Keith Melvin Moses shot and killed Nathacha Augustin, 38, T’Yonna Major, 9, and Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, according to deputies. (Mugshot: Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
A grand jury on Thursday indicted the young man charged with murdering three people and trying to kill two others in a shooting spree last month.
Deputies in Orange County, Florida, previously said that Keith Melvin Moses, 19, had been invited into a vehicle on the morning of Feb. 22. Without apparent motive, however, he shot and killed fellow passenger Nathacha Augustin, 38.
According to documents, the driver did not hear Moses and Augustin argue, and the two did not know one another. But after 30 seconds, the driver heard a “bang” and saw blood on the woman’s face. He pulled over at 6114 Hialeah Street.
“The witness stated he did not have any problems with anyone, and to his knowledge [redacted] did not have any problems with anyone,” authorities said. “The witness stated they were not being followed.”
Deputies said they arrived to find Augustin dead outside the vehicle. She had been shot on the left side of her chin. But Moses had fled, authorities said.
Hours later, Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons and photographer Jesse Walden arrived to the scene to cover this incident. Deputies claim Moses returned to the scene and opened fire on the men, killing Lyons and critically injuring Walden.
It was around this same time that he also entered a nearby home, fatally shooting T’Yonna Major, 9.
The child’s mother, who was also shot but survived, described waking up to “T’Yonna Major yelling, ‘HE SHOT ME!’ as she ran into her room and jumped into her bed,” investigators wrote.
As the mother woke up, she heard two gunshots and felt like she was being shot in the arm. She grabbed her daughter, and they barricaded themselves in the master bathroom until law enforcement arrived, according to the affidavit.
Authorities said they found Moses nearby and arrested him.
“I am glad to see the Grand Jury indicted Keith Moses on First Degree Murder charges in the brutal killings of Nathacha Augustin, T’yonna Major and Dylan Lyons and hope the death penalty is sought in this case,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a statement. “Our community continues to grieve these senseless murders and I have faith that a jury will find him guilty and he will spend the rest of his life locked up, where he belongs. Nothing will bring Nathacha, T’yonna and Dylan back, but I hope this indictment gives their families some measure of hope that justice will ultimately be served.”
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