Michael Darwin Moody, St Johns, Portland, Oregon man arrested in the murder of 80 year old woman, Judy Hurley, aka Judy Fivecoats after she was found stuffed inside a suitcase along Suave Island river banks.
Oregon authorities have arrested a 54 year old man after an 80 year old deceased woman was found stuffed in suitcase on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland, OR, earlier this week.
The victim, Judy Hurley, also going by the name of Judy Fivecoats was found inside the suitcase after the luggage was spotted along a the river on Suave Island, on Monday. An autopsy of the discovered body determined that the victim had been murdered according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MSCO).
Arrested in the woman’s murder, Michael Darwin Moody, 54, who was charged with second degree murder and abuse of a corpse. The suspect was arrested at an apartment in the St. Johns neighborhood on Thursday, KGW News reported.
80 year old victim claimed other people were living in her home without her permission
It wasn’t immediately clear how Moody was linked with the 80 year old woman’s death. Nevertheless KPTV reported detectives finding evidence linking them to Moody.
A couple who knew had previously expressed an interest in buying Hurley’s home along North Syracuse Street in Portland in Spring of last year, described her as ‘bedridden.’ The couple alleged the victim saying there were people living in her home ‘without her permission and stealing from her.’
‘Judy was in a pretty bad spot. People would come to the house and essentially use it as a base of operations to commit crimes. She didn’t even know who was living there,’ the couple, Leslie Ortiz and Justin Misner told KPTV.
The couple told of ‘helping Hurley move out of the home and into a retirement home.’
‘She would tell us that she loved us and told us that she thought we were family,’ Misner told KPTV. ‘She told us we were the only ones that, like, actually helped her the last couple of years.’
What led to suspect allegedly killing 80 year old Portland woman?
The couple said that Hurley eventually moved out of the retirement home ‘for medical reasons’ and they lost contact with her after that.
It is not immediately clear what happened to Hurley following her departure from the retirement home, or her ties to Moody. The investigation is ongoing, as detectives continue to gather evidence in the murder investigation, including a cause of death.
Cops released an image of a 2020 mugshot of Moody with media. The suspect is scheduled back in court on March 3.
Authorities have asked individuals who may have further information on the case to contact The Multnomah County Sherriff’s office at 503-988-0506, referencing case number 25-6042.
