After Joseph Wayne Worley was found dead inside his home, Jennifer Dana Moore was charged with open murder.
ALLEGAN, Mich. — A magistrate ordered Jennifer Dana Moore held without bond after prosecutors charged her with open murder in the fatal shooting of her boyfriend inside their Cheshire Township home.
The bond decision made Moore’s custody status the first major court outcome in the case. Prosecutors argued that the 44-year-old posed a danger and a flight risk after the April 22 death of Joseph Wayne Worley, 52. The court also cited Moore’s limited ties to the Allegan County community. Moore appeared by video in 57th District Court and remains presumed innocent while the charge moves through the early court process.
Magistrate Meredith Beidler described the allegation as one of the most serious charges and denied release. The ruling followed reports that Moore had called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. and told a dispatcher she had shot her boyfriend. Deputies went to the home on East Baseline Road in southern Allegan County, near the Van Buren County line. Police said Moore was first seen on the porch and then went back inside. Officers later watched her through the doorway and window while Worley lay on the floor inside the home.
Deputies said Moore was crying and emotional at the scene. According to the affidavit described in reports, she told officers, “I shot him” and “I killed him.” Officers said they could see a person’s feet through a window as Moore stood over him. They ordered her out of the home before entering. Inside, they found Worley with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A black revolver was found on the kitchen counter, according to the court records cited in public reports.
The charging decision came after detectives interviewed Moore about the hours before the shooting. She told investigators that she and Worley returned from dinner in Paw Paw and began arguing. Moore said a comment she made upset him, and she said he flipped over a couch before going into a bedroom and locking her out. She told detectives she pleaded with him to open the door. When he did, she said, she grabbed a gun from the bedroom area. Investigators later noted a bullet hole in a bedroom television, a detail that suggested at least one discharge inside that room.
Moore’s account then turned to Worley’s movement away from the bedroom. Police said she admitted pointing the gun at his back while he was walking toward the kitchen. She also demonstrated a firing motion with her hand and described it as “like Doc Holliday.” The phrase, taken from her alleged description to detectives, became the most widely repeated detail from the affidavit. Moore also told police the revolver did not have a safety and that she did not intend to shoot Worley. Prosecutors still filed open murder, signaling that they believe the facts support a murder case despite the accident claim.
The bond hearing did not decide guilt, but it showed how prosecutors view the case at this stage. They pointed to the seriousness of the charge, the alleged act of aiming the gun and the fatal result. The court accepted the argument that release would present unacceptable risks. Moore’s next hearings were set to test whether the case should move forward beyond district court. A probable cause conference was scheduled for May 7, followed by a preliminary examination on May 12. At that stage, prosecutors would be expected to present enough evidence to show the charge should proceed.
The investigation brought in several agencies beyond the sheriff’s office. Reports identified Allegan City Police, Michigan State Police, Bloomingdale Fire Department, Life EMS, the Michigan State Police Crime Lab and the Allegan County Medical Examiner’s Office as part of the response or investigation. That broad involvement reflects the work needed after a fatal shooting, including scene security, medical confirmation, evidence collection, lab review and death investigation. Officials have not publicly released all reports from those agencies. Key unknowns include the final autopsy findings, the completed ballistics analysis and any additional statements from witnesses or family members.
The human record of the case now includes both the court file and Worley’s life outside it. His obituary described him as a devoted father and an outdoorsman who worked as a master electrician and nuclear technician. Neighbors told local reporters the couple had recently moved into the rental home, making the shooting especially jarring for the quiet area around East Baseline Road. The home sits near Baseline Lake and rural roads that connect small communities on the edge of Allegan County. Police have not reported prior calls to the residence in the public accounts reviewed.
The next phase depends on evidence, not the bond ruling alone. Prosecutors must show enough proof for the case to continue, and later proceedings would address the degree of the charge, possible motions and any trial schedule. Moore’s alleged statements will likely be weighed against the physical evidence inside the home. Her claim that the revolver fired by accident remains part of the record, but the state is expected to focus on the admission that she pointed it before Worley was shot.
No later public court result was found after the scheduled May hearings in the reports reviewed for this article. Moore was last reported jailed without bond, and the case remained in the early stages of prosecution.
Author note: Last updated May 21, 2026.