After Her Daughter Died on the Living Room Floor, Police Unraveled Mom's Grip of Isolation and Weaponized Fear

A Maryland couple who kept their seven minor children captive in their home, leading one of them to waste away and die, will face years behind bars for their neglect.

Dominique Moore, 47, was sentenced this week to 30 years with 23 years suspended, meaning he will serve seven years in prison and five years of probation, according to court documents obtained by DC News Now. 

Moore’s wife, Cynthia Moore, 42, was sentenced to 21 years in prison in February, per the Washington Post.

Moore and his wife, Cynthia Moore, were indicted on charges of second-degree depraved-heart murder, involuntary manslaughter and child neglect, according to the outlet. Cynthia was convicted at trial of child neglect but acquitted of murder, the Washington Post reported; Dominique pleaded guilty in November to child neglect charges.

First responders were called to the couple’s home in 2022 when Cynthia Moore reported that her daughter was having trouble breathing and collapsed. They found a 17-year-old child who only weighed 79 pounds. The mom claimed the minor had multiple sclerosis, diabetes and was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police.

Moore told law enforcement that she had not taken her daughter to see a doctor in two years.

According to the Washington Post, Jill Cummins, a Maryland circuit judge, said during trial that Moore’s children were largely cut off from society. The children were homeschooled, but Moore didn’t teach them. Dog and cat feces littered the floors, the refrigerator door was locked and the children weren’t taught how to bathe. 

The family lived in extremely unsanitary conditions, according to police. Authorities found six minors between the ages of 5 and 15-years-old who were removed from the home and placed with Child Protective Services. 

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A prosecutor told the judge at trial that both parents watched the 17-year-old victim die for months. The prosecutor said the teen could no longer walk at a certain point and the other children in the house had to witness this abuse, according to FOX 5 DC. 

An older sibling in the house told FOX 5 DC that they never got the chance to say goodbye to their sibling. “We were supposed to take him to Japan and take him to see things he liked – and he never went anywhere besides movie theaters or the playground and that’s upsetting because he never got to live a life or work or have friends or do anything. He just lived his life online and then he died.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.