COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jurors faced a tough day in the courtroom on Friday for the murder trial of Matheau Moore. The Westerville man is accused of killing his wife, Emily Noble, and staging her death to look like a suicide.
But jurors heard his many claims of innocence as part of his video taped interview with detectives that was played in court.
“Guys, I did not hurt my wife,” he told detectives. “I did not hurt my wife. I loved her.”
Westerville Police Det. Steve Grubbs testified about that interview. He pointed out that Moore had used the past tense when describing his love for his wife.
“I know I did not hurt her, I didn’t do anything,” Moore told detectives during the interview. “So the only other thing that I can think of is that she did something to herself.”
And Moore even speculated that Noble might hang herself if she did take her own life. Noble was found in a wooded area in September 2020 with a black USB cord around her neck. Her remains were found months after she was reported missing in May 2020. And jurors did see the gruesome photos from the scene in court.
Also during testimony from Det. Grubbs, he discussed text messages that had been exchanged between Moore and Noble in the months before she was reported missing.
“It was very much up and down from the beginning of it, end of October until approximately beginning of April, and at that point, it seemed to be the up and down, there were no more ups,” Det. Grubbs testified. “And the conversation just seemed to be going down at that point.”
The messages reveal disagreements about Moore’s drinking, his sadness about the death of his son, who had died by suicide the year before, and name-calling. There was even talk about moving out and divorce.
“You might want to find out what I heard you talk about last night on the phone,” Noble wrote in one message. “It’s very serious. I’m not wearing my wedding rings. We won’t be able to talk tonight because you’ve been drinking.”
Jurors also heard testimony about the data and location information from both Noble’s phone and Moore’s phone. They are due back in court for more testimony on Monday morning.