Jackpot

Summary

Homicide 360 – “Jackpot” (June 23, 2026)

Main Theme

This episode of Homicide 360, hosted by Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger, unpacks the tragic true story of Abraham Shakespeare—a humble man who won the Florida lottery and went from working odd jobs to multimillionaire, only to fall victim to manipulation, greed, and murder. The investigation into Abraham’s disappearance and murder reveals not only the dangers of sudden fortune, but also exposes the chilling lengths a con artist would go for money.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Rise: Abraham Shakespeare — A Lottery Winner

• Abraham’s Life Before the Win

  • 42-year-old single dad from Polk County, FL; worked odd jobs and at a barbershop ([03:39]).
  • Known for his humility and generosity within his community.

• The $31 Million Jackpot

  • Purchased two lottery tickets on a truck-driving trip; won a $31 million jackpot ($17M lump sum, $12–16M after taxes) ([04:44], [04:57]).

• How Abraham Handled His Fortune

  • Lived simply, kept his old habits ([05:32]).
  • Gave away large sums: donations to his church, helped single moms, paid for groceries, offered generous loans ([06:23], [06:39]).
  • “Most of it was literally given away.” – Detective Greg Thomas ([05:14], [08:03]).

• Financial Naiveté & Vulnerability

  • No financial guidance; “He was constantly giving money away…threw parties…would basically make it rain cash.” ([07:17])
  • Within three years, his fortune had shrunk to just over $2 million ([08:12]).

The Fall: Dee Dee Moore Enters

• Introducing Dee Dee Moore
  • Businesswoman, runs a nurse staffing company, meets Abraham wanting to write his story ([08:30], [09:02]).
  • Quickly becomes a trusted friend and, seemingly, a financial advisor: “She starts to almost portray herself as like a financial assistant.” ([09:42])
  • Gains access to Abraham’s finances, becomes power of attorney (later forges his signature) ([48:09]).

The Disappearance

• Abraham Goes Missing

  • Summer 2009: Friends/family notice his absence; Dee Dee claims he’s on vacation ([11:00], [12:22]).
  • Dee Dee begins collecting outstanding loans from Abraham’s friends ([11:08]).

• Suspicion Grows

  • Excuses become inconsistent (“He’s in the Caribbean getting treatment for AIDS” — which friends know is false) ([13:11]).
  • Reluctance to call police due to distrust or personal benefit (with debts erased, some preferred Abraham’s absence) ([14:11]).

The Investigation: Red Flags & Evidence

• Missing Person Report Filed

  • Nov 9, 2009: Cousin Cedric Edom files the report, unsatisfied with Dee Dee's answers ([15:03]).

• Police Focus Shift

  • Gather witness interviews; Dee Dee is the recurring suspicious figure ([25:32])
  • Out-of-character texts from Abraham’s phone (he was “illiterate,” typically called instead) raise alarm ([19:47], [20:04]).

• Dee Dee's Changing Stories

  • Claims Abraham is checking in by text/call while on vacation ([21:04]).
  • Video evidence Dee Dee provides from April 2009 appears staged ([21:41]).
  • Offers girlfriend a house to mislead police—a transparent bribe ([22:42]).

• Cell Phone Evidence

  • Tower data shows Abraham’s and Dee Dee’s phones were together—suggesting Dee Dee was sending those texts herself ([23:26]).

The Sting: Undercover Operation

• Greg Smith, Confidential Informant

  • Dee Dee’s associate, actually Abraham’s friend. Police approach him, he agrees to help as CI ([26:32]).
  • Records conversations where Dee Dee tries to orchestrate fake evidence of Abraham’s presence ([28:00], [28:20]).
  • Dee Dee gets Smith to call Abraham’s mother, pretending to be her son; later, writes a fake letter ([28:44], [29:39]).
  • “It was just really wild how she was very paranoid… Abraham is illiterate and so would not be able to author a letter…” ([29:39]).

• Revelation of Murder

  • Jan 12, 2010: Dee Dee tells Smith Abraham is dead, killed because of a made-up drug debt ([30:31]).
  • Dee Dee tries to enlist Smith’s help to “move the body” and find a fall guy for $50,000 ([31:25], [31:48]).

Breaking the Case

• The Sting Operation

  • Undercover cop poses as Smith’s cousin, willing to take the rap for Abraham’s murder for $50,000 ([33:23]).
  • Dee Dee hands over the murder weapon—a .38 Smith & Wesson with a laser sight ([34:15]).
  • Guides Smith to the exact burial spot—under a concrete slab—at her property ([34:45]).

• Physical Evidence Mounts

  • Dee Dee purchased body disposal supplies (shovels, lime, tarp, bleach) ([35:52]).
  • Her ex-husband admits to digging and then refilling a large hole for Dee Dee, who then had concrete poured over it ([36:37], [37:04], [38:03]).
  • Search warrant issued; anthropologists/forensics team uncover Abraham’s well-preserved remains, clothing match, dreadlocks, and gunshot wounds ([38:45]-[41:29]).
  • Lime, intended for concealment, preserved Abraham’s fingerprints ([42:12]).

• Linking Dee Dee to the Crime

  • Murder weapon ballistically matches bullets in Abraham’s body; receipts and surveillance show Dee Dee purchased the gun and practiced with it ([43:17], [43:22]).
  • Dee Dee gives shifting, implausible stories, even implicating her 14-year-old son ([44:40]).

Motive and Manipulation

• What Was Her Plan?
  • “I think after she got to know him… she could con him and take advantage of him.” – Greg Thomas ([47:13])
  • Gains full access to his bank accounts, siphoning off the remainder of his money ([48:09]).
  • Convinces Abraham to sign over property and assets to her for well below their value ([48:52]).
  • Sets up alibi videos to suggest he simply disappeared ([49:27], [49:58]).
  • Murders Abraham and attempts to cover it up ([50:19], [50:30], [50:47]).

Aftermath: Justice for Abraham Shakespeare

• Arrest & Conviction
  • Dee Dee ultimately arrested and charged, after repeatedly incriminating herself in interviews ([46:41]).
  • Found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole ([51:06]).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Abraham’s Generosity:
  • “He was known to just simply give away money... He gave away cash left and right.” – Greg Thomas ([06:23])
• On Dee Dee’s Manipulation:
  • “She starts to almost portray herself as like a financial assistant. Let me help you out with collecting your money. Let me help you out with investing and securing your money and making it last and so forth.” – Greg Thomas ([09:42])
• Cell Phone Red Flag:
  • “For each of those calls, cell tower data showed that both Abraham and Dee Dee's phone were always in the same immediate area.” ([23:26])
• On Her Web of Lies:
  • “Every time we came up with something to counter her story, she would lead into a different story... burying herself deeper and deeper.” – Greg Thomas ([45:32])
• On the Forensic Irony:
  • “Sometimes the cover-up leaves the clearest mark.” – Scott Weinberger ([42:34])
• On Greed and Vulnerability:
  • “She saw an easy way to take on his remaining assets and money.” – Greg Thomas ([47:48])
• On the Tragedy:
  • “To just, you know, take somebody's life for simple greed and then... try to cover it up as if nothing happened. It's just, you know, heinous.” – Greg Thomas ([51:23])
• On the Deeper Lesson:
  • “This case isn't just about winning the lottery or losing everything. It's about how quickly fortune can turn when trust is exploited… The most dangerous con artists don't come in loud or obvious. They come in as help, as friendship... A wolf in sheep's clothing doesn't announce itself. It earns trust.” – Scott Weinberger ([51:43])

---

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [03:39] – Abraham’s life and work before jackpot
• [04:44]–[04:57] – Winning the lottery
• [06:02]–[08:12] – Generosity and its toll on Abraham’s fortune
• [08:30]–[09:42] – Dee Dee Moore enters Abraham’s life
• [11:00]–[13:11] – Abraham’s disappearance, Dee Dee’s growing influence
• [14:11] – Friends/family skeptical but hesitant to act
• [15:03]–[16:25] – Missing person report, early police suspicions
• [19:47]–[20:04] – Out-of-character communications fuel suspicion
• [21:04]–[23:26] – Dee Dee’s shifting alibis, phone record revelations
• [26:32]–[29:39] – Greg Smith becomes CI, records Dee Dee’s schemes
• [30:31]–[31:48] – Dee Dee claims Abraham is dead, implicates “drug dealers”
• [33:23]–[34:15] – Undercover sting, transfer of murder weapon
• [38:45]–[41:29] – Body recovery and forensic confirmation
• [50:19]–[50:47] – Murder method and cover-up
• [51:06] – Conviction and aftermath
• [51:43]–[52:34] – Scott Weinberger’s reflection: trust, fortune, and exploitation

---

Tone & Style

The hosts combine a mixture of procedural analysis, empathetic storytelling, and sharp investigative detail, keeping the victim at the center of their narrative. Detective Greg Thomas’s insights are grounded and informative, adding an authentic law enforcement perspective. The tone remains respectful, somber, but not sensationalist.

---

Conclusion

“Jackpot” is a cautionary tale about the dark side of sudden fortune: trust misplaced, generosity exploited, and greed leading to tragedy. Abraham Shakespeare is remembered as a kind and giving man, whose vulnerability to manipulation led to his untimely death. Dee Dee Moore’s calculated moves, caught through clever and relentless investigation, serve as a stark reminder of how betrayal often comes disguised as friendship.

---

“Abraham Shakespeare should be remembered for his kind spirit and deep sense of giving, and that says a lot about the man he was.” – Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi ([52:34])

---

For further listening, tune into Homicide 360 for more real-life crime stories where the search for justice takes center stage.

Transcript

[A]

This show is supported by Odoo. When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on features you need. Check out Odoo at o D O o dot com. That's O D o o dot com. This episode is brought to you by

[B]

Prime Obsession is in session.

[A]

And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus. Elle every year. After the Love Hypothesis, Sterling Point and more Slow burns, second chemistry you can feel through the screen your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Do you get tired of people asking you for money all the time, babe.

[C]

They don't take no for a counsel.

[B]

He was a very simple guy and he comes into this huge amount of money and most of it was literally given away.

[C]

I really would like my old life back where I could walk the streets like a normal person. I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff.

[A]

I'm Anna Sega Nicolasi, former New York City homicide prosecutor.

[C]

And this is Homicide 360.

[A]

They say that life imitates art, which is perhaps why the story of a homicide investigation can sometimes read like a grand drama ripped right from the pages of a book.

[C]

The fact is that murder cases often have all of the key elements of a real tragedy. Heroes, villains, and of course, the victims whose deaths reveal the true nature of the people around them.

[A]

Drama, like justice, rests not just on the twists and turns of the action on stage, but at the motivation behind them. When it comes to murder, we want to know not just the who, but the why.

[C]

In other words, to kill or not to kill. That is the question.

[B]

My name is Greg Thomas. I'm currently retired from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's in the Tampa, Florida area. At the time of this investigation, I was assigned as a homicide detective to the homicide unit when I was assigned this case.

[A]

Today we're joined by Greg Thomas, a fourth generation Floridian who knew from a young age that he was destined for a career in law enforcement.

[B]

I knew I always wanted to get into investigations. Wasn't really sure about homicide. To me, that was kind of the pinnacle. Like, you know, would I ever make the grade, so to speak.

[C]

But make the grade he did. And in 2006 he found himself leading the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a man from nearby Polk County, Florida by the name of Abraham Shakespeare, whose tale of fortune and tragedy would prove worthy of his name.

[A]

In 2006, Abraham was a 42 year old single dad with a close network of friends and family in the Tampa area.

[B]

He worked odd jobs in the Lakeland area truck hand, meaning there was a driver from out of state that would come through on his routes in the Lakeland area and pick up Abraham to help him with his loads and travel and so forth and delivering loads that he was contracted to do.

[C]

He supplemented that work with a job at a local grocery store and sometimes at a friend's barbershop. It was hard but honest work that made him a familiar face in this community.

[A]

But In November of 2006, his life would change forever and Abraham went from being a familiar face to one of the most well known men in the state.

[C]

So it all started when Abraham and his co worker made a stop at a convenience store during a long haul trip to Miami. While his co worker refueled with snacks and soda, Abraham opted for two Florida state lottery tickets.

[A]

And soon after that, it's the moment we all have dreamed of. At least I know I have. He checked and double checked the winning number before realizing he had just won the jackpot. And it was millions.

[B]

I believe the actual amount was like $31 million. And he accepted the payout which I think was 17 something million dollars. And after, you know, the taxes and so forth, he's walking away with between like 12 and 16 million dol.

[C]

For this regular Joe from a humble background, it was more money than he had ever dreamed of. His story and the image of his smiley face was soon blasted across local and national media, making him an overnight source of inspiration and envy.

[A]

As expected, Abraham treated himself to a couple big ticket items, including a large house in a gated community in Lakeland and even a car or two. But the thing that caught most people's attention was how little his life actually changed.

[B]

He kind of kept the same lifestyle. He did continue to hang out at his friend's barbershop. He would be known to sweep up, you know, the hair and stuff and just kind of hang out, but not paid for anything.

[C]

And as we all can imagine, this was life changing money. But in the case of Abraham Shakespeare, it was other people's lives that he was determined to change, not his own. And he was generous with his winnings, donating large amounts of cash to his local church and to other People in need.

[B]

He was known to just simply give away money. He worked for free at a grocery store in the Lakeland area, so he was known to basically pay for groceries of, you know, single moms. He just did a lot of things like that. He gave away cash left and right.

[A]

Abraham also splurged on his friends and family, offering them generous interest free loans with very forgiving repayment plans.

[B]

They were paying him back basically with almost like mortgage payments. Abraham essentially gave out loans to people to buy homes or vehicles or whatnot. And so Abraham would collect on those loans. He would go by and visit, you know, hey, you owe me whatever, 300 bucks, 500 bucks this month.

[C]

His generosity made Abraham something of a local celebrity. But it's safe to say it wasn't the greatest long term strategy for his newfound wealth.

[B]

He really didn't have any good financial guidance. A few friends tried to help him out along the way and help sustain his winnings, but he was constantly giving money away. He was known to throw parties with DJs and so forth, where he actually rented out a hall with a dj and he had cash suspended in nets from the ceiling and would basically make it rain cash.

[A]

Honestly, it does sound excessive, but also, just come on, so much fun. And anyone lucky enough to be in Abraham's position should be entitled to enjoy their money any way that they want, right? And while some people absolutely say it was irresponsible or foolhardy, there are certainly worse things to do with your money than sharing it with your friends.

[B]

He was a very simple guy and he comes into this huge amount of money, and most of it was literally given away.

[C]

In less than three years, Abraham's fortune had dwindled to just over $2 million. Nothing to sneeze at, of course, but far from the nearly 20 million he thought would last him for the rest of his life. But in the fall of 2008, help was on the way.

[A]

Enter local businesswoman Dede Moore. She met Abraham through a mutual friend who suggested that his story of winning and nearly losing a fortune would make a great book.

[B]

Dee Dee said, you know, I want to write a book about this guy. I've heard about him winning the lottery. I want to write a book about him.

[C]

And Dede was successful in her own right and saw Abraham as an opportunity to share lessons on building wealth and savings, specifically for people who might have come from underprivileged backgrounds.

[B]

She was from the Plant City area, which is the east side of Hillsborough County. She grew up a regular country girl. If you will, but she already had a successful nurse staffing company where she had contracts for, with the VA, where she's staffing CNAs and nurses and so forth at some of the veterans facilities, other clinics. And so she had a pretty decent business going for herself.

[A]

Abraham and Dede immediately hit it off, and they began spending a lot of time together, Having money of her own and seemingly a vast knowledge of finances. She gained his trust and openly shared her advice about how to get his own bank accounts in order.

[B]

And then right away, she just becomes his best friend. I mean, she's going through, you know, looking at his spending all the money he's loaned out, and she starts to almost portray herself as like a financial assistant. You know, let me help you out with collecting your money. Let me help you out with investing and securing your money and making it last and so forth.

[C]

And lucky enough for him, it was just in the nick of time, because at the rate Abraham was giving money away, it was clearly not going to last much longer.

[A]

Abraham also confided in Dede that his generosity with his friends had come at a price, too, because not only did the request for loans and gifts never stop, he found himself constantly having to pursue friends to repay the personal loans he had doled out.

[B]

By the time she took over his finances without him really knowing, I think he was down to his last, like, couple million dollars.

[C]

Now. While Abraham did have an on again, off again girlfriend with whom he shared a son, Abraham lived alone and was a bit of a rolling stone without a real fixed routine. So for him to fall off the radar for just a few days at a time was not out of the ordinary.

[A]

But in the summer of 2009, it became clear to friends and family that no one had seen or heard from him in quite some time.

[B]

Nobody seems to be able to get in touch with him when calling him. Nobody has seen him. And this white female named Deedee Moore just shows up and starts saying, hey, I'm helping Abraham collect on the loans he's provided, so you can go ahead and pay me. And so that raised some concern, and these folks were just kind of unsure, who is she? Where did she come from? We never knew Abraham to know this person before, and now we're being told we need to pay her. So that raised some red flags with a lot of these folks.

[C]

Dee Dee explained as best she could how Abraham just needed some time to himself, away from the pressures of his new wealth, and that he had asked her to take over his finances while he took an extended break.

[B]

She Told people that he had gone on a cruise to the Caribbean. He was just overwhelmed by all the attention and people constantly asking for loans and money from his lottery winnings, that he just wanted to get away for a while. And so he didn't tell her where he was, that he was. He was fine, but he was just kind of taking some time off in some other location out of state, which sounds totally understandable.

[A]

I mean, if I won the lottery, I'm telling you right now, a long vacation would 1000% be high on my list. But cutting off all communication with even his family seemed extreme.

[C]

In fact, supposedly the only person Abraham was in touch with was Dee Dee Moore, who continued to reassure his closest friends that all was totally normal.

[B]

They would ask her, hey, have you heard from Abraham? Yeah, he just texted me, you know, yesterday. He's fine. He was tired of people asking him for money. He just wanted to go away for a while and not be bothered.

[A]

But as Abraham's extended vacation stretched from weeks to months, those that knew him best began to get suspicious that Dee Dee Moore was not giving them the whole story. Especially when the story started to change.

[B]

When Dee Dee Moore is going around telling people, oh, he took a long cruise to the Bahamas, or he's in somewhere in the Caribbean getting treatment for aids, they're all like, what? He doesn't have aids? You know, he wouldn't go there by himself. A lot of these folks were just very skeptical, but they kept receiving these excuses and information from Dee Dee that, well, he's only communicating with me. You know, he's in the Bahamas for a while. He's here, he's there. You know, some of them kind of believed it, but they were skeptical.

[C]

So you may be asking, why didn't anyone call the police or organize a more concerted search if they suspected that Abraham might be in trouble? I mean, not even the mother of his son, a woman named Santoria, who was living in the house Abraham bought, had reached out to any authorities when she hadn't seen or heard from him in months.

[A]

Given his relationship with many of his friends and family after he'd won the lottery, I think the answer to that question is both disconcerting and for that same. Same reason, not that surprising.

[B]

I think, at the time. You know, people like Santoria Butler, they were benefiting from the lottery winnings and kind of benefiting from Abraham not being around, collecting on his loans and so forth. You know, some of them just didn't want to rock the boat, but they knew something was up, and they Were trying to almost do their own investigation and get down to it. You know, a lot of these folks, too, are very untrusting of law enforcement as well. So that kind of plays into it a little bit.

[C]

So even if some of Abraham's friends suspected something was amiss, they weren't eager to go to the police. After all, with Abraham gone, those interest free loans, they didn't have to be repaid.

[A]

But eventually, one of Abraham's cousins decided enough was enough. And on November 9, 2009, he dialed the polk county sheriff's office to report Abraham missing.

[B]

He was a cousin of Abraham Shakespeare, Cedric edom. He was one of the benefactors of the lottery winnings because his home was purchased by Abraham Shakespeare. And after a period of time of not being able to get in touch with his cousin Abraham, he decides to make the report to the polk county sheriff's office.

[C]

By that time, no one outside of Dee Dee Moore had seen or talked to Abraham and in over six months.

[B]

And so Cedric edom basically took it upon himself to file the report because he poignantly asked dee dee Moore, you know, where. Where is Abraham? Where is my cousin? I want to speak to him. I want to pay him directly. I don't want to pay you.

[A]

And cedric explained to police that his cousin wasn't known for going away for long stretches, and certainly not this long without calling his family.

[C]

And while there was no sign that Abraham was in any form physical danger, his status as a known lottery winner did make him vulnerable to a host of potential threats from scams, extortion, or even worse.

[B]

So the report was made of Abraham being a missing person from the get go. The detectives assigned with polk county kind of knew there was something up, Obviously, because Abraham Shakespeare was a Florida lottery winner from back in 2006.

[A]

So was Abraham following his new friend sound advice to detach himself from increasingly stressful relationships and get his financial house in order?

[C]

Or had Abraham Shakespeare made his final exit, One he never intended to take?

[B]

So good, so good.

[C]

So good.

[A]

New summer arrivals are at nordstrom rack stores. Now. Get ready to save big with up to 60% off brands like rag and bone, Levi's, adidas and free people. Join the nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts. Shop new arrivals first and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Plan b is a backup birth control option that's there for you when things don't go according to plan. It specifically works after unprotected sex and before pregnancy occurs by temporarily delaying ovulation. Plan B is available nationwide at all major retailers and through delivery apps like DoorDash. No ID, prescription or age requirement. It's the number one OBGYN recommended brand of emergency contact contraception and it won't impact your future fertility. That's freedom to be use as directed. In 2006, Abraham Shakespeare became the luckiest man in Florida when he won the $31 million lottery jackpot.

[C]

But just three years later, not only was his fortune con, so was he. And Polk county sheriffs just outside of Tampa were tasked to track him down.

[A]

According to those close to him, Abraham had last been seen in April, about six months prior to his cousin filing a missing persons report. But according to his friend and financial advisor, Dede Moore, Abraham had been checking in regularly with her by phone call and text as he enjoyed an extended holiday in the Caribbean.

[C]

So who should investigators believe? Well, the only way to know that is to track down Abraham's friends who knew him best, Starting with his on again, off again girlfriend, Cyntoria, who just happened to be living in a large house that Abraham had purchased shortly after winning the lottery.

[A]

And while this was still very early in the investigation, police knew that they were not just interviewing potential witnesses, but but also making a list of those people that would most benefit from possibly having Abraham out of the picture.

[C]

Because, let's face it, Abraham's millions created a lot of motive.

[A]

Abraham's girlfriend fell into the camp that refused to believe Abraham would stay away for so long without calling.

[B]

She was skeptical of him being gone because again, he's not a worldly traveler. He wasn't really known to leave the Lakeland area.

[C]

She also described him as a loving dad who was devoted to his five year old son and providing all the financial support he needed, including a million dollar trust fund. So the fact that his financial support had suddenly stopped was totally out of character.

[A]

Another thing that was out of character, some cryptic text that she had received from his phone. Because according to Centoria, as long as she had known him, Abraham never texted. And only she knew Abraham had trouble reading and writing, so he always preferred to call.

[C]

Abraham's mother had also recently received a text from her son, but she too was skeptical. And here's why. Not once had they communicated through text message. So why was he starting now?

[B]

Again, it was just months and months of excuses made on behalf of, you know, Abraham from Dee Dee Moore. And, you know, a lot of these folks believed it at first until it came to a point where, okay, something's not right.

[A]

Detectives from Polk county decided it was time to try and get the straight story from Dee Dee Moore herself. If she was protecting him or covering for him in some way, it was time for her to come clean.

[C]

And if she, Dee Dee, was somehow involved in helping him disappear and potentially against his will, well, they would want to talk to her about that as well. So on November 10, 2009, they asked her into the sheriff's office for an interview.

[B]

She's very cooperative as far as meeting with them, providing statements and so forth. She basically explains that, you know, she's a friend of Shakespeare. She's helping him get his finances in order and secured. She's writing a book about him. She said everything from, again, he went on a cruise for a while to the Caribbean. He went out of state because he was tired of the pressure of everybody asking him for money. She doesn't know where he's at, but he's communicating with her. He's okay, he's texting her. She just gave a plethora of excuses.

[A]

In fact, Dede even provided the detectives with a video of Abraham from her phone that said seemed to support her story that Abraham had been planning for some time to get away from Florida. In the video, she asks him, do you want to get away? And he replies, yeah, let's go. Do you get tired of people asking you for money all the time, babe?

[C]

They don't take no for a house or something. The video is dated April 9, 2006, right about the last time anyone other than dede had talked directly to Abraham. And it was pretty compelling evidence that Abraham was indeed growing weary of the burdens that his newfound wealth had put on his life.

[A]

And to some extent, we can see how just cutting ties with people he knew and that he was bankrolling and jetting off to the islands might have sounded like a spur of the moment good idea to preserve both his money and his sanity. But then some things happened that made detectives start to doubt the plausibility of that story.

[C]

So, looking at the timeline, first, on November 16, 2009, Abraham's girlfriend, Centoria, calls the Polk county sheriff's office to report receiving a bizarre phone call. She claimed that Dee Dee Moore had called to offer her a not so subtle bribe in the form of a brand new home if she would tell police that she and Abraham had a huge argument with right before he went missing.

[A]

Now, whether Dee Dee Moore was trying to give credibility to her claim that Abraham had a million reasons to want to skip town or she was Trying to gin up suspicion that Centauri had something to do with his disappearance. Police still didn't know, but Dee Dee's credibility had certainly taken a hit.

[C]

And it took another hit. When phone records came back from Abraham's cell number, Detectives determined that since he was last seen, there were indeed calls between Abraham and Dee Dee, as she had claimed. But here's the thing. For each of those calls, cell tower data showed that both Abraham and Dee Dee's phone were always in the same immediate area.

[B]

So that raised red flags like, okay, does she have his phone? Is he near her? Why isn't he coming forward? And so forth.

[A]

So either Abraham was in actually still in Florida and staying close to Dee Dee, or just his phone was. In which case, those calls to Dee Dee's phone and those texts to Santoria and his mom, they were not coming from Abraham, but from someone else.

[C]

When detectives confronted Dee Dee with this evidence, she very calmly explained that Abraham had given her his phone when he left the country so that no one could call him, asking for more money.

[A]

And those texts to his girlfriend and his mom? Well, according to Dee Dee, they were just her attempts to put their minds at ease while trying to facilitate Abraham's escape.

[C]

Both totally plausible possibilities, right? But here's the thing about investigators. Once they catch you in a lie, they have a pretty good knack for sniffing out the next one.

[B]

She had knowledge she knew what happened to him, but she was obviously making up these stories and lies as to his whereabouts.

[A]

Thankfully, Abraham was known to be in good health, mentally and physically, so he was not presumed to be in immediate danger. But, of course, the longer he was missing, the more dire the possibilities became.

[C]

And even while they suspected Moore was hiding something, without any evidence that a crime had actually taken place, whether that is weapon, blood, or a body, there wasn't much more they can do except for continuing to dig for clues.

[A]

But at the very least, they now knew where to focus that search on the woman who was closest to both Abraham and his money.

[B]

They all point back to Dede Moore. You know, everybody they're interviewing is like, something's up with this woman. You know, she's involved with his disappearance one way or another. So they start to basically surveil her, follow her around. They see her going to the Lakeland Mall. They don't know if maybe he's involved in this. This is her partner that's involved in his disappearance, Abraham's disappearance. They don't know.

[A]

But there was one way to find out. After observing Dee leaving the mall Parking lot alone. They made contact with the man as he was getting into his own car. He identified himself as Greg Smith, a local Lakeland resident and a friend of Abraham's.

[B]

And they were asking why he was meeting with Dee Dee Moore. And Greg basically tells them, my friend Abraham Shakespeare has been missing for a while. He loaned me money to start my barber shop. I'm trying to find out where he's at, and I think this woman's involved.

[C]

Detectives weren't sure if his concern for Abraham was genuine or. Or just to cover for whatever he was plotting with Dee Dee Moore.

[B]

And so they basically gave him the option, well, you can remain a person of interest involved with her, or you can help us by becoming our confidential informant. He's like, yeah, I'm going to work with you guys.

[A]

So suspect or CI something immediately says to me that he wasn't going to think long and hard about that proposition.

[C]

Agreed. In my experience, it's usually a no brainer. And in this case, not only does Smith agree to help investigators, but he seemed almost born for the job.

[B]

So Greg Smith becomes like a textbook perfect confidential informant. He's very street smart. He grew up in that community. He knows all the players.

[A]

But most importantly, he had already gained Dee Dee Moore's trust, who Smith claimed was asking for his help to deflect some of the suspicion that she had something to do with Abraham's disappearance, which she claimed was hurting her business and her ability to collect on Abraham's loans.

[C]

Smith also claimed that they had made plans to meet again, creating a perfect opportunity for police to listen in and asking you. This is one of those moments where every investigator recognizes when a case finally starts talking back.

[B]

And they wanted to record some of these interactions or meetings between Greg Smith and Dee Dee Moore.

[A]

Police gave Smith a mini tape recorder, which he hid in a cutout soda can in his car. A couple days later, Dede was in the passenger seat.

[B]

It turned out perfectly. It worked out perfectly. It picked up all the needed conversations. So he conducted a number of interviews with her at the request of the Polk County Sheriff's office.

[C]

And while Moore never admitted that she knew where Abraham was, she did do something that further convinced investigators that she was desperate to cover up her involvement in the disappearance. She told Smith to call Abraham's mother and pretend to be her son.

[A]

And to help sell that ruse, Moore planned to be with Abraham's mom at the time of the call.

[B]

So one evening, Dee Dee Moore and Judy Hagens take Abraham's mother, Elizabeth Walker, to a restaurant. It Was purposely a busy, loud, noisy restaurant because Elizabeth Walker is an elderly woman. Then her cell phone rings, and Dee Dee Moore says, well, Ms. Walker, that that could be Abraham calling you. Why don't you call? Well, on the other end of the line was Greg Smith, and he was basically acting as though he was Abraham. And being in a noisy restaurant, Ms. Walker couldn't really say, no, it wasn't him. And after that, Greg Smith reports right back to Polk county detectives. Hey, you know, she asked me to call Ms. Walker and act like I was Abraham, saying I was okay.

[C]

Several days later, Moore went one step further, telling Greg to rent a motel room where she would meet him with a new plan.

[B]

Dede Moore asked Greg Smith to help her write a letter, as if it was Abraham writing to his mother, telling him he was okay. And then Greg delivered this said letter to Ms. Walker's residence. He said it was just really wild how she was very paranoid, thinking they were going to be caught, so forth. You know, keep in mind that Abraham is illiterate and so would not be able to author a letter unless somebody wrote it.

[A]

For clearly, Moore was trying to cover up the fact that Abraham was not on vacation, not taking a break, and maybe not even alive.

[C]

So whatever Dee Dee Moore's plan was, it seemed to be falling apart. And on January 12, 2010, Greg Smith called detectives with disturbing news.

[B]

Dee Dee at this point, starts to tell Greg Smith, our CI Confidential father, that she knew Abraham Shakespeare was dead. It was because of some drug debt that he owed. But there was never any information through all of our investigating that he was involved in drugs whatsoever.

[A]

The revelation that Abraham could have been killed was a dark turn in the investigation. But detectives weren't yet convinced that this wasn't just another story concocted by Moore.

[B]

The excuse she was using that it was this drug deal gone bad. These drug dealers showed up at her place of business, and one of the drug dealers grabbed the gun from her safe and shot and killed Abraham in her office. And so they threatened that if she did not get rid of the body, that her life and her son's life would be in danger.

[C]

Moore claimed that she couldn't go to police because she feared for her life and her son's safety. But as always, she had a plan. Knowing she would be the prime suspect in his murder if police ever found his body, she asked for Smith's help in moving it, meaning the body, and she needed to give police a new suspect.

[B]

If Greg Smith knew anybody kind of in the criminal element world, that would take the rap or take the blame for killing Abraham Shakespeare.

[A]

Little did she know that her plan was going from her to Smith and straight to detectives.

[B]

So he reported back to the Polk county sheriff's office, and they devised this plan. Let's take advantage of this plan. Let's get undercover officer involved to pose as somebody about to go to prison. And they want payment for taking the wrap of $50,000 to give to their family before they go to prison. And they'll accept the blame, and they'll confess to killing Abraham Shakespeare.

[C]

This would be a daring sting operation. Their goal, to get DZ Moore to reveal the true fate and whereabouts of Abraham Shakespeare, Tampa's unluckiest millionaire.

[B]

Introducing Taco Bell's new jalapeno citrus salsa. With bright citrus, real red jalapenos, guajillo chiles. Usually you add sauce to the food, but when the sauce is this good, the food is just there to get the sauce to your mouth. That rolled quesadilla. Not a rolled quesadilla anymore. Now it's a sauce shovel. Taco Bell's jalapeno citrus salsa. Get it with any item on the Cantina chicken menu while it's here. The participating U.S. taco Bell locations for a limited time only, while supplies last contact store for availability.

[A]

As part of a sting operation to ensnare Dee Dee Moore, detectives in Polk County, Florida, concocted a whopper of a tail, inventing a cousin of Greg Smith's who was apparently willing and ready to take the wrap for Abraham Shakespeare's murder.

[B]

So Greg Smith. Smith goes to Dee Dee Moore and says, yeah, I got the perfect person. He's going to go away for, like, 40 years. He's got a young son. He wants $50,000 cash to take the blame, but he's going to need evidence to prove otherwise. They're not going to believe him. So Dee Dee Moore agrees to this, and she's like, I want to meet him. So they arrange to meet at the Lakeland Mall again, and Dee Dee Moore gets into a vehicle with this undercover officer and Greg Smith.

[C]

Posing as Greg's cousin. An undercover officer met with Dee Dee Moore under covert surveillance.

[B]

And he says, I need something to prove that I did it, like a weapon or something. And she said, okay, I have the gun that killed him. She hands Greg Smith a firearm, which was the.38 caliber Smith and Wesson with the integrated laser sight. And she said, okay, here's the gun that killed Abraham.

[A]

Moore went on to explain how these supposed drug dealers had forced her to bury Abraham's body on her own property, and now she needed help moving it.

[B]

Dee Dee Moore showed him where she had buried Abraham Shakespeare's remains on the property, exactly where he was buried under this concrete slab. It was about a 900 square feet foot slab that she had a concrete company come and pour on the property to basically cover where she buried Abraham Shakespeare. So Dee's assuming, okay, this guy who's going to take the wrap and Greg Smith are going to dig up Abraham's remains and get rid of them for me. So this is when Dee takes it upon herself to go out and start shopping for items that she thinks in her mind would help dispose of a body. So she gets some shovels. She gets a bunch of, like, plastic tarp, bleach, latex gloves. We have video of her buying all this stuff and receipts from it. And she puts all this stuff into an enclosed trailer next to the concrete slab where they were to dig for Abraham's remains.

[A]

All right, so quick question here. If Abraham's remains were indeed buried there under this concrete on the edge of her property, and police suspected she had something to do with his murder, well, then wouldn't it make sense if we think this out here, that she might well have had help? I mean, moving a body is not easy. Burying a body not easy, and then covering it with concrete, well, that's a big job.

[C]

Yeah, that would be every reason for them to suspect that she did have help, considering what lengths they would have to go to to get that body in the place that they had found it. So police did have the same question. Did Moore have an accomplice? So detectives decided to interview Moore's ex husband, and, boy, does he have an interesting story.

[A]

He told police that right around that time, the time of Abraham's disappearance, which was back in April, Moore had asked him if he could come over, over to help her with some work on her property. Work that would require the use of a small bulldozer.

[B]

She calls him up. He only lived a few miles away. And she basically said, hey, you know, I cleared some more property. I need a hole dug for trash. Can you come over and dig a hole? Pay you 100 bucks.

[A]

So Dee Dee Zach showed up with the bulldozer, and she told him she wanted the hole dug directly behind her house, but there was a problem.

[B]

She wants it directly behind the back door of this structure where the utility room was. So for her, it would be easy to basically drag Shakespeare's body out and put it in this hole. Her ex husband's like I can't dig a hole here. This is a residential structure. You could have utilities back here. You could have water lines. You need to pick somewhere else.

[C]

And so she directs him to a corner of the property where he begins to dig. But then, according to the acts, things got a little weird because just a few hours after he finished and left, she asked him to come back.

[B]

So throughout the interview with her ex husband, he described, when he came back, it was already after dark, and she was sweaty. She was asking, hey, can you fill the hole in that you dug for me?

[A]

Again, according to her ex husband, he thought she was using the hole to bury trash. So he claimed he had no reason to look inside that hole.

[B]

I never went up and looked at it. I just hopped on the equipment, pushed the dirt in, and got my hundred dollars and left.

[C]

The next day, Moore hired a contractor to pour concrete over that very same spot.

[B]

So now we know where the body is. We have a bunch of equipment that she purchased to help dispose of, conceal the body. We have the murder weapon. So we have a ton of evidence. Now it's time to exhume the body to prove, yes, we have recovered remains. It is Abraham Shakespeare.

[C]

On January 27, 2010, detectives obtained a search warrant for Dee Dee Moore's property.

[B]

We had arranged to all meet back first thing the next morning with assistance from our county with heavy equipment to remove the concrete slab. With assistance from University of South Florida forensic anthropology department to come in and help us to exhume possible remains.

[A]

The concrete slab was slowly removed. And with the help of the anthropology team, detectives conducted a ground penetrating radar or GPR analysis of the underlying surface.

[B]

And we found the anomaly, which was literally a three foot wide shaft about nine feet in depth, which would be consistent with probably disturbed soil in somebody like a pocket where somebody probably was buried. So that was our target. We began very carefully with some heavy equipment, removing the first few feet of soil. We had a number of crime scene detectives, all sorts of personnel out there. We were sifting every bucket of soil, looking for any potential evidence like shell casings, clothing, whatever could be in there.

[C]

Because, remember, they would not just be looking for remains, but also any other critical forensic evidence that could help prove who killed Abraham, how and why.

[B]

And by about the second day of digging, we started to get down to an area of the soil where you could smell decomposition. After careful soil removal, we did locate his remains.

[A]

The human remains were remarkably well preserved, almost mummified, and also a match with descriptions of Abraham.

[B]

Abraham Shakespeare was a black male, about maybe 6 foot 5, very tall and lean individual. So the remains of this individual was a very tall, lean individual, appearing to be a black male.

[C]

The body in the ground also had his signature dreadlocks and the same outfit from the video taken on the last day anyone had seen him alive.

[B]

There was video evidence that Dee Dee Moore had filmed. It was from April 6, 2009, that Polk county had originally obtained, and it was thought to be the very last night that he was alive before he was killed. And he was wearing a pair of red, kind of like dark red jeans, a T shirt, and like an old style green bomber type of jacket. And the remains were wearing those same clothing.

[A]

And here's something that was interesting. All the metal zippers and buttons had been cut out of the clothing before he was buried, presumably to make it harder for metal detectors to aid in the search for the remains.

[C]

And what stands out to me is not just the fact that Abraham was buried, but it was how much effort that went into making sure he stayed hidden. The remains were transported to the lab for an autopsy. And while the body was well preserved, it did appear that Lyme had been used to try to accelerate the decomposition process, which could complicate making a difference definitive id.

[A]

However, in an unusual twist, the Lyme actually helped do the opposite.

[B]

Lime had solidified inside the palm and fingers of his hand. And so when we exhumed him, we were able to take that solid piece of lime which had his finger impressions in them, and hand that over to our identification section. And they immediately identified him with his fingerprints off of that solid piece of line.

[C]

It's a great example how forensics doesn't always work the way people expect. Sometimes the COVID up leaves the clearest mark. One of those rare forensic moments where an attempt to hide the truth actually preserves it. It's just more evidence of the haphazard and amateur methods the killer took to try to get away with his murder.

[B]

The cause of manner of death was gunshot wounds to his chest and midsection. It was two projectiles that were fired into his lower chest, abdominal section. And they were collected. They were very well preserved. And ballistically, they matched to a.38 class

[A]

weapon, a match for the gun that Moore had given to Greg Smith.

[B]

That firearm matched ballistically to the rounds collected from Abraham Shakespeare's remains. Later in the investigation, we were able to obtain a receipt and video surveillance from a gun store, a local gun store, of her purchasing that firearm and basically practicing with it at an indoor range.

[C]

Police could prove that Moore buried Abraham on a property, property and that she purchased the gun that killed him. But could they prove she pulled the trigger?

[B]

So now at this point, we bring her in for interviews and she's very cooperative. Now she comes to my office in Hillsborough county, where detective Dave Wallace and I spent several hours conducting an interview with her to a point where she just kept making up different stories. She, she said it was. It was this drug dealer named Ronald, who was a black male, that came and shot Abraham Shakespeare for a drug debt at her office. And then when we confronted her advising there's no indication of anybody involved by the name of Ronald, who is a black male, then she changed her story and said, oh, he's actually a white male named Ronald.

[A]

Moore seemed determined to keep trying to talk her way out of what was in now seemingly obvious that she was responsible for Abraham's murder. And detectives were more than happy to let her sink herself.

[B]

She even came up with a story that it was her 14 year old son that came in and intervened when she described Abraham as getting violent with her and putting his hands on her. And her son wanted to protect her, so he grabbed the firearm out of her open safe and shot and killed Abraham. So she wanted to, you know, dispose of the body to protect her son. I mean, every time we came up with something to counter her story, she would lead into a different story. I mean, she would just keep digging herself a deeper, deeper hole, just come. You would counter her with the truth, and she would just come up with some other excuse.

[C]

In fact, Moore was so convinced she would get away with it that detectives even let her go home in between interviews, knowing she would return the next day to keep talking.

[B]

And that was kind of the game plan of what we were doing, is just continuing to let her talk. She was not invoking, not requesting an attorney. She would voluntarily come in and speak to us, and she would leave afterwards. She just kept essentially burying herself. And so that was the basis of our probable cause.

[A]

And as you said before, detectives, law enforcement in general, they like nothing more than to let suspects talk. But at this point, they had really heard enough.

[B]

And then it comes to a point where we had enough evidence. We had the analysis of the firearm, we had some evidence from the structure where he was killed, obviously his remains.

[C]

Now, Moore had told a lot of stories about what had happened to Abraham Shakespeare, from going on a much needed vacation to being the victim of ruthless drug dealers. But in every story, there was always one constant. Dee Dee Moore herself.

[B]

Every single version of her story, she was always there. And so then we developed the probable cause, and we make an arrest one night, brought her in, took her to central booking, and my sheriff made the press announcement.

[A]

Then, after sitting down with a Florida state attorney, they finalized the charges for murder in the first degree.

[C]

So what exactly was her plan? We assume it had to do with money. But how exactly did she plan to part Abraham with his cash and then get away with it?

[B]

I think she truly wanted to maybe write a book and interview this guy and just meet him. I don't think she really necessarily had the wherewithal or the intelligence to target him early. I think after she got to know him and realized how simple he was, how uneducated he was, that she could con him and take advantage of him.

[A]

Dede Moore was a successful businesswoman with plenty of her own money, but she saw an opportunity to take advantage of someone and live up to her own name. She wanted more.

[B]

I think greed got to her, and she saw an easy way to take on his remaining assets and money.

[C]

Her first step was gaining Abraham's confidence. And the fact that she was the first person not to ask him for money went a long way. He trusted her. He gave her a carte blanche to manage his financial affairs.

[B]

Next thing you know, she's going to bank of America and other banks where he had some accounts, and she's, you know, basically portraying herself as a financial assistant. He signed her on to his accounts. She basically declared herself power of attorney and forged Abraham Shakespeare's signature. And so she presented those documents to the banks he utilized and had total access to the funds. And we were seeing where she would withdraw money or move money to a different account.

[A]

At one point, Moore even convinced Abraham to sell her his assets, including his house, all with the help of a lawyer friend who conveniently had set up shop right on her property.

[B]

And that is where she basically took a template and wrote up an asset purchase agreement to take over the last bit of Abraham's cash and assets. He agreed to basically sell off his home and his assets for, like, $185,000 cash.

[C]

So with Abraham all but wiped out of money, it finally came time to make him disappear once and for all. And that plan started with a night on the town with him and another girlfriend.

[B]

And so the three of them had planned to go to the hard rock casino that night, which is in Tampa, to basically go gamble and have a good time, go have drinks and so deep. Edie was in Abraham's room at his residence that he purchased after his lottery winnings, Filming, allegedly for her book, Aiming

[A]

a Video camera at Abraham. She led him right into answers that she believed would help support her planned alibi that he had just up and moved overseas.

[B]

She was kind of pushing him to kind of make those responses, like, aren't you tired of all these people coming to you, asking for money and groveling and, you know, and he's like, kind of going along with it, like, yeah, yeah, I am kind of tired of it. Yeah. I wouldn't mind getting away for a little while. I just want to disappear for a little bit.

[C]

Then Moore lured him to her home, removed a.38 caliber handgun with a laser sight out of her safe, and shot him twice in the chest.

[B]

We pretty much determined that after her ex husband left the property, she was there alone. She moved the body with the ATV and the trailer to the other side of the property and would have been able to basically roll him into this open grave on her own.

[A]

Then she poured Lyme onto his body and called her ex husband to return and fill the hole to conceal her crime. But her. Her trial would ultimately expose all of her lies.

[B]

When they were reading out the verdict, a clap of lightning happened right when they said guilty.

[C]

In the end, Dee Dee Moore was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

[A]

It was a just but tragic end to the story of Abraham Shakespeare, A man who wanted nothing more than to share his good fortune with the people around him.

[B]

It was totally taking advantage of an individual that meant well and was, you know, helping people out and to just, you know, take somebody's life for simple greed and then do, you know, bury them in a nine foot hole and try to cover it up as if nothing happened. It's just, you know, heinous.

[C]

Abraham Shakespeare caught lightning in a bottle, but he never tried to become someone else because of it. He stayed generous, he stayed grounded, he stayed kind. And that openness wasn't a flaw. It was who he was. But once the headlines faded, that same openness left him vulnerable, Especially to someone who understood how to watch, wait and move in quietly. This case isn't just about winning the lottery or losing everything. It's about how quickly fortune can turn when trust is exploited. Because the most dangerous con artists don't come in loud or obvious. They come in as help, as friendship, and someone offering stability. A wolf in sheep's clothing doesn't announce itself. It earns trust.

[A]

First, what drives someone to take from somebody else just because they want what they have? Most of us wouldn't do that, though. We may want or even envy what someone else has. But then to up it from there. Even if someone's brave enough to steal from someone else, how is it that person can then get to the point that they are able to take another life? Murder someone over money? Murder to try and get away with their original crime of theft? I've pondered things like that for years, and if only we had the answer. But however she became capable of it, that's exactly what More did. And Abraham Shakespeare, a man who didn't come from means and then suddenly found himself extraordinarily wealthy. Most of that money he took to help others or to make life easier and more fun for the people he cared about or that he thought could use his help. It seemed that he realized he was taken advantage of by some people and that is what likely drew him to More. He thought she was different, that she didn't want anything from him but to tell his story through a book. Yet she was the worst of all. Abraham Shakespeare should be remembered for his kind spirit and deep sense of giving, and that says a lot about the man he was. Tune in next week for another new episode of Homicide 360.

[C]

Homicide 360 is created and produced by Forsetti Media and Weinberger Media.

[A]

Supervising producer is Walker Lamond. Managing Editor is Kate Mack. Sabrina Sarai is production manager. Edited by Ali Sierrawa and Phil Jean Grande Original theme music by Trey Anderson. This episode was researched by Jessica Lauren.