84-year-old man arrested for 'brutal' murder had criminal record including bank robberies

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police have arrested and charged an elderly man with a "very brutal" deadly attack on his roommate and her dog and then using her credit cards to purchase several gift cards and planning to flee the country.

APD also says he had a criminal record including bank robberies and served time in prison.

84-year-old Jack Moore is currently in the Travis County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder and a parole violation for felony carjacking. Bond has been set at $1 million.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Elderly man kills roommate, dog in Austin then tries to flee country: APD

According to court paperwork, on Nov. 18 at around 1:46 p.m., Austin police, fire and EMS crews were dispatched to a home at 6922 Bryn Mawr Drive in Northeast Austin to check on an elderly woman who had not been heard from in six days.

A neighbor had approached the home and detected an "odor consistent with decomposition and fly activity or insect activity in the windows of the residence," said APD Homicide Det. Israel Pena in a press briefing on Nov. 21. 

A family member who lived locally also reported entering the home and finding the woman dead in a downstairs closet with a dead dog on top of her. The two were found in the intermediate stage of decomposition, says the arrest affidavit.

When APD got inside the home, they also found a broken piece of furniture and additional evidence of a disturbance, which Det. Pena said confirmed APD's belief that her death was a homicide and not a natural one.

Police also learned the woman, later identified by police as 83-year-old Linda Jean Mlsna, lived in the home with her dog, her adult son and Moore, her roommate. Mlsna's family told police Moore had been stealing money from her.

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Mlsna's son had been out of town and Moore could not be located. Attempts to call Moore went to voicemail. 

A search warrant for the home uncovered blood in several areas and a cell phone belonging to Mlsna, which showed several text message alerts from various financial institutions about suspicious purchases made with several of her credit cards, all over an eight-day period at one store, the arrest affidavit says.

Police went to the store to obtain surveillance video of several of the purchases, each of which showed a man matching Moore's description arriving in a red Alfa Romeo and then using Mlsna's credit card to purchase several gift cards. In total, police discovered Moore had allegedly purchased 36 gift cards over 21 separate transactions and said several of those purchases were made during the time Mlsna was known to be dead.

Police set up surveillance at the store on Nov. 19 and that afternoon, Moore was seen arriving in the parking lot in the red Alfa Romeo, says the arrest affidavit. He went inside, made a cash purchase, then got back in the car, which was driven by another man, the affidavit said.

Police followed the car to an apartment about three and a half miles away from Mlsna's home. Moore was then arrested at the apartment complex by US Marshals on a parole violation for carjacking.

The driver told police on scene that Moore had been living in an apartment there for approximately five days and had a duffle bag and other property inside the apartment. 

During an interview with police, Moore allegedly confessed to Mlsna's murder and provided "very very specific details as to what occurred in the residence," said Det. Pena, including details not released to the public or media or included in any search warrant affidavits.

Moore told police that he was afraid Mlsna's family was going to move her out to a nursing home because of her advanced age and that he knew she wanted to live in the home until her death. He also admitted to killing her dog because he wanted him to be with her forever, said the affidavit.

Moore also told police he was buying gift cards because he planned to flee to South America and that he stole several pieces of jewelry from Mlsna's room after her murder. A search of the apartment where Moore was arrested uncovered over 30 gift cards and receipts, credit cards issued to Mlsna and women's jewelry, said the affidavit.