kaorder1999
04-29-2008, 08:59 AM
Skeletal remains found at Dallas home could be wealthy grandmother
06:22 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
By SCOTT GOLDSTEIN and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
Police are investigating the possibility that an elderly woman lay dead inside her northwest Dallas residence for many months as one or more people continued living there.
"From what we were told, the resident had not been seen for several months," said Sgt. Gene Reyes, a homicide unit supervisor. "A skeleton was found there. ... What is a little bizarre is it appears that someone was living there with her [deceased] for some time."
Electricity was still on at the home, and the lawn and exterior were well-kept, though police said inside things were messy.
Neighbors said they saw vehicles coming and going from the home within the last week. But it had apparently been months since anyone saw Ms. Moody.
A neighbor concerned about the woman called police to the one-story, white brick home, where investigators found the remains under a sheet or blanket on a couch in a living area of the home shortly before noon, police said. The remains of a dog were found in another room of the house.
One of Ms. Moody's two grandsons lived at the home with her at some point in recent years, police said.
Late Monday, homicide detectives had spoken with one of the grandsons, though it was unclear whether he had shed any light on what happened to the fragile, little lady neighbors had grown increasingly worried about in recent years.
Neighbors described Ms. Moody as a kind but reclusive woman.
They said she seemed to have become increasingly confused in recent years.
Shannon Brame lived in the house next door to Ms. Moody's for about a year beginning in late 2005, she said. One day Ms. Moody came to her house concerned.
"She came over and knocked on my door and said, 'Tell my son to put his coat on, he needs to come home and do his homework.' " Ms. Moody then pointed to the neighbor's golden retriever.
Ms. Brame said she was so concerned about Ms. Moody that she called police more than once.
"The only reason I called police is because that poor lady was not being taken care of and that dog was not being taken care of," she said.
Records indicate police were called to the home once in 2006 regarding a woman standing outside talking to herself, police said.
Ms. Brame and other neighbors said they saw regular activity at the house.
Sue Roach, a neighbor, said she saw one of the grandsons within the last five months and saw a car come and go twice over the weekend.
"You would think if she had passed away, he would do something about it or if she was sick, take her to the hospital," Ms. Roach said.
Several days ago, Jody Ellen Moody had wondered about her former mother-in-law, whom she hadn't seen in more than 10 years.
"It's funny because I was just thinking about her the other day," Jody Ellen Moody said. "It's hard to think of someone that old living by themselves."
She was devastated to hear that the decomposed body could be Mary Mirando Moody's.
"She loved her kids," Jody Ellen Moody said. "I'm not saying she always did the right thing, but she was very loyal."
Tragedy was common in Mary Mirando Moody's life. She outlived all of her four sons – one committed suicide as a youth, one had liver disease, one died of pancreatic cancer and one may have died of natural causes, Jody Ellen Moody said.
"She loved them. Can you imagine having four boys and burying them?" Jody Ellen Moody said.
Jody Ellen Moody said her former mother-in-law was a widow whose husband was successful in the oil and gas industry.
"We'd go over there and visit whenever anything was wrong with the house," Jody Ellen Moody said. "We had dinner with her a lot of times. We took her out to brunch on Mother's Day. I still have antique furniture that she gave me."
Jody Ellen Moody said she wasn't sure whether Mary Mirando Moody's grandsons, Richard and Andy Lee, were living with her at the time.
"We took Andy Lee into our home in high school" for about 2 ½ years because he was troubled, Jody Ellen Moody said.
"We took him back to Mary's house," Jody Ellen Moody said. "We saw him off and on, and eventually we lost touch. I worry about him a lot."
She said she had not seen Richard Moody Jr. in more than 10 years.
Jody Ellen Moody remembers her former mother-in-law as a Catholic woman who regularly attended Saturday evening services, kept a clean house and had a dog. But the circumstances surrounding the latest tragedy in the family remain a mystery.
"Everybody's gone," she said. "What would it take for someone to even know?"
06:22 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
By SCOTT GOLDSTEIN and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
Police are investigating the possibility that an elderly woman lay dead inside her northwest Dallas residence for many months as one or more people continued living there.
"From what we were told, the resident had not been seen for several months," said Sgt. Gene Reyes, a homicide unit supervisor. "A skeleton was found there. ... What is a little bizarre is it appears that someone was living there with her [deceased] for some time."
Electricity was still on at the home, and the lawn and exterior were well-kept, though police said inside things were messy.
Neighbors said they saw vehicles coming and going from the home within the last week. But it had apparently been months since anyone saw Ms. Moody.
A neighbor concerned about the woman called police to the one-story, white brick home, where investigators found the remains under a sheet or blanket on a couch in a living area of the home shortly before noon, police said. The remains of a dog were found in another room of the house.
One of Ms. Moody's two grandsons lived at the home with her at some point in recent years, police said.
Late Monday, homicide detectives had spoken with one of the grandsons, though it was unclear whether he had shed any light on what happened to the fragile, little lady neighbors had grown increasingly worried about in recent years.
Neighbors described Ms. Moody as a kind but reclusive woman.
They said she seemed to have become increasingly confused in recent years.
Shannon Brame lived in the house next door to Ms. Moody's for about a year beginning in late 2005, she said. One day Ms. Moody came to her house concerned.
"She came over and knocked on my door and said, 'Tell my son to put his coat on, he needs to come home and do his homework.' " Ms. Moody then pointed to the neighbor's golden retriever.
Ms. Brame said she was so concerned about Ms. Moody that she called police more than once.
"The only reason I called police is because that poor lady was not being taken care of and that dog was not being taken care of," she said.
Records indicate police were called to the home once in 2006 regarding a woman standing outside talking to herself, police said.
Ms. Brame and other neighbors said they saw regular activity at the house.
Sue Roach, a neighbor, said she saw one of the grandsons within the last five months and saw a car come and go twice over the weekend.
"You would think if she had passed away, he would do something about it or if she was sick, take her to the hospital," Ms. Roach said.
Several days ago, Jody Ellen Moody had wondered about her former mother-in-law, whom she hadn't seen in more than 10 years.
"It's funny because I was just thinking about her the other day," Jody Ellen Moody said. "It's hard to think of someone that old living by themselves."
She was devastated to hear that the decomposed body could be Mary Mirando Moody's.
"She loved her kids," Jody Ellen Moody said. "I'm not saying she always did the right thing, but she was very loyal."
Tragedy was common in Mary Mirando Moody's life. She outlived all of her four sons – one committed suicide as a youth, one had liver disease, one died of pancreatic cancer and one may have died of natural causes, Jody Ellen Moody said.
"She loved them. Can you imagine having four boys and burying them?" Jody Ellen Moody said.
Jody Ellen Moody said her former mother-in-law was a widow whose husband was successful in the oil and gas industry.
"We'd go over there and visit whenever anything was wrong with the house," Jody Ellen Moody said. "We had dinner with her a lot of times. We took her out to brunch on Mother's Day. I still have antique furniture that she gave me."
Jody Ellen Moody said she wasn't sure whether Mary Mirando Moody's grandsons, Richard and Andy Lee, were living with her at the time.
"We took Andy Lee into our home in high school" for about 2 ½ years because he was troubled, Jody Ellen Moody said.
"We took him back to Mary's house," Jody Ellen Moody said. "We saw him off and on, and eventually we lost touch. I worry about him a lot."
She said she had not seen Richard Moody Jr. in more than 10 years.
Jody Ellen Moody remembers her former mother-in-law as a Catholic woman who regularly attended Saturday evening services, kept a clean house and had a dog. But the circumstances surrounding the latest tragedy in the family remain a mystery.
"Everybody's gone," she said. "What would it take for someone to even know?"