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Murder of Romona Moore

SOLVED2003East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Romona Moore was a 21-year-old Hunter College honors student living with her family in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. Born in Guyana on October 8, 1981, she had immigrated with her parents and was, at the time of her disappearance, a third-year psychology honors student described as a responsible high achiever.

On April 24, 2003, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Moore left home to meet a friend. She left that friend around 9:00 p.m., saying she intended to eat at a Burger King at Church and Remsen avenues, but she never arrived and was not seen again by family or friends. When her mother, Ellie Carmichael, reported her missing the next day, police suggested she might be with friends and declined to open a case; the family posted their own fliers, and police did not formally open an investigation until April 28. Around this time, police in Manhattan were separately publicizing the disappearance of Svetlana Aronov, a rare book dealer, whose body was later found in the East River.

Several days after Moore vanished, a 15-year-old girl reported to police that she had been abducted by two men, taken to an empty house, and raped before escaping. Approximately two months after Moore's disappearance, her mother received an anonymous phone call directing her to an address on Kings Highway; the caller was never identified. Police searched an abandoned, burned house at the location and found Moore's nude body, wrapped in a blanket, outside the structure. She had been severely beaten about the head and chest, and the basement had been flooded in an apparent attempt to destroy forensic evidence.

Two men, Troy Hendrix and Kayson Pearson, were arrested, aided in part by the 15-year-old's report. They were indicted on charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping, rape, and torture; the death penalty, initially sought, was dropped following a 2004 court ruling. At trial, prosecutors described days of captivity, rape, and torture with a knife, saw, hammer, and barbell. A witness, Romando Jack, testified he had seen Moore chained and held captive in a basement but did not report it to police at the time. On January 19, 2006, during the initial trial, Pearson stabbed his attorney and Hendrix attempted to seize a bailiff's gun; both were subdued, leading to a mistrial and additional charges. In a second trial, on March 23, 2006, both men were convicted of kidnapping, rape, torture, and first-degree murder. On April 11, 2006, they were sentenced to life without parole, plus 22 years for the courtroom escape attempt. The two were also convicted separately of abducting and raping the 15-year-old girl.

In 2008, Carmichael filed a federal lawsuit against the NYPD, alleging racial bias in the handling of missing-persons cases involving Black women, contrasting the response to her daughter's case with the response to Svetlana Aronov and to Imette St. Guillen, a white graduate student who disappeared and was found raped, tortured, and murdered around the same period as the trial. The case was cleared for trial by Judge Nina Gershon, but in August 2014 Gershon dismissed it, finding no evidence of a widespread, racially motivated practice within the NYPD.

Key facts

Victims
Romona Moore
Date
2003
Location
East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1981-10-08

    Romona Moore is born in Guyana.

  2. 2003-04-24

    Moore leaves home in Brooklyn around 7:30 p.m. to meet a friend and is never seen again by family or friends.

  3. 2003-04-25

    Moore's mother reports her missing; police decline to immediately open a case.

  4. 2003-04-28

    Police formally open a missing-person case on Moore.

  5. 2003

    A 15-year-old girl reports being abducted and raped by two men days after Moore's disappearance; she escapes and contacts police.

  6. 2003

    Moore's mother receives an anonymous call directing her to an address on Kings Highway; police find Moore's body outside an abandoned, burned house.

  7. 2004

    Brooklyn DA seeks the death penalty against the two suspects; option later dropped following the People v. LaValle ruling.

  8. 2006-01-18

    First trial of Troy Hendrix and Kayson Pearson begins.

  9. 2006-01-19

    Pearson stabs his attorney and Hendrix attempts to seize a bailiff's gun during an escape attempt; judge declares a mistrial.

  10. 2006-03-23

    Jury convicts Hendrix and Pearson of kidnapping, rape, torture, and first-degree murder of Romona Moore.

  11. 2006-04-11

    Hendrix and Pearson are sentenced to life without parole, plus 22 years for the courtroom escape attempt.

  12. 2008-04-03

    Ellie Carmichael files a federal lawsuit against the NYPD alleging racial bias in handling missing-persons cases.

  13. 2014-08

    Federal Judge Nina Gershon dismisses the lawsuit, finding no evidence of systemic racial bias within the NYPD.

  14. 2024-10-08

    True crime podcast Method and Madness releases an episode on Moore's case, titled to mark what would have been her 43rd birthday.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Troy Hendrix

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 2006 of kidnapping, rape, torture, and first-degree murder of Romona Moore; also convicted of abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl; sentenced to life without parole plus 22 years for a courtroom escape attempt.

  • Romona Moore

    VICTIM

    21-year-old Hunter College honors student kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered in Brooklyn in 2003.

  • Kayson Pearson

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 2006 of kidnapping, rape, torture, and first-degree murder of Romona Moore; also convicted of abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl; sentenced to life without parole plus 22 years for a courtroom escape attempt.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York

40.6415, -73.9297

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Romona Moore, a 21-year-old Hunter College honors student, disappeared in Brooklyn in April 2003 and was found dead two months later after being kidnapped, raped, and tortured. Two men were convicted in 2006 and sentenced to life without parole; her mother later sued the NYPD alleging racial bias in the police response.
Where did the murder happen?
East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York.
Who was convicted?
Troy Hendrix (Convicted in 2006 of kidnapping, rape, torture, and first-degree murder of Romona Moore; also convicted of abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl; sentenced to life without parole plus 22 years for a courtroom escape attempt.) and Kayson Pearson (Convicted in 2006 of kidnapping, rape, torture, and first-degree murder of Romona Moore; also convicted of abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl; sentenced to life without parole plus 22 years for a courtroom escape attempt.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in New York

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of Romona MooreWikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-05
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — New York PostNew York Post · 2026-07-05

Record history

First published
JUL 05, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 05, 2026