Dateline NBC will re-examine Emily Noble’s mysterious death in an upcoming episode. The all-new episode, titled “The Clearing,” airs this Friday, October 6, 2023, at 9:00 PM ET.
Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder and suicide. Readers’ discretion is advised.
Ohio resident Noble went missing on May 25, 2020, hours after celebrating her 52nd birthday with her husband, Matheau Moore. According to her husband, she vanished from their Westerville house in the middle of the night, triggering a widespread search. Four months later, investigators found her remains hanging from a tree.
Police eventually arrested and charged Mattheau Moore with murder over a year later, i.e., in June 2021. Investigators alleged that he murdered the victim and staged the incident to make it seem like a suicide. He then stood trial in August 2022 when a jury found him not guilty of the crime.
Where did investigators find Emily Noble’s body and what did the autopsy reveal?
People Magazine reported that Noble’s husband, Matheau Moore, was the first to report her missing. He claimed she mysteriously vanished from the house in the middle of the night on May 25, 2020, leaving behind her wallet, car keys, and phone. The 52-year-old’s car also remained parked in the driveway. In the following weeks, hundreds of volunteers joined the searches alongside law enforcement officials.
The extensive search only concluded on September 16 of that same year when investigators found her body hanging from a tree in a wooded area near the couple’s Westerville, Ohio, residence. An autopsy soon revealed crucial details, including facial and neck fractures the victim had sustained, which led officials to rule her death to be a homicide. As per medical examiners, she died of strangulation.
The husband, Matheau Moore, faced murder charges until a jury acquitted him
The same report by People Magazine mentioned that police arrested Matheau Moore in June 2021 after investigators alleged that he murdered Emily Noble and staged the scene to make it appear like a suicide. Following this, a jury indicted him on charges of murder and felonious assault.
During Moore’s August 2022 trial, prosecutors maintained that the injuries found on the victim’s face and hands were inconsistent with a suicide. However, the defense cited her poor medical and mental health histories to prove the suicide story.
An Oxygen News report mentioned that Noble’s first husband as well as her 17-year-old son from the previous marriage had died by suicide. The defense even noted that she had sought help for depression.
The same outlet reported that a jury found 51-year-old Moore not guilty of the charges stemming from the mysterious death.
