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Cornelia Moore was known as a protector. As the youngest of three, Moore defended her older siblings on the Kentucky basketball courts, her mother recalled.
“If she saw someone pick on her sister or brother, she would talk to them,” said Rochelle Moore-Wells. “It was fun because she always tried to protect her, but she was the smallest in the group.”
Four years ago, Moore moved to Austin, her hometown, and Moore-Wells followed her in 2020. Soon, Moore would be engaged. Her friend’s son had already asked Moore, 27, to be his other mother.
But on September 4, while Moore was driving her hair before a weekend beach trip with her best friends, she was fatally shot in an incident.
Police arrested Tony McCullough and Raffinee McCorkle and charged them with the murder, but Moore’s family and friends are still searching for answers about what led to the fatal encounter.
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McCullough stayed in jail on Friday on bail of $ 250,000, according to public records. McCullough’s attorney Robb Shepherd declined to comment on the incident on Friday.
McCorkle was released on September 6 on a personal guarantee of recognition and his lawyer was unavailable Friday for comment.
Moore is one of the record-breaking victims of homicides this year. It is not clear whether there will be increased traffic incidents in Austin. The Austin Police Department is tracking road traffic incidents, but a spokesman would not provide the data to the American statesman without first receiving a request under the Texas Public Information Act that the statesman filed.
Police officers said Moore called 911 around 12:30 p.m. to report that a gray Dodge Charger “followed her and engaged in” street rage “behavior. She said a person in the Charger pointed a gun at her and said the Charger drove into her vehicle according to the affidavit.
Moore then reported that someone in the Charger shot her. Moore was able to tell the police where she was before she stopped responding, the police said. The police have not disclosed a possible motive for the killing.
Officials spotted Moore’s black BMW on the southbound front road on Interstate 35 near Park 35 Circle in North Austin. She had a single gunshot wound. Doctors tried to treat her, but she was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:07 pm
According to affidavits, McCullough and McCorkle said they were driven off the road by an unidentified vehicle that continued to follow them.
McCullough said the car stopped next to them and the driver laughed, but he did not provide any further details about the incident according to the affidavits. McCorkle denied knowing about the shooting, the affidavits read.
Police officers said they would not provide any further information as the case is still being investigated.
“It broke my heart when I heard it because when I heard it, the speakerphone was on and my kids were right there,” said Moore’s friend Gabrielle Garrett. “Hearing my kids screaming and my son crying and (walking) away from me, telling me ‘no’ – it was really hard.”
Moore was remembered at a funeral arranged by her family and again at a car meet-up held in honor of Street Bullies, the auto club she founded, attended by hundreds of people.
“You could feel their love all over the parking lot,” Garrett said. “It is important to her that her two families are mixed up. Your Street Bullies family and your real family. “
On October 4th, one month after her death, loved ones met again in Zilker Park to release balloons in memory of Moore.
“It’s so sad that she died this way, so full of life. She just wanted everyone to be successful, and I was so proud of her because she was just pulling herself together, ”said Moore-Wells.
Car club
When Moore was 8 years old, she was given a Chrysler 300 that she took everywhere for over a decade. She felt such a strong connection with this toy that she vowed to buy a 300 as her first car – which she did when she was 20 years old.
In Austin, she found a second family through her love for cars.
Street bullies organized car rides around town and car meetings in parking lots. Moore and some of her closest friends had planned the group’s next big event over a Sunday brunch the week before she was murdered.
Ben Rivas, vice president of Street Bullies, one of Moore’s closest friends, said Moore had made her auto club as inclusive as possible, and she greeted anyone who cared without judgment. The group’s Facebook page has more than 600 followers.
Moore made people feel welcome and happy, he said. Rivas said Moore would always try to help people through difficult times, including himself.
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Moore comforted Rivas after losing his job and on the verge of losing his car. Moore said they would get through the tough time together, and they did.
“It tore me apart just to know that I would never see her again, hear her laugh, hear her making fun of me. It hurts deep inside me just because it has such a big impact on my life, even when I’ve hit rock bottom, ”said Rivas.
Moore also looked after her mother’s car. Moore replaced their windshield wipers, changed the oil and made sure the Moore-Wells car was up to date with all maintenance work after Moore-Wells moved to Austin in October.
“When I had problems with my car, she said, ‘Mom, when I get older I’ll be a mechanic,'” said Moore-Wells. “’I fix cars so you don’t have to worry about your car breaking down. You can call me.'”
Planning for the future
Moore had just found a higher salary and benefits mechanic job near her home in North Austin. She previously worked as a mechanic at Lucas Tire and Auto Service. She started taking pictures and her friend had just opened a salon, which Moore urged her to do.
Without Moore encouraging Garrett to follow her dream, Garrett said she would never do itopened her own business.
“All my life I’ve been thinking, ‘Hey, I have kids. I can not do this. I can not do this. I have to do this. ‘ You know i have to do a job. I have to work to take care of her, ”Garrett said. “She was literally the first person to say, ‘Hey, you can do this and you can still be the mother you are.'”
Garrett and Moore talked to FaceTime on the phone every night while they fell asleep. Moore played Call of Duty with Garrett’s children, 9 and 11 years old, almost every day. Garrett’s son even cut his hair to resemble Moore’s.
“They were walking around the house some nights when I came infrom a long day at work and they’ll both have their underwear on, don’t know why, but that’s what they did, “said Garrett.” Definitely a wonderful person. “
When Garrett and Moore drove late at night, they dreamed of what the future held. Moore wanted to open a car shop.
“We were both dreamers,” said Garrett. “We both had many nights just cruising and thinking about what we’re going to do next, how we’re going to do it. When we get old, we could leave the country and live elsewhere, our children and family could go on vacation and just enjoy life. “
“Always trying to make someone smile”
Two weeks before Moore’s death, she danced in her older sister’s new apartment. Moore-Wells recalls how much Moore laughed that day, the last day the family would be together.
“If she wasn’t in a good mood, you wouldn’t know,” said Moore-Wells. “She always tried to put a smile on someone’s face, just like me, always tried to make someone smile.”
Moore would turn the fantasy into reality. When Garrett talked about what her parents called Garrett Princess and how she had always dreamed that unicorns were real, Moore led her to the first castle near College Station that she had ever seen.
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“If you happened to be in the same room with Cornelia, you would laugh, you would feel her vibrations. She is a happy person. She was always positive, ”said Garrett. “Your energy has always been great. It was her light. You could tell that she was a wonderful person, as if her smile made you smile. “
Rivas said Moore would act as a quencher for all negative emotions within her group of friends. Even if she was going through a difficult time, she would still strive to make everyone else’s life easier.
If someone came to car meetings and made rude remarks, Moore would confront them.
“Nice, but in a very, very strong way (she was) like, ‘Hey, none of this is necessary. Always with Tranquillity. Return; Go in your own way, ‘”said Rivas. “It really puts into perspective how protective she was.”
“I know that she is with us”
Garrett still says good morning to Moore some days.
“I usually talk to her like she was with me,” Garrett said. “I tell her that she can move mountains with God now; You can protect us as you always wanted to and watch over all of us at the same time, and you don’t have to be sad and stop holding anything. You are free now, and we have always spoken of the fact that we are free. “
Garrett re-reads Moore’s text messages every day and keeps her face on the screen of her phone while she falls asleep to mimic her bedtime ritual.
Garrett said she knew Moore could still hear her words.
“I know she is with us because she loves us very much,” said Garrett. “This is someone I have prepared to spend the rest of our lives together, so we’ve shared so much that I know we are still connected because the soul lives forever.”
Rivas said street bullies will live on for Moore.
“We will definitely make sure that it stays alive for her because that’s exactly what she would have wanted,” said Rivas.
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https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/10/11/charges-road-rage-killing-austin-mechanic-cornelia-moore-questions-shot/5842929001/
