Sidney Moorer in Horry County court ahead of kidnapping trial
Sidney Moorer’s kidnapping trial is now scheduled for September in Horry County.
Judge Markley Dennis agreed on Friday to move the trial from Georgetown County back to Conway. If an impartial jury doesn’t exist, then the court will consider other options for the trial’s location.
“We’re going to take our time going through the jury pool,” Dennis said.
Dennis issued his ruling during a hearing to address several pre-trial issues. Moorer did not speak during the hour-long hearing. He was noticeably slimmer than he was during his last court appearance and wore an orange, prison-issued jumpsuit.
Sidney Moorer and his wife, Tammy Moorer, were both charged in connection to the disappearance of Heather Elvis in 2013. The state claims Sidney Moorer had an affair with Elvis, and Tammy Moorer grew angry over the relationship. Elvis was last tracked to Peachtree Landing in the Socastee area in December 2013.
She has not been seen since.
The first trial — held in Georgetown — for Sidney Moorer on kidnapping charges ended in a hung jury. That 2016 trial was moved because of extensive publicity. A second trial against Sidney Moorer, this one on obstruction of justice charges, was held in Horry County in 2017. A jury found Sidney Moorer guilty, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Tammy Moorer was convicted of kidnapping by a Horry County jury in October and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Senior Assistant Solicitor Nancy Livesay asked for the trial to return to Horry and noted the previous trials were held without issue. Dennis said he thought about returning the trial as he watched coverage of the Tammy Moorer case. Sidney Moorer’s attorneys objected to moving the trial back to Horry County because of the case’s publicity.
“Those concerns have not diminished since the first trial,” Defense Attorney James Galmore said.
Pre-trial publicity was the focus of several issues discussed during Friday’s hearing. The state also sought an admonishment of Sidney Moorer’s civil attorney Eric Poston for comments he made in the media. Poston has discussed filing a civil case and professed his client’s innocence.
There is a gag order on attorneys involved in the criminal case.
Poston said he received notice of the contempt charges only days ago and hadn’t yet hired an attorney. Dennis agreed to delay arguments on that issue until a later date. But, he did suggest that Poston be careful about making future statements.
The judge also rejected a defense request to bar testimony about Elvis’ possible pregnancy as they claimed it was not relevant. Dennis said he couldn’t rule on whether to ban the testimony until he hears how it is presented during trial.
This story was originally published June 21, 2019 at 10:57 AM.
