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Opening statements begin in a 50-year-old Tallahassee cold case murder trial
TTallahassee

Opening statements begin in a 50-year-old Tallahassee cold case murder trial

  • February 4, 2026

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Opening statements in a 50 year old cold case murder began on Tuesday in Tallahassee.

James Dudley is accused of killing Richard Moore at a Tallahassee convenience store in December 1976.

Dudley was arrested in 2024 after a cold case unit reinterviewed witnesses in the case.

Tuesday, the jury saw photos of Moore and his vehicle.

Dudley’s defense team said there is no evidence that points to him and called it a case of “altered memories.”

Moore’s granddaughter was the first to take the stand, sharing how the past five decades have felt for her family.

“We always have wondered, it’s been like a shadow, per se, in the back of our minds of who, what, why?” Michelle Drake said.

Testimony in the trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday.

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  • Tags:
  • 1976 tallahassee murder
  • 50 year old cold case
  • Cold Case
  • james dudley
  • murder trial
  • richard moore
  • Tallahassee
  • Tallahassee Headlines
  • tallahassee murder trial
  • Tallahassee News
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