Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
The forthcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, “Shattered Bonds,” will be aired on Oxygen on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. It follows the murder of Stephen Moore by his estranged wife, Kathleen Dorsett, and her parents, Thomas and Leslie Dorsett.
In May 2013, Kathleen Dorsett and he father, Thomas Dorsett, pleaded guilty to murdering her ex-husband Stephen Moore. Kathleen was convicted on charges of murder and attempted murder. Thomas Dorsett was convicted of arson-for-hire and murder. CBS News reported that his wife, Leslie, was found to bribe a police informant $1,000 to kill Moore’s mother and was also convicted of conspiracy.
Kathleen confessed that she lured Stephen Moore into the backyard of her parents’ home when he had come to drop off their daughter, Elizabeth. She did this, knowing that her father was in the backyard. Thomas Dorsett then got into a fight with Moore, which led to him striking Moore in the head with a heavy metal object. He then used a rope to strangle Moore to death. Thomas claimed that he and Kathleen then dumped Stephen Moore’s remains in his mother, Evelyn Moore’s car, and hired a third person to set it on fire.
Authorities found Stephen Moore’s body two days after he was last seen dropping his daughter at the Dorsett residence. They discovered his remains inside the trunk of his mother’s burnt car. An investigation revealed that it was a premeditated murder that Kathleen Dorsett and her parents had conspired.
According to ABC 7, Kathleen Dorsett was an elementary school teacher. She taught kindergarten and third-grade students at the Gables Elementary School in Neptune.
How many years were Kathleen Dorsett and her parents sentenced to?
Kathleen Dorsett and her parents were sentenced to a combined 110 years in prison. Kathleen was sentenced to 58 years, while her father’s sentence, which included his arson-for-hire charge, amounted to 45 years. Her mother, Leslie, was sentenced to 7 years in prison. As the CBS News report, the murder was planned following a seemingly frustrating child custody battle in which the couple were involved.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Stephen Moore and Thomas Dorsett were in a conflict. Moore previously accused his father-in-law of mistreating his daughter, Elizabeth. A divorce decree that instructed the Dorsetts to find Moore a home in Florida, where the family was deciding to move, further ruptured their relationship. Kathleen reportedly called her father during her marriage and claimed that Stephen could not provide for the family.
The weekend after his murder, Moore was scheduled to have a three-day overnight stay with his daughter, which the Dorsetts allegedly did not want. ABC 7 reported that Kathleen Dorsett wanted control over the circumstances and also took steps to minimize Moore’s parenting time. Stephen Moore’s attorney described her as being an “overprotective mother.” The latter also claimed that her behavior resulted in tensions within their marriage.
NBC New York reported that Thomas Dorsett’s guilty plea was conditional on the acceptance of his wife’s guilty plea. If the court found her guilty, she would then receive a much lighter sentence. In 2021, he made a bid to withdraw his guilty plea, but the court rejected it.
Viewers can catch the latest episode of Dateline: Uncovered Secrets, titled “Shattered Bonds,” on Oxygen on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
