GRAFTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Preston County woman has been charged with murder after authorities determined she administered a fatal dose of insulin to her mother, who was not prescribed the medication.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Grafton Police Department, officers responded to a call at approximately 11:59 p.m. on May 25, 2023, regarding a cardiac arrest at an apartment on Howard Street.
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Emergency medical personnel had arrived at the scene and found the patient deceased.
Patrolman Karl Maley arrived at approximately 12:13 a.m. and spoke with EMTs outside the residence.
The caller, identified as 61-year-old Kelly Louise Moore of Arthurdale, told emergency responders that her mother’s blood sugar had been high, so she gave her 20 units of her own insulin. One of the EMTs stated, “I think she really killed her.”
Inside the apartment, Moore was found on the phone and appeared “angry and annoyed” once she ended the call. She identified the deceased as her mother, 82-year-old Ethel Lucille Moore.
Moore told police that her mother had undergone hip replacement surgery on May 19 and had been feeling unwell since returning home on May 22.
She stated that her mother’s blood sugar had been high that day, so she “gave her some of my insulin.” When asked how much, she stated, “20 units.”
Medical Examiner Brooke Davis arrived at the scene and confirmed details with law enforcement and EMS.
During questioning, Moore admitted that her mother had never been prescribed insulin but said she administered it because her mother’s blood sugar was high.
Moore explained that her mother had only eaten small amounts of food throughout the day and that her blood sugar had reached “250 or 260 something” by 8:30 p.m.
Moore, who was prescribed insulin herself, told police she typically administered 30 units to herself. When asked where she injected her mother, she pointed to the left deltoid.
Ethel Moore’s body was sent to the West Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
On August 22, 2024, Taylor County Prosecutor John Bord received a report from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.
The findings concluded that the cause of death was insulin shock, with postmortem testing showing insulin levels significantly above the normal range. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
On March 10, 2025, authorities obtained a copy of the official death certificate, which stated that Ethel Moore had been “injected with insulin by assailant.”
A family member told investigators that she had initially believed her mother had died from complications related to her surgery and was unaware of the insulin injection.
Moore has been charged with first degree murder for allegedly poisoning her mother with insulin.
She is currently at Tygart Valley Regional Jail without bond.
