Bond modification hearing set for Sidney Moorer in Heather Elvis case

A bond modification hearing has been scheduled for next week in the case of a Myrtle Beach man charged with murder and kidnapping in the disappearance of Heather Elvis, according to the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

The notice for the bond hearing was released Friday for 39-year-old Sidney Moorer, said 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson. The hearing will be held 9:30 a.m. Thursday before Circuit Court Judge Markley Dennis in Charleston.

It is unclear what prompted the bond modification hearing.

Moorer and his 43-year-old wife, Tammy Moorer, were each charged with murder and kidnapping by Horry County police in February 2014 in connection with Elvis’ disappearance. The couple were each released on $100,000 bail in January following a hearing before Dennis in Charleston.

In March, officials announced that the trial for the couple, which was previously scheduled for May, had been continued. A trial date has not been set.

Elvis, who was 20 at the time, was reported missing Dec. 19, 2013, after Horry County police found her car, which was registered to her father, parked at the Peachtree boat landing. Elvis’ keys, cellphone and purse were not found in the locked car and she remains missing.

The couple have been free on $100,000 bail since the January hearing. Their bonds include conditions that the couple stay five miles away from the home of Heather Elvis’ parents, be electronically monitored and report to court. Those conditions are still in effect.

The Jan. 30, 2015, bond hearing was the third for Tammy Moorer and second such hearing for Sidney Moorer.

During a March 17, 2014, bond hearing for the couple, prosecutors pointed to cellphone records and video surveillance to build their case against the couple. But defense attorneys said the evidence is circumstantial, with no link to tie the couple to Elvis’ disappearance.

Circuit Court Judge Steven John denied to set bond for the couple on the charges of murder and kidnapping during that 2014 hearing.

On March 21, 2014, an Horry County grand jury indicted the Moorers on the murder and kidnapping charges, according to court records. Also on that day, John issued a gag order, which prohibits any prosecutors, defense attorneys or their staffs and members of law enforcement, who have investigated the case, to speak publicly or release documents regarding the case.

The couple also face two counts of indecent exposure and one count of obstructing justice, according to court records.

In June 2014, state officials charged the couple with making a false statement on an application for Medicaid and obtaining a signature or property under false pretenses with a value of $10,000 or more, authorities said.

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Bond modification hearing set for Sidney Moorer in Heather Elvis case."