By By ROBERT BLANKENSHIP – Managing Editor
A man accused in the murder of a former Escambia County resident was found guilty by a jury this week.
Daniel Wade Moore, 28, will be sentenced during a hearing on Jan. 17 for the death of Karen Croft Tipton. The same Morgan County jury that found him guilty suggested to Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson on Friday that he receive a life sentence without opportunity for parole. The judge has the option to levy the death penalty.
The jury found Moore guilty of four counts of capital murder after deliberating for about three hours. He was also found guilty on charges of kidnapping, sexual abuse, robbery and burglary. The jury did not convict Moore on the charge of murder during the course of rape.
Moore did testify in the hearing, admitted to his crack addiction, but said he did not murder Tipton.
Tipton, who attended W.S. Neal High School, was found stabbed to death at her home near Decatur, Ala. on March 12, 1999. She was married to Dr. David Tipton and has two daughters, Catherine and Caroline. Tipton was a graduate of W.S. Neal High School, Jefferson Davis Community College and Troy State University. Tipton's mother, Ann Croft, still lives in the Keego Community.
Croft credited the Alabama Attorney General's Office for their work during the trial. Members of that office prosecuted the case. She said the case was progressing slowly prior to their taking it over.
Prosecutors said they believe strong DNA evidence played an important role in the verdict.