a case it has been allowed.

The two hairs that have been mentioned are not two hairs found anywhere. These are hairs found with blood on them in the bloody bed and found in the bloody wash clothe the killer used to cleen up. That absolutely without a doubt places Daniel Moore at the crime scene when the murder took place on that day. With the testing on the hairs being 1 out of 7.5 million it is injustice to the victom and victom's family to not find this killer guilty.

Also I have refused to watch another episode of 48 hour mystery because of their coverage. They have built this to be a movie and have slanted the TRUTH. Because of this all of their reports are tainted and is not worth watching.

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.
Hard evidence outweighs rumors and speculation everyday ... unless this is Decator, AL

Also not that only a defence motion can change the venue (location) of the trial. This is so that a "fair" trial can be heard. In this case with the small town local boy mentality the only fair trial would to move it out of that area. The victom's family has rights also and deserve to have a fair trial. This case needed to be moved out of that county.

[rocketier]

there were 5 jurors on the program and only one voted guilty.

Good for Daniel that he has a supportive family.

He was not found guilty during a fair and unbiased trial.
The trial where he was voted guilty was thrown out because of the acts of the prosecution. All the evidence and wittnesses were not heard/presented. In a trial where all the evidence was submitted, we had a hung jury.

Meg have you ever watched real murder interrogations on tv. The intensity. The badgering to get a confession. He was a drug addict. He wanted a fix. They were holding him there and hammering him with accusations of murder. That's what interagators do. They torture suspects to get a confession. Deprive them of sleep, make threats, rough them up a bit sometimes.

What about the wet shower at the Tiptons. What about the neighbor that saw her at the mailbox. What about the drugs found in the Tipton home. What about no trail of blood going down the steps. What about the paver saying Daniel was not the person he spoke to. What about the paver saying Tipton got home 90 minutes before the police. What about no blood on Daniels clothing, car, house, motel room. Nothing on his tools.

How about no finger prints at the scene. How bout the "wrong" facts Daniel made when he talked about being there when she was killed. Even the wrong city.

How bout Daniel had been to the house previously which would explain hair at the scene or where they planted. If it was a sexual assault, why was there no *****...or was there and it wasn't Daniels.

Sloppy investigation is the problem....it is not the fault of the defense attorney or Daniels family or the majority of the people in Deatur who say they do not have a case to convict Daniel. It is not the fault of the judge who threw the first trial out. It is that there is too much reasonable doubt to believe this man should be in prison.

I also believe the prosecution "finding" the missing hard drive will be another problem for the prosecution as well as Daniel being put in jail for a positive marijuana drug test the day the trial started only to have a "hair" sample prove he hasn't done any drugs for as long as the hair as grown on his head. I am sure the defense attorney will say...oh tests on his hair are good enough to be used to put him to death but not good enough to prove he didn't violate his probation.

How about the defense motive for murder. Sure makes sense to the majority of the people.

[Meg003]

Where in the world does CBS get the idea that one juror knows how Decatur feels?

I live in the area and I am afraid of that killer Daniel Moore. He is guilty as sin. He admitted it and stabbed himself while being interviewed.

His has a large, very vocal family who have screamed to anyone who will listen that he is innocent trying to get him off, but his guilt has been proven. If the woman had not been beautiful and living an unconventional lifestyle, he would be in prison.

[rocketier]

3rd trial started yesterday. karen's lost hard drive was found? after 10 years? found the friday before jury selection was to begin. lets see. conviction overturned because of suppression of evidence. lost/found evidence supports defense theory. and we are suppose to believe this was an accident.

i have often wondered what happen to her computer hard drive. the prosecutors didnt think her hard drive was important? so it sits somewhere for 10 yrs. after all that has transpired concerning the mishandling of evidence and we are suppose to believe this was lost.

daniel was jailed for marijuana use before the trial began. testing his hair proves he has not used mj or another drug but he is still in jail.

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. give it up prosecutor. you guys screwed up. big time. and you think a conviction of daniel will vindicate you, wrong

[psims43]

and by the way...Dr. TIpton was a Psychiatrist in Huntsville....and if word got out that he had porn, gay porn, nudity on his computer that would ruin his reputation and credibility as a doctor. Now most believe that Daniel was a gothic guy, drug attic and so on, but that is not true also...Daniel might have put the alarm in with his co-worker that week, but an electrician would not DISARM it by slowing taking it off the wall wire by wire....they would just disarm it completely by pressing the code which alot of people knew the code. As for evidence?? they are botched just like the urine test was last week ..a day before the trial...It is now 2 days into the new trial and some of the people watching in the courtroom are being interviewed by the media and are telling them....things just don't point to Daniel Wade Moore!..Now go figure!

[psims43]

You want a theory??...I have been following the case from day one....I live just 30 minutes away from Decatur, Alabama where it happened and know that Daniel is innocent!. Karen found gay porn in the computer which her attorneys had for 10 years without telling Daniel's Attorney..They wait until the friday before the trial begins to say..." Hey look what we have!"..Daniel's attorney filed for the charges to be dropped due to withholding evidence...Then that same day daniel takes a urine test for drugs...which he has passed 47 within a year and it comes back POSITIVE for THC.Ok, here is the kicker....Daniel's attorney gets a hair sample from daniel that same day and runs a test on it for drugs..Guess what??........it's NEGATIVE..but the judge wouldn't release daniel...Now everyone knows that if your loves one was murdered and you found them, you wouldn't call 911 and be so calm like talking to a friend about the weather, you would be frantic, screaming, shaking, beyond yourself!!..Dr. Tipton was so cool and collective and that is a real eyeopener..I think that Karen found the porn, questioned her husband because she found out that he like to look and probably meet gay men....and he killed her..Daniel might have record of Mariguana abuse, but that wouldn't make you brutally kill someone...and if Daniel did do it, why didn't he run when he was out of jail....the boy got a job and resumed his life until the BOTCHED **** test!...Where is the good ole Doctor?? Oh, thats right, he moved to another state..wonder why??...Daniel I pray to god that they find you innocent and start questioning the damn doctor!!!

[lucanvillage]

I have just watched this program via internet. How anyone cannot see the husband murdered his wife is beyond me. Ask yourself one question. What man comes home, finds his wife brutally murdered and then makes a 911 call like that. That 911 call was so cool, calm and collected. Not a trace of emotion. I can tell you if any normal human being walked in their house and saw the alarm ripped off the wall and blood on the floor they would be running and screaming and searching. Not nonchalantly calling 911. I say Give him a polygraph. His whole facial expressions and the way he talks gives me the creeps. There is something about him that really makes me nervous. The man working in the yard next door said the husband was home. And the woman driving down the road saw the victim at the mailbox. There is something so creepy about the husband. My intuition tells me he is guilty.

[Meg003]

carolcape

CBS chooses to leave out much of the evidence against Moore, but he provided detailed of slashing and stabbing Karen Tipton that had not been made public. Police also have a DNA match that is 99.8% certain to be Moore, and cannot be the husband.

Moore worked for the alarm company that maintained the Tipton home alarm, malfunctioning the week of the murder, so Karen Tipton would have let him in to fix the alarm. He told a relative that he was in the Tipton home robbing it when she was killed, and his hair was found on the scene.

He''s the killer. And he''s walking the streets free.

[carolcape]

I did not see the program, but do believe I have seen this at another time. I do not believe that her husband committed this crime. I believe that Mr. Moore committed this crime. Most times the person who committed the crime would not put themselves in the situation where they would find the body. There was not a lot of time here for him to have become enraged, committed the crime, get all cleaned up, destroy his bloody clothing, remove the alarm, I daresay he would have been some kind of a superman to have done all this. I believe Moore did commit this crime and that Mr. Morin is innocent.

[a-ji]

David seems guilty but because of Daniel''s stupidity giving false confession he threw himself to the police and gave David the title "not guilty". Let''s hope the real guilty one will be put to jail in 2009.

[dinorahhinoj]

David Tipton is not being honest, you can see it in his eyes, his way of speaking. Look closely at his mouth when he speaks, the way his eye brows move up, this is not a sincere man and he knows exactly what happened to his wife and how. There is a lot more that he should share for the sake of his children.

[awinslow2]

I can not dismiss Daniel Moore as a suspect in this case for two reasons: 1. He had been to the house before. 2. The alarm control board had been removed. The fact the alarm control board was removed points to someone who did not know it wasn''t functioning at the time. If Dr. Tipton committed the crime, he knew the alarm was not functioning. I do admit the removal of the board might have been done to throw off investigators. It would be interesting to know when Dr. Tipton moved from the area. Was any other incriminating evidence found on Daniel Moore? Why did the investigators dismiss Dr. Tipton as a suspect so early?

[Meg003]

Ikolekt

The first jury, back in 2002, convicted him, but the conviction was overturned because the judge ruled the defense did not have proper access to some files. The second trial, nine years after Mrs. Tipton''s murder, ended in a mistrial. Of course, this favors the defense. The longer they can drag this out, the more witnesses may die or have less clear memories, and the more lies the defense can spread.

This case has so much evidence pointing to Daniel Wade Moore that it is scary to think of this man out on the streets. There is no doubt in my mind at all that he is guilty.

[ikolekt]

I didn''t see the end of 48 hours on the Tipton murder. Was Daniel found innocent? or not?

[Meg003]

Are you people who think Moore is innocent aware that he became a suspect after he told a family member he was in the house robbing it when she was murdered? The police did not coerce him. He brought himself into the investigation. He DNA was on the scene. The husband was cleared. He was miles away in Huntsville at the time of her death.

Like Bundy, Daniel Wade Moore has a cult-like following of people who cannot believe his did this murder, though the evidence is clear.

[roscoezzz]

I think the Doctor husband murdered his wife who had had extra-marital affairs. That''s why his friend asked to WIFE SWAP. The marriage was over and the doctor snapped.
I think the authorities wanted an easy target and easy conviction. So, they went after the local crack cocaine druggie. He was stupid to confess though.
Interesting how a certain woman saw the wife alive on the afternoon when she was supposedly murdered.
What''s with the GAY PORN on the good doctor''s home computer? Hmmm....

[Meg003]

If this had been a CSI case, no one would doubt the guilt of Daniel Wade Moore. Like Ted Bundy, Moore is a cold-blooded manipulator. The evidence is clear; how anyone cannot see it is beyond me.

[ncpc9108]

I live in the same county where this murder took place, so I have read all the articles and watched all the shows about it. Mr. Moore I believe was a troubled young man and did some foolish things, but being on drugs does not make you a murderer. Mr. Moore was not capable of this kind of rage and not capable of doing a crime of this nature with out leaving finger prints or some other evidence. The DNA they have is a joke. Mr. Tipton on the other hand does have the ability to do this type of LOVE HATE crime. Mrs. Tipton found he was looking at porn on the computer and confronted him. The Tipton''s were also involved in drugs and the wild life, affairs with other people, according to some reports. It''s a case of the good ole boy''s here, if you got money and know the right people you CAN get away with murder. Mr. Tipton was to adamant that Mr. Moore committed this crime, maybe his way of hiding the truth. The only one who knows for sure is Mrs. Tipton.

[mythoughtz]

while i find it hard to believe mr moore committed this murder it is his own fault he is in this mess.

if he didn''t ''volunteer a confession'' to his uncle perhaps the police would have put more of an effort into finding the actual murdered.

due to mr moore''s own actions, the police are refusing to back down. to do so will cause them to look like fools and possibly open them to a lawsuit from mr moore.

i hope the third trail does not end in a hung jury. but i also hope mr moore is barred from suing the state.