TACOMA — Pierce County prosecutors have charged a man with fatally shooting his 10-year-old son’s mother inside a University Place apartment complex.
Duane Dushon Moore, 42, was charged Friday with first-degree murder. He is accused of killing 40-year-old Kayla Vallee on Dec. 9 in the 7300 block of 56th Street Court West. Vallee died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to charging documents.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Moore’s behalf during his arraignment at Pierce County Superior Court on Friday. A court commissioner set his bail at $1 million, court records show.
Moore and Vallee shared custody of their 10-year-old son. At the time of the homicide, their son was living with Moore temporarily. At about 8 a.m. that morning, Vallee of Bonney Lake borrowed her mother’s car to drive to Moore’s apartment to pick up their son. They also were supposed to discuss custody arrangements, charging documents show.
“Me and all of her friends and her stepfather told her not to go in that apartment by herself. But she didn’t want to listen — she just wanted her boy back. I don’t think any of us thought he was going to kill her,” Christine Kingsbury, Vallee’s mother, told The News Tribune for a Dec. 15 story.
Vallee reportedly wanted to bring her mother with her, but Moore refused, stating the discussion had to be made as a family. When Vallee asked if she could bring a friend, he refused again. Kingsbury told police that she did not want Vallee going alone because she did not trust Moore. Vallee still went to Moore’s apartment to try and get custody of her son, charging documents show.
That morning, Vallee left her mother and stepfather’s Orting home and drove to University Place about 8 a.m. A few hours later, Moore showed up to Kingsbury’s home and left the boy and his belongings in the driveway. Moore parked his car on the side of a road, about 100 yards from the driveway, prosecutors wrote.
Vallee’s stepfather said he immediately tried to contact her but could not reach her. He told police that was unusual, and he was concerned something happened to Vallee. The 10-year-old son was crying in the driveway. He told Vallee’s stepfather and Kingsbury that Moore said he would not see him again because he was going to prison for what he did to his mother, charging papers show.
The child also told them that he mentioned something to the defendant about killing Vallee, and the suspect said something similar to, “Well I haven’t tried yet,” charging documents show.
Kingsbury and Vallee’s stepfather later told police that Vallee was never allowed inside Moore’s apartment. The day she was killed was the first time Vallee was allowed inside, prosecutors wrote.
Kingsbury’s car was found in the University Place apartment parking lot. When Pierce County deputies got access to Moore’s unit from an apartment manager, they found a bullet on the floor of the living room. Deputies also saw blood on the couch, prosecutors wrote.
Deputies found Vallee wrapped in a blanket. She was wedged between the couch and a piece of furniture. Vallee appeared to be deceased after suffering from several gunshot wounds, prosecutors wrote.
A .45-caliber handgun was found inside a tennis shoe on a shoe rack. Detectives later recovered ammunition for the gun, a gun safe that had a gun magazine and child-support paperwork, charging documents show.
Later that day, deputies located Moore in Buckley. He was sitting his car which was parked on a trail. He initially refused to come out of the car, and an hour-long standoff ensued. Deputies broke the windows of his car using less lethal munitions. He opened the door and got out of the car. Moore allegedly tried to run or charge towards deputies but fell down. He was hit with a stun-gun shot, which allowed police to arrest him, charging documents show.
Prosecutors wrote that Moore appeared to be in a daze and did not talk, as he could only say a few words. Buckley firefighters determined he needed to go to the hospital. Moore was in the hospital until Dec. 14 when he was officially booked into Pierce County Jail, court records show.
A candlelight vigil was held on Dec. 16 outside of the University Place apartment complex in Vallee’s honor. Vallee had five children, including her 10-year-old son. In a previous interview, Kinsbury said that she is amazed at how many people have come forward to say that Vallee touched their lives.
