MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Police have identified a pregnant woman whose body was found inside a Silver Spring apartment after a deadly convenience store shooting earlier this month.
Officers confirmed the woman found inside the Enclave Apartment was 26-year-old Denise Middleton. Investigators believe she was killed sometime in October, more than a month before her body was discovered.
Middleton's body was found while police were serving a search warrant related to the shooting death of a convenience store clerk on Dec. 8. They entered and found Middleton's body in an "advanced state of decomposition."
Officers obtained a search warrant for the residence of Torrey Damien Moore, 31, who they said shot and killed a store clerk during an argument the day before.
Ayalew Wondimu, 61, an employee of the Dash In Convenience Store, located in the 11100 block of New Hampshire Avenue, was killed during that altercation, according to police.
It is believed Moore was living in the apartment alongside Middleton's body. At the time of his arrest, police say Moore told investigators that he was in a relationship with Middleton and that the two allegedly got into an argument that led to her death.
Middleton, who was 38 weeks pregnant at the time, was found in the bedroom, in an advanced stage of decomposition and she was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) for an autopsy, which revealed that Middleton had been shot multiple times.
The fetus, a boy, would have lived if he'd been delivered at the time of Middleton's death, according to OCME.
Moore has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder of Wondimu, Middleton, and the fetus. He also faces a charge of crime of violence against a pregnant person.
He is currently being held without bond.
MCPD found the body of a woman who was believed to be pregnant. She was found when police searched the home of a man say shot and killed a convenience store clerk.