Andrew Moore, known as Andy to friends and family, had been born Nguyen Tan Tai in Vietnam in 1974, but at the age of seven months, had been adopted by Dick and Rita Moore and taken to live in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. There, he grew up an athletic and cheerful child, much adored by his parents and sisters.
The summer after he graduated high school, he traveled to San Diego, California to stay with his uncle, and fell in love with the vibrant and diverse city. While there, he also took a temporary position at Sea World, and thereafter resolved to move to the west coast permanently, a desire he made a reality not long afterward. By the time he was twenty-six years old in 2000, he was attending City College, studying international business; had his own studio apartment; and was also working as a chef at Maloney’s Tavern in San Diego’s Gaslamp district.
On Saturday, September 9th, 2000, Andy had apparently invited friends over for a small gathering at his apartment; these unknown individuals consisted of two women and one man.
On Monday, Andy’s mother Rita back in Pennsylvania became concerned, as she hadn’t heard from her son for a couple of days, which was very out of character for him. She called Andy’s uncle in San Diego and asked him to drop by and check on the young man. The uncle did so, and made a dreadful discovery: upon looking into the window of Andy’s apartment, he saw what was clearly Andy’s dead body lying on the floor. He immediately summoned the police.
It appeared that Andy had been bludgeoned to death with some unknown object. Authorities speculated that robbery might have been a partial motive, as a set of very expensive chef knives was stolen from the apartment, and Andy’s motorcycle—a 1994 Suzuki Katana—was missing from the parking lot. The search was on to find the three individuals who had been seen at Andy’s home on Saturday night, as these were suspected to be the last people to see him alive. None of the trio has ever come forward for identification. In addition, investigators sought an unknown black man and white woman who had been seen driving a white Volkswagen Rabbit near the scene at the time the homicide was believed to have been committed; these two individuals have also never been found.
A few weeks after the murder, Andy’s motorcycle was found parked on 24th Street, but investigation into this lead likewise went nowhere. Police confirmed that both fingerprint and DNA evidence had been recovered from the scene, but have so far not been any help in pinning down a suspect.
As of this writing, there is a $56,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case. Andy’s parents, Dick and Rita, established a scholarship to City College in their son’s memory, and fly from Pennsylvania to San Diego every year on the anniversary of his death to bestow it in person.
Crime Immemorial 