Police find body of pregnant woman at home of Maryland man suspected of killing gas station clerk

BALTIMORE -- Officers found the decomposing body of a pregnant woman at the Silver Spring home of a man suspected of shooting and killing a gas station store clerk Thursday, Montgomery County police said. 

Torrey Moore, 31, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.

Officers responded around 3 p.m. to a Shell Gas Station on the 11100 block of New Hampshire Avenue for a reported shooting, where they found a clerk of the store shot multiple times.

The victim, identified as 61-year-old Ayalew Wondimu of Silver Spring, was pronounced dead on the scene. 

Investigators believe Moore went to pay for items at the counter when an argument began between him and the clerk. It escalate into a physical fight, which is when Moore allegedly opened fire. 

Police said homicide detectives tracked Moore to an apartment complex across the street from the gas station. While executing a search warrant, they found the woman's body in "an advanced stage of decomposition." 

Moore was found in the apartment and arrested. 

Moore told detectives he had been in a relationship with the woman in the apartment, and that she was eight months pregnant when she died. 

Her body had been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, where they will determine how she died and the stage of pregnancy she was in. 

The woman's identity has not been confirmed. 

An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070 or contact Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Callers can remain anonymous.