KINGWOOD, W.Va. — A Preston County woman charged with killing her mother with insulin at her Grafton home has pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Taylor County Prosecutor John Bord announced on Thursday that Kelly Moore, 61, of Arthurdale, pleaded guilty to killing her mother, Ethel Moore, by injecting her with 20 units of unprescribed insulin back in 2023 in her Grafton home. The plea agreement was formally announced in Taylor County Circuit Court during a hearing held last week, over two years after the incident took place.
“There was concern that a jury could’ve come back with an involuntary manslaughter, we couldn’t prove premeditation,” said Bord on the plea. “They had had an argument, she got mad, and she gave her insulin.”
According to Bord, Moore was living with her mother, Ethel, for about a year at the time the argument took place that prompted her to proceed with the deadly injection. Police were called to the Grafton residence on May 25, where Kelly Moore then told police that she admitted to injecting her with the insulin prescribed to herself. Ethel was also a diabetic but not prescribed any insulin. After an autopsy confirmed Ethel’s death, investigators contacted Kelly Moore’s sister, who stated that she was told by Moore that her mother died due to complications from hip replacement surgery. This was all confirmed by Moore after she was arrested and spoke with investigators.
“Based on what we learned in the last year and a half, two years, she gave her a shot, she admitted that she gave her a shot of insulin, like 20 units of insulin, and it killed Ethel,” said Bord.
It was also noted that a murder charge was originally on the table but was not pushed by the Taylor County Prosecutor’s Office due to a lack of premeditated intent in the death of Ethel Moore. According to Bord, due to the nature of the motive of the incident, added with other factors determined from interviews with Kelly Moore, voluntary manslaughter was even determined to be a tough reach for a unanimous guilty verdict from the jury. A plea was eventually agreed upon by the defense after charges were brought down to involuntary manslaughter.
“We couldn’t prove it was premeditation or that it was done out of malice,” said Bord on the main reasons why the charges were lessened to involuntary manslaughter. “She didn’t premeditate it, she didn’t plan it, she got mad, and it was in the heat of passion.”
Kelly Moore is currently on track to be sentenced to a minimum of three years in prison with a maximum sentence of 15 years. A pre-sentencing hearing will take place where victim impact statements will be read by Ethel Moore’s immediate family. With a sentence expected to be handed down not long after the pre-sentencing hearing takes place, Bord expects those statements to be a major factor in how long Kelly Moore will be in prison for killing her mother over an argument.
“The victims’ children want to speak at the presentence report, and I think that’s going to go a long way, what they have to say,” said Bord.