Murder in the Thirst (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Who Killed the Lottery Millionaire? - full transcript
After winning the lottery, handyman Abraham Shakespeare was initially eager to share the wealth, but when he finally decided to tighten the purse strings, he soon vanished.
We'’re taking you into a world
of money, luxury, and power,
and the people who would do
anything to get there.
These are the tales
of the desperate thirsts
that drive people to murder.
Viewer discretion advised?
You damn right.
He went from humble handyman
to lotto millionaire overnight.
This guy, he was a day laborer,
and now here he is
a multimillionaire.
He was a man
who came from nothing.
He achieved his dream
to become rich.
His $30 million jackpot
turned him into
a local celebrity.
He wasn'’t the broke guy.
He wasn'’t the nobody.
He wasn'’t the guy
who sleeps outside.
That'’s Abraham Shakespeare.
Okay, so, he stepped up
to another level.
He moved to another scene.
When it came to gifts,
he gave a lot of jewelry.
I had rings and bracelets
and necklaces.
We went to, like,
Jamaica, Cayman Islands,
Cozumel, Mexico.
Listen, he bought
a $250,000 BMW.
Everybody wanted a piece
of Abraham Shakespeare.
Everybody had a thirst
for Shakespeare'’s money.
He was like a little fish
in the ocean
with a bunch of sharks.
He was the hood'’s bank.
When you go public and
you'’ve won all of this money,
there'’s a target on your back.
And when he finally said
enough is enough,
Abraham Shakespeare
vanished into thin air.
He got frustrated with people
asking him for money.
He just wanted to get away
for a minute.
Are you gonna miss your home?
Yep, I'’ll miss it,
but life goes on.
What really happened
to Abraham Shakespeare?
Everything struck me as odd.
Why did his mom
not report him missing?
Why not his family?
Is this really
a missing persons case?
Or something that ended
in the homicide?
It'’s a mystery laced
with luxury and lies,
and 30 million unlucky numbers
that add up to
murder in the thirst.
Not a single number again!
Whoo! I guess I'’m not as lucky
as Abraham Shakespeare.
This man, he won big.
30 million big.
But before you start praying
to get lucky like Abraham,
better do a search
on these words...
Lottery curse.
Well, my son Abraham,
he was kind-hearted and giving.
Abraham really didn'’t
have a whole lot
when he was younger,
or his family.
He only had a third
or fourth grade education.
Before he got rich,
Abraham'’s life was simple.
He didn'’t make much money.
He washed dishes
and worked on garbage trucks.
But everybody who knew him
would tell you Abraham
had a good heart.
The first time I met
Abraham Shakespeare was 2003.
He used to be the clean-up guy
at my barbershop.
He would sweep up, clean up,
mop, get the garbage.
He did any little small job
to try to keep a few dollars
in his pocket.
But the biggest thing
about Abraham is his heart.
He had a heart of gold.
The few dollars
that Abraham acquired,
the guys would come by
and borrow it from him,
but his heart was so big,
he wouldn'’t say no.
He was a simple man,
but his life changed
after winning the lottery.
A Lakeland handy man has won
the $30 million lottery.
Shakespeare is one lucky guy.
He hit a $30 million jackpot.
In 2006, Abraham Shakespeare
won $30 million
in the Florida lottery.
Abraham stopped
at a convenience store
in Frostproof
where he purchased
the winning ticket.
He opted for a $16.9 million
lump sum payment.
Just like that,
everything changed.
Even after Uncle Sam took
a bite out of his ass,
Abraham still
had a cool 13 million.
It was going around town,
"Hey, a guy from Lakeland
hit the lottery."
I ain'’t pay it no attention.
But this one particular day,
I was standing up in
the barbershop cutting hair.
Abraham came up
to the barbershop
in a $250,000,
off the showroom floor BMW.
Okay? $250,000 car.
Yes.
Then it really hit me.
I'’m like, dude, this man
really hit the lottery.
When he came up, he was like,
"Yeah, you'’re looking
at a multimillionaire."
I was saying, "Oh, we rich!"
He used to walk around
this exclusive neighborhood
called Lake Hollingsworth,
a man who came from nothing,
and he would dream
about what it would be like
to live in one of
those palatial homes.
And then all of a sudden,
because you pick
the right numbers,
your dream came true.
More than anything that really
impressed me about Abraham
was when he bought that house.
That was one of the biggest
houses I'’ve ever been in
personally in my life.
He always wanted
to stay out there,
He always wanted to be
that type of individual.
When I first got there,
I was like, "Wow,"
you know what I'’m saying?
Like,
"This is what'’s going on!"
'’Cause I wasn'’t used to it.
Let me tell you
how cool Abraham was.
Even with his luxury
bachelor pad and his fancy car,
he didn'’t act like a big shot.
And when he met
Sentorria Butler,
he was humble.
When I met Abraham, I was young.
I was in my early twenties.
I was introduced to him
by his cousin.
He wasn'’t the type
that was like,
"Yeah, and I live out here
and da-da-da-da."
It was just like,
"This here is my house.
This here is
the first car I bought."
I stayed upstairs in
one of the spare bedrooms,
and in the next couple
of days, he'’s like,
"Oh, we'’re going on a trip."
We went to, like, Jamaica,
and we went to
the Cayman islands,
and we went to Cozumel, Mexico.
We took trips and we had fun.
It was like
we completed each other.
Whatever he lacked, I had,
and whatever I lacked, he had,
so it worked for us.
Like, that'’s the person
I could count on.
That'’s my best friend.
I love this dude.
And I knew deep down inside
he loved me too,
so it was just like,
I didn'’t have no worries.
I knew Abraham
wasn'’t gonna leave me.
No, no. Abraham'’s not
gonna leave me.
He was gonna be there.
He gave gifts,
but it was mainly,
like, jewelry.
He gave a lot of jewelry.
I had rings and bracelets
and necklaces.
If I mentioned it,
he would buy it.
All you haters out there
giving Sentorria the side eye,
hold up.
Shakespeare'’s friends said
she really did love him.
They even had a child
together... a baby boy.
He came into the hospital room.
He brought five cameras.
Normal dads hand out cigars.
This dad hands out cameras
so he can get
the whole process on film.
As soon as the baby came out,
you know how they hand it
to the mama to do the whole...
No. Brother man
intercepted that baby
like he was in the NFL.
He grabbed the baby
and brought him in like,
"Yo, what'’s up?"
And it was just like,
"Oh, you really excited, huh?"
During this time,
Shakespeare was very benevolent
in giving his money away
to some many different people.
Shakespeare bought groceries,
he paid mortgages.
He bought vehicles.
He paid rents.
So many people knew that
they could ask him for money
and he wouldn'’t say no.
He was the hood'’s bank.
Any time you come into contact
with a large amount of money,
it puts you at
a certain amount of risk.
Not necessarily always
about violence,
but definitely
about being preyed on.
And I would try to tell him,
"They ain'’t thinking
that you nice.
They thinking that you naive."
I couldn'’t believe it
when I heard the stories
of how much money
he was giving away.
He went into the bank
just to withdraw
some cash for himself,
and handed $5,000 to people
in line behind him
that he had no clue
who they were.
One young lady met him
at the bowling alley.
She wanted $20,000.
Shakespeare was willing
to give her $40,000.
One piece of advice
experts give lottery winners,
they say,
"Get a financial advisor.
Get someone to give you
sound advice
about what you do
with your money."
And that'’s exactly
what Abraham did.
When he met a woman
named DeeDee Moore.
Shakespeare went to a minority
contractor conference
with his realtor
and he met Dorice DeeDee Moore.
She was exactly
what he needed at that time.
She shows up,
"Hey, I'’m here to help you."
She presented him
with something new.
She came with a new offer,
a new idea.
She wanted to do a book
on the life story
of Abraham Shakespeare.
This person is going to
write about me.
That means that she finds me
as a person interesting.
I trust her.
A business friendship blossomed
between Abraham and DeeDee.
DeeDee was very
well put together.
Nails manicured,
makeup perfect,
had on designer labels,
So he came by the shop,
and lo and behold,
this big woman
got out of the car.
Blonde hair. White chick.
When I first met DeeDee,
she came off as cocky.
Like, "I have money."
DeeDee flashed
her money and wealth
just to show that
she didn'’t need Shakespeare'’s.
For instance, she would send
a limo to go pick him up,
and they would go to the
Hard Rock Casino and gamble.
DeeDee quickly
built up his trust.
The more she spent
time around him,
the more she became the lone
voice of reason in his ear
in terms of all the decisions
that he made moving forward.
He felt like
this was the great savior
of his assets.
As Abraham and DeeDee
grew professionally closer
and closer together,
DeeDee came to the conclusion
that all of his money was spent
except for $1.3 million.
Stop. Unh-uh.
Don'’t say another word.
He was down to $1.3 million
out of 13?
He blew through almost
$12 million in just 2 years.
Damn, this man needed help.
DeeDee started to reveal
that people who were
hanging around him
were siphoning off his winnings.
And she would help him make
sound and prudent investments
so he could grow this money.
Here'’s this person
who'’s coming from the outside,
who'’s just offering
to help him say no
to certain situations
and certain people
and just give him a break
and let someone else handle
the situation for awhile.
That was a win for him.
I think it was a load
off of his shoulders,
He was like, "Man, listen.
Man, I just want to get away.
I'’m tired of everybody
asking me for money."
He'’s like, "Don'’t be surprised
if I just don'’t up
and just left
and don'’t nobody know
where I'’m at."
He was like,
"I'’m gonna go by myself.
Ain'’t nobody gonna know."
He was asking me
where could he go
and just get away for a minute.
I was like, "Abraham, man,
you go where you wanna go."
Check out this video.
DeeDee recorded it
with her phone.
So where you wanna go to?
California?
You want a foreign country?
- For real.
- Cozumel?
Are you gonna miss your home?
Abraham had had enough
of all those thirsty people.
And with DeeDee taking charge,
he was ready to say,
"Bye, Felicia," and disappear.
When your neighbors are
calling you the hood'’s bank,
trust me, it is time to leave.
And after blowing through
$11 million in two years,
it looked like
Abraham Shakespeare
skipped town,
leaving his friend
and financial partner DeeDee
to clean up the mess.
Abraham gave
a lot of money away,
and then he made loans
to several of his friends
and family members,
because he thought,
why not share it?
But that also was a problem
because a lot of people
saw him as a generous person
who could be taken advantage of.
I would say a little over half
the money that he got,
he loaned out.
Abraham expected
these people to pay back
on these loans that he made.
They knew they owed him money,
but some of them didn'’t pay up.
He started giving that money
out to them people
thinking that gonna
make them a good friend
and love him.
He was dead wrong.
The one thing that DeeDee
was able to help Shakespeare do
that he couldn'’t do by himself
was muscle these people
who owed him money.
Those individuals really
started to pay up once DeeDee
entered the picture.
I think that DeeDee was
a powerful fast-talking presence
that just kinda rode into town
and took over.
She was intimidating
just the way she was.
She didn'’t look and dress
like the other people
n the area,
and she just presented
herself in such a way
in which she was demanding
respect and demanding attention.
"Here I am. Acknowledge me."
A lot of the people
that Abraham hung out with
were very unsavory characters.
They had arrest histories.
Some of them had felonies.
So here it is,
you had this white woman
who was very comfortable
around these hardened criminals
and walked freely
in the black community
with no hesitation.
DeeDee was just
really convincing
when she would just
approach these people.
She knew how much they owed.
She knew the law,
and she just had the power
to make them bow down
and do whatever she wanted.
And a lot of these people
that Shakespeare
had dealings with,
they didn'’t wanna go
back to jail,
so they complied.
After a few months,
people started buzzing.
Where the hell
was Abraham anyway?
Was he ever coming back?
I got so mad with this man.
Like, how that we have a baby,
you just up and disappear?
I was sending long
text messages to his phone.
You know, when you get mad?
That'’s how it was with me.
"Oh, my God,
I just can'’t believe that
you just did this to me.
You just left me
and you just da-da-da-da."
And I would never
get a response back.
At the time, I was thinking
he out of town
or he with a girl.
My grandma called. She was like,
"I ain'’t seen Abraham or talked
to Abraham in awhile."
I was hearing things like
he was just going out of town
because he was just tired of
being bothered about the money.
Abraham talked about
how frustrated he was
dealing with so many people
asking for money
and how at the some point
he just wanted
to leave and go away.
I think that may have been
one of the factors
that played into why they
weren'’t significantly alarmed.
I'’m getting word on the street
about what'’s going on
with Shakespeare.
He'’s in the hospital
dying of AIDS.
He was in Orlando.
He was at a Magic game.
Abraham went on a cruise.
New York or someplace,
he was going.
Abraham got killed with
the earthquake in Haiti.
Yes.
He'’s living in Orlando
with a Jamaican girlfriend.
All right,
that'’s a juicy rumor,
but that'’s not
the Abraham we know, is it?
Not when his girlfriend
Sentorria was back at home
raising their baby alone.
You ever have, like,
a deep down feeling
like something ain'’t right?
Maybe he did leave me?
But what if he fell in love
with somebody else?
Ooh, you wait till I see him.
I'’m gonna put him in a headlock.
I'’m gonna kick him
in the knees.
And I remember the last text
I sent to that phone.
It was like... I sent
the picture of the baby,
and I said, "He'’s one now."
And the text back read, "He be."
And I was like,
"Okay, we gonna hold on
to that little minute
amount of hope."
So rather than call
the police and say,
"I think something'’s wrong
with Abraham,"
no, I'’m getting these texts
from his phone.
I'’m gonna take that
and I'’m gonna run with it.
He was sending
text messages to people,
but here'’s the thing.
In those text messages,
everything was spelled correctly
and he was communicating
in complete sentences.
Well, those who knew Abraham
knew he couldn'’t read or write.
So how was this
communication coming over
if he couldn'’t read or write?
No. Everybody knew
if you got a text back
from Abraham,
it was him talking,
but another person
would text for him.
For several months,
Abraham'’s family didn'’t
even report him missing.
I was confused,
you see what I'’m saying?
Is he gone, did he leave,
or did somebody
do something to him?
I don'’t know.
I just gotta wait and see.
And when another one
of Abraham'’s relatives
heard he wasn'’t
even calling his mother?
Unh-uh, he knew something
just wasn'’t right.
In November of 2009,
the missing persons unit
had been assigned
a missing persons case
that involved
Abraham Shakespeare,
who had won the lottery
and that he was being reported
missing by his cousin.
In the beginning,
everyone told us
that they thought
Abraham was just gone.
Off with a girl,
off on a cruise,
off in Jamaica.
He could be anywhere.
Everyone told us Abraham'’s gone
because he wants to be gone,
but everything struck me as odd.
Why did his mom
not report him missing?
Why would Abraham
leave his family
with the clothes on his back?
Is this really
a missing persons case
or is this someone
who has voluntarily decided
to be missing
because he just doesn'’t
want to be bothered with people?
If Abraham'’s alive
and well someplace
and sees this broadcast,
simply let us know
that you'’re alive and well
and confirm that.
We won'’t tell anyone
where you are.
But after seven months
with no sign of Shakespeare,
the cops suspected foul play.
When I first looked at the case,
I thought it could be anyone.
Everyone knew that Abraham
was a millionaire
and a lot of people
had taken advantage of him
by getting loans.
We interviewed almost everyone
that owed him money.
Of course, everyone says
it'’s their intention
to pay him back.
Any one of them
could'’ve been a suspect
in his disappearance.
All those crazy rumors.
Abraham'’s traveling the world.
He'’s chilling on the beach.
He'’s got a new girlfriend.
Guess what?
We later found out
that all these stories
had one thing in common,
and that was that
DeeDee'’s the one
that told them that.
The one thing that was constant
in all of these stories
was DeeDee Moore.
Seven months, and still
no Abraham Shakespeare.
But the missing persons unit
was knocking on doors.
At the Sherriff'’s office,
we had a missing persons unit,
we had a homicide unit,
we had a robbery unit.
So at the time that Abraham
was reported missing,
the missing persons unit
took the case,
and they would in turn
start interviewing people
close to him.
There was one person,
DeeDee Moore,
they had interviewed her
and she was kind of giving them
a little bit of the run-around,
which why it was assigned to us.
So once we started
talking to DeeDee,
we wanted to know
everything she was up to,
everything she was doing
with Abraham.
We later found out
she had control
over every penny
that Abraham had,
every piece of property,
everything.
It seemed like
she just got in there
and just started steamrolling
through everything.
She was buying cars,
she was getting the house
put in her name,
she was doing all types
of stuff from the get-go.
DeeDee acquired
Abraham'’s residence.
And the story that she told
was that he sold it to her
because he wanted to unload
a lot of his properties
as a part of his
elaborate plan to get away.
I mean, she even talked about
that she had a video
showing that he wanted
to disappear on his own.
So where you wanna go to?
I don'’t matter to me.
I'’m not a picky person.
California?
You want a foreign country?
- Cozumel, hmm?
- How do you, like...
Are you gonna miss your home?
Yep, I'’ll miss it,
but life goes on.
If you'’re on
the outside looking in
and you look at this video,
you would think, "Oh, yeah,
he was trying to get away."
DeeDee would tell
different stories.
"Hey, he'’s in Jamaica.
He'’s on a cruise.
He'’s enjoying himself.
I just talked to him
the other day."
And she had people believing
that he was still alive
and just away from everyone.
If he was gone, he was gone
with the clothes on his back,
'’cause she had everything
that he had.
During this time
of his disappearance,
DeeDee was still getting
people to pay back
on these loans that he made,
and no one questioned her.
No one said, "Well,
you'’re not Shakespeare.
I don'’t have to pay you."
No, they paid her.
DeeDee knew numbers,
she knew names.
She was far more sophisticated
than any of the other players
that were a part
of this entire scenario.
DeeDee Moore was one
of my office managers,
and did a good job.
She was very friendly.
She was always trying
to help people.
She just became very reliable.
The problems with DeeDee Moore
didn'’t start until we made her
the manager
of our Plant City office.
We found out DeeDee had made up
these fake companies,
and we just had the police come
and escort her
out of our office.
Corporate office
negotiated with her
that they would not
prosecute her.
When people
are involved in fraud
or lower level
felonious violations,
they usually fly under the radar
of local law enforcement.
It does not appear
that Miss Moore would be
on anyone'’s radar
in regards
to a high-value target,
or a suspect
that law enforcement
would be concerned
about watching.
After we terminated her,
we found out that
she had went to the police
and said she was raped
by Mexicans
and left on the side of the road
and they stole her car.
When it was all investigated
at the end of the day,
the entire story was made up
because she was trying
to collect on insurance.
So she'’s been scamming
a long time.
DeeDee Moore, in my opinion,
was an opportunist.
Somebody who'’s looking
for a meal ticket,
someone who would take advantage
of anybody that she saw
was a good mark.
Some could use the term
"gold-digger."
Once she saw the opportunity
to move to a higher level
and step her game up, per se,
then she didn'’t have
to worry about
all of this low level
stuff anymore.
She had a cash cow.
Now, Abraham doesn'’t know
that she had a background
and history and a criminal
conviction for fraud.
He teamed up with DeeDee
and trusted her
with so much money.
And wouldn'’t you know it?
All those months when DeeDee
was managing Abraham'’s money,
well, she managed to spend it.
With that money, she herself
lived a lavish lifestyle
by going on expensive trips,
one to Las Vegas
with her boyfriend
that everybody referred
to as the boy toy.
She bought him a Corvette.
She was driving in a Hummer.
She was living
in Shakespeare'’s house.
She was thirsty for a lifestyle.
She was thirsty for easy money
and status and comfort,
and she found somebody
who was able to give her
the life that she wanted.
She changed her story
so many times.
She couldn'’t prove where
she paid $890,000 in cash
for his house
and all of his assets.
And she couldn'’t even prove
where she would'’ve gotten
that kind of money.
We were confident
that there was something
sinister with this.
Because would
he really disappear
off the face of the Earth
without contacting people?
We had numerous interviews
with DeeDee and she says,
"Hey, Abraham texted me
on this date.
Here'’s a text message
from him."
And then she would send a text
in front of us and say,
"Okay, well, I'’ll get back
with you tomorrow,
because I'’m sure
he'’ll text me back."
And that was just never-ending,
until we were finally able
to prove to her
that we knew
she had Abraham'’s phone
and made the text messages.
DeeDee'’s coming in
and using his phone
to fake these text messages
to throw people off.
I think if that
wouldn'’t have happened,
that his family would'’ve
reported him missing sooner.
She became
the number one suspect.
Even as DeeDee became
the lead suspect,
she was still spending time
with Abraham'’s mother
and promised her son
wasn'’t gone for good.
One day when DeeDee
was having dinner
with Shakespeare'’s mother,
there was a phone call
placed to Miss Walker.
I really didn'’t know her,
but she was supposed
to have been helping Abraham out
with some different things.
And when I took the phone
to say hello...
The voice on the other
said it was Shakespeare.
...he was saying,
"Hello, Mom. How you doing?"
After eight months
of no contact,
Abraham finally
called his mother.
But there was something
about their conversation
that made mama call the cops.
Miss Walker called me and said,
"Abraham called me last night."
And I go, "He did?"
The person
that answered the phone
didn'’t sound nothing like him,
and I knew then
something had to be wrong.
That phone call made me
start thinking...
...that something
had really happened to him.
I asked to look
at her cell phone,
and she showed me the time
the call came in
and it was from
a private number.
So we get that GPS location
of the phone,
and we knew it came back
to a Greg Smith.
You all hear that?
Do you remember Greg Smith?
Let me help you out.
Roll it back!
It'’s this guy.
The first time I met
Abraham Shakespeare was 2003.
He used to be the clean-up guy
at my barbershop.
Yeah, Abraham'’s
barbershop buddy
was now pretending to be him,
because I guess
that'’s what friends do.
So the cops were like,
"We should follow this guy."
We jump in our cars and drive
to the Lakeland Mall.
We had no clue
what we'’re looking for,
but we know that
this phone is there.
So we pull into
the Lakeland Mall,
and God was on our side
this day,
because we pull in
and we park in
the parking space.
And we look up,
and here comes DeeDee.
And we'’re like,
"How can this happen?"
So she gets out,
and she meets with
who we later identify
as Greg Smith, sits in his car.
They talk for awhile.
We see her hand him something.
It'’s money.
She hands him a stack of money.
We wait till they leave,
and DeeDee goes north
and his car goes south.
We follow him.
He turns into a neighborhood.
So I'’m like, "You know what?
Cut the car off."
This car rushed behind me.
They jumped out of the car.
"I'’m the Polk County
Sheriff Department."
"Hey, hey. What I done, man?
What'’s going on?"
And I said,
"Greg, you have literally
15 seconds to make a choice.
We feel like Abraham'’s
been murdered,
and this is
the last thing you want
is to be wrapped up
in a murder investigation
as an accessory."
It was never a thought
in my mind Abraham was dead.
He was gone, missing.
He was with this girl.
He was on a cruise,
he was doing...
That'’s what I'’m thinking.
We sit Greg down and lay out
what we have on him.
I said, "Man, I ain'’t
got nothing to do with
whatever she got going on.
She paid me to make
a phone call, and that'’s it."
Now, I know
Greg Smith'’s no saint.
He made the phony phone call,
and it turns out
he owed Abraham money.
But he was willing
to tell the cops
everything about DeeDee.
I was at work at my barbershop
and get a phone call
from DeeDee.
She crying on the phone.
She was crying about
the police think
she killed Abraham
and they investigating her.
She was like, "Listen,
I need you to do me a favor."
She talked to Greg
from the barbershop
about making this call
to Abraham'’s mother
pretending to be Abraham.
So I told her, "Okay,
but it'’s gonna cost you
$1,000 for me to make
that phone call."
She said, "Well, I'’m gonna
go pick his mother up,
and I'’m gonna take her
to the restaurant.
I'’m gonna have her
where there'’s a whole lot
of noise in the background
where she can
just barely hear you."
"I want you to say you are
Abraham and you'’re okay,
and you can'’t hardly hear
and you'’ll call her back later."
Being on the phone
trying to trick his mother
with a telephone call
was a very uncomfortable
situation.
I know she was up to something,
but I never thought about
Abraham dead.
So when she came to me,
I'’m thinking, okay,
a quick thousand dollars.
Now the actual detective
is telling me,
"We know Abraham Shakespeare
is dead
and we feel like DeeDee Moore
did something to Abraham."
Now the mind change.
He finally came around and said,
"Okay, what do you
want from me?"
The police then asked
if he will help them
record conversations
that he has with DeeDee
going forward.
Greg agrees,
and he starts wearing a wire
and recording
all of the conversations.
So the cops set up a sting
and sent Greg in undercover.
I went out, I met with her,
and the first thing she did
when she got in the car,
she touched me.
She put her hands on me.
"Hey, I just wanna make sure
you ain'’t wired."
"Hey, hey, hey! Get your hands...
Matter of fact,
man, get out of my car."
Because I was wired up.
Greg became nervous
that DeeDee was going to find
the recording device,
so he ultimately came up with
idea for the Red Bull can.
Just an empty Red Bull can.
We put the recorder in there.
He just put the lid back on it.
It gave us perfect audio
'’cause it sat right there
in the cup holder
between the two of them.
DeeDee still
maintained with Greg
that Abraham was just missing.
And her thing with Greg was,
"I gotta get the cops
off my back."
Greg was able
to convince her that,
"I'’m all in with you.
I'’ve done all this,
so I have just as much
to lose as you."
She needs his help.
She can'’t pull this off
without him.
In her mind,
Greg is a loyal person,
and she does not feel as though
he'’s really intelligent.
She wouldn'’t talk
about Abraham being dead,
but we wanted to push
the envelope a little bit,
let Greg say,
"Hey, if he'’s dead,
I'’m gonna help you."
Let her know you have a cousin
that you think would be
willing to take a murder rap.
I told her, "Hey, I got a cousin
who'’s gonna do
20 years in prison.
He'’ll take the rap
if you paying.
He'’ll say he murdered him
and everything."
Serious, for real.
That to me is preposterous,
and it actually shows
her lack of knowledge
about how things work.
Some stranger
that she doesn'’t know
is gonna allow her
to pin a murder on them.
It just doesn'’t work that way.
We reached out to Mike Smith,
who'’s a police officer
that me and my partner Dave
had both worked with previous
in a drug task force.
So we asked him if he'’d
be willing to help us
and pose as
a drug-dealing murderer.
And he said, "Absolutely."
So we immediately set up
a meeting with DeeDee
where Mike is able to say,
"Well, listen,
I'’ll take the rap."
She asked him,
"What you do want?"
He said, "50 grand."
And then Mike tells her,
"If you want me to do this,
I need to know
where the body is,
how he was killed.
I need to know everything.
I'’m not gonna go to the cops
and tell them that I killed
this guy and choked him
and they end up finding him
with stab wounds
or bullet holes."
Later that day, she calls Greg.
She was like,
"Listen, I got the gun."
And she said,
"The guy called and told me
where Abraham'’s body is."
"The guy?"
"Yeah, the guy Ronald."
DeeDee said
that some drug dealer
named Ronald had killed
Shakespeare.
I said, "Okay, I tell you what.
I need to get that gun.
I need to file all
the serial numbers off of it.
I need to throw it in the lake."
Later that day, she meets Greg
and hands him over the gun
that killed Abraham.
As soon as the gun
was turned over to Greg,
he turned it over to us.
We immediately called ATF,
ran the serial number.
ATF was able to tell us
this gun was purchased
by Dorice Moore.
I tell her, "Listen,
now I need to get the body."
And she told him exactly
where to find the body.
She drew it out
on a piece of paper
Where X marks the spot.
Once we dug up Abraham,
we were able to get
a positive ID.
When they dug that body up,
they called me that night.
He said, "Greg, we got him.
Now we need to get her."
Thank goodness they could
finally lay Abraham to rest.
But DeeDee still
wasn'’t in custody,
and now someone else was about
to join her sordid story...
Her ex-husband.
They had Abraham'’s body.
They had a motive.
What they didn'’t have
was hard evidence
against DeeDee Moore,
at least not yet.
I remember
that interview with her
like it was yesterday.
I told DeeDee,
"Hey, we need to talk."
And she hem-haws around
and says,
"I don'’t know what'’s going on,
but you need
to look at this guy,"
referring to Greg
and his cousin.
"That'’s who y'’all
really need to look at."
I said, "Well, listen, DeeDee,
I have bad news for you."
They said,
"DeeDee, Greg work for us."
"His cousin is not his cousin.
That'’s Mike Smith.
He'’s an undercover
police officer.
And for the last month
and a half,
every time that you'’ve met
with Greg Smith,
we'’ve been listening.
We'’ve watched it."
She started crying,
screaming and hollering.
"I just didn'’t wanna tell you
my son killed Abraham."
She said her son killed Abraham
because Abraham was choking her.
She went from me killing Abraham
to her son killed Abraham
to the drug dealers
killed Abraham.
She changed her story
so many times,
but finally
she actually tells me
exactly what happened,
but just puts someone else
in the picture.
She blames some fictitious
drug dealer. Ronald.
She actually points to herself.
"He shot him here and here."
And that'’s where Abraham
was shot. Here and here.
I still get chill bumps
thinking about that
because she says
Abraham grabs himself,
says, "Why?"
And then he collapses and dies.
She thinks she'’s coming up
with all of these stories
that'’s going to help her,
and she'’s actually making it
worse for herself.
She kept burying herself
deeper and deeper
in the involvement
of Abraham'’s murder.
The day that Shakespeare died,
he was very suspicious
of DeeDee Moore
and what was happening
with his money.
DeeDee ultimately has Abraham
come to the house
and says, "Hey, listen,
I'’m gonna get you
a bunch of cash
and you can go
wherever you want."
He probably became aware
that something was amiss
and started questioning her,
and that turned into something
that ended in him being killed.
I think that when Abraham
started asking questions,
then she felt she had
no choice but to kill him.
DeeDee was sophisticated
in business,
but she was not
sophisticated in murder.
So she brings him
into the house,
opens the safe.
He thinks he'’s getting money,
but she pulls the gun out
instead of money...
...and shoots and kills him.
We found a lot
of Abraham'’s blood
in the room where the safe was,
so we know he was shot in there.
The clothes
that we dig him up in
are the same clothes
in that video
she makes the day of April 7th.
Are you gonna miss your home?
Through our investigation,
we knew that
she purchased a backhoe
with Abraham'’s money.
She calls her ex-husband
James Moore.
She called him.
"Hey, I need you to come
dig this hole for me.
I bought you a backhoe."
She tells him,
"Dig it about six feet deep,
and I'’ll call you back later
to fill it in."
DeeDee'’s ex-husband
had no idea what he was doing
other than
she was just digging a hole
to put some yard trash in.
He had no clue.
Of course, she never told us,
but she'’d have put him
in this wheelbarrow.
She dragged him,
it was only 75 yards.
DeeDee was a big woman.
She could'’ve dragged him
by herself.
DeeDee could'’ve picked
Abraham up, big as she was.
DeeDee'’s sole motivation
was greed.
That lotto ticket for Abraham
was DeeDee'’s meal ticket.
Her thirst for money,
in the end,
obviously cost Abraham his life,
but also hers.
At 5:00 this evening,
the Sherriff'’s office,
along with assistance
from Polk County
Sherriff'’s Office,
arrested Dorice Donegan Moore.
She'’s charged tonight
with accessory after the fact,
first-degree murder in
the death of Mr. Shakespeare.
When the case went to trial,
DeeDee had the nerve
to plead not guilty,
but the jury wasn'’t fooled.
She was sentenced
to life in prison
without the possibility
of parole.
When the jury came back
with the guilty verdict,
we felt justice
for not only Abraham
but his mother,
who had to suffer
through all of this.
I never did think that Abraham'’s
life was gonna be taken
because of that money
that he had won.
How could that woman
do him like that?
I never got a chance
to see my son'’s face again.
Never did.
There'’s not one soul
that anybody can think of
that has given to the level
that Shakespeare has
to everyday people
in the community
with no strings attached.
It'’s unheard of.
That'’s how he will be
remembered.
I remember a conversation
he had with me.
Me and him was riding one day.
He was like,
"I wish you had this money.
You'’re smart.
I wish you had it."
And I told him that same day,
I said, "Man, I don'’t
even want that money.
If you'’re going through
what you'’re going through,
I don'’t even want that money."
He was a sweetheart
at the end of the day.
He would do anything
in the world for you.
I don'’t think I'’ve had
a better friend than him.
I still to this day
have trouble thinking
that Abraham is really dead.
Like, you know what I'’m saying?
It'’s like...
This can'’t be.
We just had a baby.
It was, like, we knew
at the end of the day,
we'’re gonna finish
our day together
and we'’re gonna start
our next day together.
Period. Point blank.
Abraham Shakespeare thought
DeeDee Moore was his savior,
but all the money in the world
couldn'’t protect him
from the greed in her heart
and the thirst that turned
her into a killer.
The NFL made Rae Carruth
an instant star
the ladies couldn'’t resist.
But Rae never let them
get too close,
until the day he met
Cherica Adams.
He had real feelings for her.
But one night
changed everything.
It was catastrophic for him.
A suspect on the run.
He fled in the trunk,
and he stays
in that trunk 21 hours.
He was back there
with bottles of urine.
This guy went out in a bad way.
of money, luxury, and power,
and the people who would do
anything to get there.
These are the tales
of the desperate thirsts
that drive people to murder.
Viewer discretion advised?
You damn right.
He went from humble handyman
to lotto millionaire overnight.
This guy, he was a day laborer,
and now here he is
a multimillionaire.
He was a man
who came from nothing.
He achieved his dream
to become rich.
His $30 million jackpot
turned him into
a local celebrity.
He wasn'’t the broke guy.
He wasn'’t the nobody.
He wasn'’t the guy
who sleeps outside.
That'’s Abraham Shakespeare.
Okay, so, he stepped up
to another level.
He moved to another scene.
When it came to gifts,
he gave a lot of jewelry.
I had rings and bracelets
and necklaces.
We went to, like,
Jamaica, Cayman Islands,
Cozumel, Mexico.
Listen, he bought
a $250,000 BMW.
Everybody wanted a piece
of Abraham Shakespeare.
Everybody had a thirst
for Shakespeare'’s money.
He was like a little fish
in the ocean
with a bunch of sharks.
He was the hood'’s bank.
When you go public and
you'’ve won all of this money,
there'’s a target on your back.
And when he finally said
enough is enough,
Abraham Shakespeare
vanished into thin air.
He got frustrated with people
asking him for money.
He just wanted to get away
for a minute.
Are you gonna miss your home?
Yep, I'’ll miss it,
but life goes on.
What really happened
to Abraham Shakespeare?
Everything struck me as odd.
Why did his mom
not report him missing?
Why not his family?
Is this really
a missing persons case?
Or something that ended
in the homicide?
It'’s a mystery laced
with luxury and lies,
and 30 million unlucky numbers
that add up to
murder in the thirst.
Not a single number again!
Whoo! I guess I'’m not as lucky
as Abraham Shakespeare.
This man, he won big.
30 million big.
But before you start praying
to get lucky like Abraham,
better do a search
on these words...
Lottery curse.
Well, my son Abraham,
he was kind-hearted and giving.
Abraham really didn'’t
have a whole lot
when he was younger,
or his family.
He only had a third
or fourth grade education.
Before he got rich,
Abraham'’s life was simple.
He didn'’t make much money.
He washed dishes
and worked on garbage trucks.
But everybody who knew him
would tell you Abraham
had a good heart.
The first time I met
Abraham Shakespeare was 2003.
He used to be the clean-up guy
at my barbershop.
He would sweep up, clean up,
mop, get the garbage.
He did any little small job
to try to keep a few dollars
in his pocket.
But the biggest thing
about Abraham is his heart.
He had a heart of gold.
The few dollars
that Abraham acquired,
the guys would come by
and borrow it from him,
but his heart was so big,
he wouldn'’t say no.
He was a simple man,
but his life changed
after winning the lottery.
A Lakeland handy man has won
the $30 million lottery.
Shakespeare is one lucky guy.
He hit a $30 million jackpot.
In 2006, Abraham Shakespeare
won $30 million
in the Florida lottery.
Abraham stopped
at a convenience store
in Frostproof
where he purchased
the winning ticket.
He opted for a $16.9 million
lump sum payment.
Just like that,
everything changed.
Even after Uncle Sam took
a bite out of his ass,
Abraham still
had a cool 13 million.
It was going around town,
"Hey, a guy from Lakeland
hit the lottery."
I ain'’t pay it no attention.
But this one particular day,
I was standing up in
the barbershop cutting hair.
Abraham came up
to the barbershop
in a $250,000,
off the showroom floor BMW.
Okay? $250,000 car.
Yes.
Then it really hit me.
I'’m like, dude, this man
really hit the lottery.
When he came up, he was like,
"Yeah, you'’re looking
at a multimillionaire."
I was saying, "Oh, we rich!"
He used to walk around
this exclusive neighborhood
called Lake Hollingsworth,
a man who came from nothing,
and he would dream
about what it would be like
to live in one of
those palatial homes.
And then all of a sudden,
because you pick
the right numbers,
your dream came true.
More than anything that really
impressed me about Abraham
was when he bought that house.
That was one of the biggest
houses I'’ve ever been in
personally in my life.
He always wanted
to stay out there,
He always wanted to be
that type of individual.
When I first got there,
I was like, "Wow,"
you know what I'’m saying?
Like,
"This is what'’s going on!"
'’Cause I wasn'’t used to it.
Let me tell you
how cool Abraham was.
Even with his luxury
bachelor pad and his fancy car,
he didn'’t act like a big shot.
And when he met
Sentorria Butler,
he was humble.
When I met Abraham, I was young.
I was in my early twenties.
I was introduced to him
by his cousin.
He wasn'’t the type
that was like,
"Yeah, and I live out here
and da-da-da-da."
It was just like,
"This here is my house.
This here is
the first car I bought."
I stayed upstairs in
one of the spare bedrooms,
and in the next couple
of days, he'’s like,
"Oh, we'’re going on a trip."
We went to, like, Jamaica,
and we went to
the Cayman islands,
and we went to Cozumel, Mexico.
We took trips and we had fun.
It was like
we completed each other.
Whatever he lacked, I had,
and whatever I lacked, he had,
so it worked for us.
Like, that'’s the person
I could count on.
That'’s my best friend.
I love this dude.
And I knew deep down inside
he loved me too,
so it was just like,
I didn'’t have no worries.
I knew Abraham
wasn'’t gonna leave me.
No, no. Abraham'’s not
gonna leave me.
He was gonna be there.
He gave gifts,
but it was mainly,
like, jewelry.
He gave a lot of jewelry.
I had rings and bracelets
and necklaces.
If I mentioned it,
he would buy it.
All you haters out there
giving Sentorria the side eye,
hold up.
Shakespeare'’s friends said
she really did love him.
They even had a child
together... a baby boy.
He came into the hospital room.
He brought five cameras.
Normal dads hand out cigars.
This dad hands out cameras
so he can get
the whole process on film.
As soon as the baby came out,
you know how they hand it
to the mama to do the whole...
No. Brother man
intercepted that baby
like he was in the NFL.
He grabbed the baby
and brought him in like,
"Yo, what'’s up?"
And it was just like,
"Oh, you really excited, huh?"
During this time,
Shakespeare was very benevolent
in giving his money away
to some many different people.
Shakespeare bought groceries,
he paid mortgages.
He bought vehicles.
He paid rents.
So many people knew that
they could ask him for money
and he wouldn'’t say no.
He was the hood'’s bank.
Any time you come into contact
with a large amount of money,
it puts you at
a certain amount of risk.
Not necessarily always
about violence,
but definitely
about being preyed on.
And I would try to tell him,
"They ain'’t thinking
that you nice.
They thinking that you naive."
I couldn'’t believe it
when I heard the stories
of how much money
he was giving away.
He went into the bank
just to withdraw
some cash for himself,
and handed $5,000 to people
in line behind him
that he had no clue
who they were.
One young lady met him
at the bowling alley.
She wanted $20,000.
Shakespeare was willing
to give her $40,000.
One piece of advice
experts give lottery winners,
they say,
"Get a financial advisor.
Get someone to give you
sound advice
about what you do
with your money."
And that'’s exactly
what Abraham did.
When he met a woman
named DeeDee Moore.
Shakespeare went to a minority
contractor conference
with his realtor
and he met Dorice DeeDee Moore.
She was exactly
what he needed at that time.
She shows up,
"Hey, I'’m here to help you."
She presented him
with something new.
She came with a new offer,
a new idea.
She wanted to do a book
on the life story
of Abraham Shakespeare.
This person is going to
write about me.
That means that she finds me
as a person interesting.
I trust her.
A business friendship blossomed
between Abraham and DeeDee.
DeeDee was very
well put together.
Nails manicured,
makeup perfect,
had on designer labels,
So he came by the shop,
and lo and behold,
this big woman
got out of the car.
Blonde hair. White chick.
When I first met DeeDee,
she came off as cocky.
Like, "I have money."
DeeDee flashed
her money and wealth
just to show that
she didn'’t need Shakespeare'’s.
For instance, she would send
a limo to go pick him up,
and they would go to the
Hard Rock Casino and gamble.
DeeDee quickly
built up his trust.
The more she spent
time around him,
the more she became the lone
voice of reason in his ear
in terms of all the decisions
that he made moving forward.
He felt like
this was the great savior
of his assets.
As Abraham and DeeDee
grew professionally closer
and closer together,
DeeDee came to the conclusion
that all of his money was spent
except for $1.3 million.
Stop. Unh-uh.
Don'’t say another word.
He was down to $1.3 million
out of 13?
He blew through almost
$12 million in just 2 years.
Damn, this man needed help.
DeeDee started to reveal
that people who were
hanging around him
were siphoning off his winnings.
And she would help him make
sound and prudent investments
so he could grow this money.
Here'’s this person
who'’s coming from the outside,
who'’s just offering
to help him say no
to certain situations
and certain people
and just give him a break
and let someone else handle
the situation for awhile.
That was a win for him.
I think it was a load
off of his shoulders,
He was like, "Man, listen.
Man, I just want to get away.
I'’m tired of everybody
asking me for money."
He'’s like, "Don'’t be surprised
if I just don'’t up
and just left
and don'’t nobody know
where I'’m at."
He was like,
"I'’m gonna go by myself.
Ain'’t nobody gonna know."
He was asking me
where could he go
and just get away for a minute.
I was like, "Abraham, man,
you go where you wanna go."
Check out this video.
DeeDee recorded it
with her phone.
So where you wanna go to?
California?
You want a foreign country?
- For real.
- Cozumel?
Are you gonna miss your home?
Abraham had had enough
of all those thirsty people.
And with DeeDee taking charge,
he was ready to say,
"Bye, Felicia," and disappear.
When your neighbors are
calling you the hood'’s bank,
trust me, it is time to leave.
And after blowing through
$11 million in two years,
it looked like
Abraham Shakespeare
skipped town,
leaving his friend
and financial partner DeeDee
to clean up the mess.
Abraham gave
a lot of money away,
and then he made loans
to several of his friends
and family members,
because he thought,
why not share it?
But that also was a problem
because a lot of people
saw him as a generous person
who could be taken advantage of.
I would say a little over half
the money that he got,
he loaned out.
Abraham expected
these people to pay back
on these loans that he made.
They knew they owed him money,
but some of them didn'’t pay up.
He started giving that money
out to them people
thinking that gonna
make them a good friend
and love him.
He was dead wrong.
The one thing that DeeDee
was able to help Shakespeare do
that he couldn'’t do by himself
was muscle these people
who owed him money.
Those individuals really
started to pay up once DeeDee
entered the picture.
I think that DeeDee was
a powerful fast-talking presence
that just kinda rode into town
and took over.
She was intimidating
just the way she was.
She didn'’t look and dress
like the other people
n the area,
and she just presented
herself in such a way
in which she was demanding
respect and demanding attention.
"Here I am. Acknowledge me."
A lot of the people
that Abraham hung out with
were very unsavory characters.
They had arrest histories.
Some of them had felonies.
So here it is,
you had this white woman
who was very comfortable
around these hardened criminals
and walked freely
in the black community
with no hesitation.
DeeDee was just
really convincing
when she would just
approach these people.
She knew how much they owed.
She knew the law,
and she just had the power
to make them bow down
and do whatever she wanted.
And a lot of these people
that Shakespeare
had dealings with,
they didn'’t wanna go
back to jail,
so they complied.
After a few months,
people started buzzing.
Where the hell
was Abraham anyway?
Was he ever coming back?
I got so mad with this man.
Like, how that we have a baby,
you just up and disappear?
I was sending long
text messages to his phone.
You know, when you get mad?
That'’s how it was with me.
"Oh, my God,
I just can'’t believe that
you just did this to me.
You just left me
and you just da-da-da-da."
And I would never
get a response back.
At the time, I was thinking
he out of town
or he with a girl.
My grandma called. She was like,
"I ain'’t seen Abraham or talked
to Abraham in awhile."
I was hearing things like
he was just going out of town
because he was just tired of
being bothered about the money.
Abraham talked about
how frustrated he was
dealing with so many people
asking for money
and how at the some point
he just wanted
to leave and go away.
I think that may have been
one of the factors
that played into why they
weren'’t significantly alarmed.
I'’m getting word on the street
about what'’s going on
with Shakespeare.
He'’s in the hospital
dying of AIDS.
He was in Orlando.
He was at a Magic game.
Abraham went on a cruise.
New York or someplace,
he was going.
Abraham got killed with
the earthquake in Haiti.
Yes.
He'’s living in Orlando
with a Jamaican girlfriend.
All right,
that'’s a juicy rumor,
but that'’s not
the Abraham we know, is it?
Not when his girlfriend
Sentorria was back at home
raising their baby alone.
You ever have, like,
a deep down feeling
like something ain'’t right?
Maybe he did leave me?
But what if he fell in love
with somebody else?
Ooh, you wait till I see him.
I'’m gonna put him in a headlock.
I'’m gonna kick him
in the knees.
And I remember the last text
I sent to that phone.
It was like... I sent
the picture of the baby,
and I said, "He'’s one now."
And the text back read, "He be."
And I was like,
"Okay, we gonna hold on
to that little minute
amount of hope."
So rather than call
the police and say,
"I think something'’s wrong
with Abraham,"
no, I'’m getting these texts
from his phone.
I'’m gonna take that
and I'’m gonna run with it.
He was sending
text messages to people,
but here'’s the thing.
In those text messages,
everything was spelled correctly
and he was communicating
in complete sentences.
Well, those who knew Abraham
knew he couldn'’t read or write.
So how was this
communication coming over
if he couldn'’t read or write?
No. Everybody knew
if you got a text back
from Abraham,
it was him talking,
but another person
would text for him.
For several months,
Abraham'’s family didn'’t
even report him missing.
I was confused,
you see what I'’m saying?
Is he gone, did he leave,
or did somebody
do something to him?
I don'’t know.
I just gotta wait and see.
And when another one
of Abraham'’s relatives
heard he wasn'’t
even calling his mother?
Unh-uh, he knew something
just wasn'’t right.
In November of 2009,
the missing persons unit
had been assigned
a missing persons case
that involved
Abraham Shakespeare,
who had won the lottery
and that he was being reported
missing by his cousin.
In the beginning,
everyone told us
that they thought
Abraham was just gone.
Off with a girl,
off on a cruise,
off in Jamaica.
He could be anywhere.
Everyone told us Abraham'’s gone
because he wants to be gone,
but everything struck me as odd.
Why did his mom
not report him missing?
Why would Abraham
leave his family
with the clothes on his back?
Is this really
a missing persons case
or is this someone
who has voluntarily decided
to be missing
because he just doesn'’t
want to be bothered with people?
If Abraham'’s alive
and well someplace
and sees this broadcast,
simply let us know
that you'’re alive and well
and confirm that.
We won'’t tell anyone
where you are.
But after seven months
with no sign of Shakespeare,
the cops suspected foul play.
When I first looked at the case,
I thought it could be anyone.
Everyone knew that Abraham
was a millionaire
and a lot of people
had taken advantage of him
by getting loans.
We interviewed almost everyone
that owed him money.
Of course, everyone says
it'’s their intention
to pay him back.
Any one of them
could'’ve been a suspect
in his disappearance.
All those crazy rumors.
Abraham'’s traveling the world.
He'’s chilling on the beach.
He'’s got a new girlfriend.
Guess what?
We later found out
that all these stories
had one thing in common,
and that was that
DeeDee'’s the one
that told them that.
The one thing that was constant
in all of these stories
was DeeDee Moore.
Seven months, and still
no Abraham Shakespeare.
But the missing persons unit
was knocking on doors.
At the Sherriff'’s office,
we had a missing persons unit,
we had a homicide unit,
we had a robbery unit.
So at the time that Abraham
was reported missing,
the missing persons unit
took the case,
and they would in turn
start interviewing people
close to him.
There was one person,
DeeDee Moore,
they had interviewed her
and she was kind of giving them
a little bit of the run-around,
which why it was assigned to us.
So once we started
talking to DeeDee,
we wanted to know
everything she was up to,
everything she was doing
with Abraham.
We later found out
she had control
over every penny
that Abraham had,
every piece of property,
everything.
It seemed like
she just got in there
and just started steamrolling
through everything.
She was buying cars,
she was getting the house
put in her name,
she was doing all types
of stuff from the get-go.
DeeDee acquired
Abraham'’s residence.
And the story that she told
was that he sold it to her
because he wanted to unload
a lot of his properties
as a part of his
elaborate plan to get away.
I mean, she even talked about
that she had a video
showing that he wanted
to disappear on his own.
So where you wanna go to?
I don'’t matter to me.
I'’m not a picky person.
California?
You want a foreign country?
- Cozumel, hmm?
- How do you, like...
Are you gonna miss your home?
Yep, I'’ll miss it,
but life goes on.
If you'’re on
the outside looking in
and you look at this video,
you would think, "Oh, yeah,
he was trying to get away."
DeeDee would tell
different stories.
"Hey, he'’s in Jamaica.
He'’s on a cruise.
He'’s enjoying himself.
I just talked to him
the other day."
And she had people believing
that he was still alive
and just away from everyone.
If he was gone, he was gone
with the clothes on his back,
'’cause she had everything
that he had.
During this time
of his disappearance,
DeeDee was still getting
people to pay back
on these loans that he made,
and no one questioned her.
No one said, "Well,
you'’re not Shakespeare.
I don'’t have to pay you."
No, they paid her.
DeeDee knew numbers,
she knew names.
She was far more sophisticated
than any of the other players
that were a part
of this entire scenario.
DeeDee Moore was one
of my office managers,
and did a good job.
She was very friendly.
She was always trying
to help people.
She just became very reliable.
The problems with DeeDee Moore
didn'’t start until we made her
the manager
of our Plant City office.
We found out DeeDee had made up
these fake companies,
and we just had the police come
and escort her
out of our office.
Corporate office
negotiated with her
that they would not
prosecute her.
When people
are involved in fraud
or lower level
felonious violations,
they usually fly under the radar
of local law enforcement.
It does not appear
that Miss Moore would be
on anyone'’s radar
in regards
to a high-value target,
or a suspect
that law enforcement
would be concerned
about watching.
After we terminated her,
we found out that
she had went to the police
and said she was raped
by Mexicans
and left on the side of the road
and they stole her car.
When it was all investigated
at the end of the day,
the entire story was made up
because she was trying
to collect on insurance.
So she'’s been scamming
a long time.
DeeDee Moore, in my opinion,
was an opportunist.
Somebody who'’s looking
for a meal ticket,
someone who would take advantage
of anybody that she saw
was a good mark.
Some could use the term
"gold-digger."
Once she saw the opportunity
to move to a higher level
and step her game up, per se,
then she didn'’t have
to worry about
all of this low level
stuff anymore.
She had a cash cow.
Now, Abraham doesn'’t know
that she had a background
and history and a criminal
conviction for fraud.
He teamed up with DeeDee
and trusted her
with so much money.
And wouldn'’t you know it?
All those months when DeeDee
was managing Abraham'’s money,
well, she managed to spend it.
With that money, she herself
lived a lavish lifestyle
by going on expensive trips,
one to Las Vegas
with her boyfriend
that everybody referred
to as the boy toy.
She bought him a Corvette.
She was driving in a Hummer.
She was living
in Shakespeare'’s house.
She was thirsty for a lifestyle.
She was thirsty for easy money
and status and comfort,
and she found somebody
who was able to give her
the life that she wanted.
She changed her story
so many times.
She couldn'’t prove where
she paid $890,000 in cash
for his house
and all of his assets.
And she couldn'’t even prove
where she would'’ve gotten
that kind of money.
We were confident
that there was something
sinister with this.
Because would
he really disappear
off the face of the Earth
without contacting people?
We had numerous interviews
with DeeDee and she says,
"Hey, Abraham texted me
on this date.
Here'’s a text message
from him."
And then she would send a text
in front of us and say,
"Okay, well, I'’ll get back
with you tomorrow,
because I'’m sure
he'’ll text me back."
And that was just never-ending,
until we were finally able
to prove to her
that we knew
she had Abraham'’s phone
and made the text messages.
DeeDee'’s coming in
and using his phone
to fake these text messages
to throw people off.
I think if that
wouldn'’t have happened,
that his family would'’ve
reported him missing sooner.
She became
the number one suspect.
Even as DeeDee became
the lead suspect,
she was still spending time
with Abraham'’s mother
and promised her son
wasn'’t gone for good.
One day when DeeDee
was having dinner
with Shakespeare'’s mother,
there was a phone call
placed to Miss Walker.
I really didn'’t know her,
but she was supposed
to have been helping Abraham out
with some different things.
And when I took the phone
to say hello...
The voice on the other
said it was Shakespeare.
...he was saying,
"Hello, Mom. How you doing?"
After eight months
of no contact,
Abraham finally
called his mother.
But there was something
about their conversation
that made mama call the cops.
Miss Walker called me and said,
"Abraham called me last night."
And I go, "He did?"
The person
that answered the phone
didn'’t sound nothing like him,
and I knew then
something had to be wrong.
That phone call made me
start thinking...
...that something
had really happened to him.
I asked to look
at her cell phone,
and she showed me the time
the call came in
and it was from
a private number.
So we get that GPS location
of the phone,
and we knew it came back
to a Greg Smith.
You all hear that?
Do you remember Greg Smith?
Let me help you out.
Roll it back!
It'’s this guy.
The first time I met
Abraham Shakespeare was 2003.
He used to be the clean-up guy
at my barbershop.
Yeah, Abraham'’s
barbershop buddy
was now pretending to be him,
because I guess
that'’s what friends do.
So the cops were like,
"We should follow this guy."
We jump in our cars and drive
to the Lakeland Mall.
We had no clue
what we'’re looking for,
but we know that
this phone is there.
So we pull into
the Lakeland Mall,
and God was on our side
this day,
because we pull in
and we park in
the parking space.
And we look up,
and here comes DeeDee.
And we'’re like,
"How can this happen?"
So she gets out,
and she meets with
who we later identify
as Greg Smith, sits in his car.
They talk for awhile.
We see her hand him something.
It'’s money.
She hands him a stack of money.
We wait till they leave,
and DeeDee goes north
and his car goes south.
We follow him.
He turns into a neighborhood.
So I'’m like, "You know what?
Cut the car off."
This car rushed behind me.
They jumped out of the car.
"I'’m the Polk County
Sheriff Department."
"Hey, hey. What I done, man?
What'’s going on?"
And I said,
"Greg, you have literally
15 seconds to make a choice.
We feel like Abraham'’s
been murdered,
and this is
the last thing you want
is to be wrapped up
in a murder investigation
as an accessory."
It was never a thought
in my mind Abraham was dead.
He was gone, missing.
He was with this girl.
He was on a cruise,
he was doing...
That'’s what I'’m thinking.
We sit Greg down and lay out
what we have on him.
I said, "Man, I ain'’t
got nothing to do with
whatever she got going on.
She paid me to make
a phone call, and that'’s it."
Now, I know
Greg Smith'’s no saint.
He made the phony phone call,
and it turns out
he owed Abraham money.
But he was willing
to tell the cops
everything about DeeDee.
I was at work at my barbershop
and get a phone call
from DeeDee.
She crying on the phone.
She was crying about
the police think
she killed Abraham
and they investigating her.
She was like, "Listen,
I need you to do me a favor."
She talked to Greg
from the barbershop
about making this call
to Abraham'’s mother
pretending to be Abraham.
So I told her, "Okay,
but it'’s gonna cost you
$1,000 for me to make
that phone call."
She said, "Well, I'’m gonna
go pick his mother up,
and I'’m gonna take her
to the restaurant.
I'’m gonna have her
where there'’s a whole lot
of noise in the background
where she can
just barely hear you."
"I want you to say you are
Abraham and you'’re okay,
and you can'’t hardly hear
and you'’ll call her back later."
Being on the phone
trying to trick his mother
with a telephone call
was a very uncomfortable
situation.
I know she was up to something,
but I never thought about
Abraham dead.
So when she came to me,
I'’m thinking, okay,
a quick thousand dollars.
Now the actual detective
is telling me,
"We know Abraham Shakespeare
is dead
and we feel like DeeDee Moore
did something to Abraham."
Now the mind change.
He finally came around and said,
"Okay, what do you
want from me?"
The police then asked
if he will help them
record conversations
that he has with DeeDee
going forward.
Greg agrees,
and he starts wearing a wire
and recording
all of the conversations.
So the cops set up a sting
and sent Greg in undercover.
I went out, I met with her,
and the first thing she did
when she got in the car,
she touched me.
She put her hands on me.
"Hey, I just wanna make sure
you ain'’t wired."
"Hey, hey, hey! Get your hands...
Matter of fact,
man, get out of my car."
Because I was wired up.
Greg became nervous
that DeeDee was going to find
the recording device,
so he ultimately came up with
idea for the Red Bull can.
Just an empty Red Bull can.
We put the recorder in there.
He just put the lid back on it.
It gave us perfect audio
'’cause it sat right there
in the cup holder
between the two of them.
DeeDee still
maintained with Greg
that Abraham was just missing.
And her thing with Greg was,
"I gotta get the cops
off my back."
Greg was able
to convince her that,
"I'’m all in with you.
I'’ve done all this,
so I have just as much
to lose as you."
She needs his help.
She can'’t pull this off
without him.
In her mind,
Greg is a loyal person,
and she does not feel as though
he'’s really intelligent.
She wouldn'’t talk
about Abraham being dead,
but we wanted to push
the envelope a little bit,
let Greg say,
"Hey, if he'’s dead,
I'’m gonna help you."
Let her know you have a cousin
that you think would be
willing to take a murder rap.
I told her, "Hey, I got a cousin
who'’s gonna do
20 years in prison.
He'’ll take the rap
if you paying.
He'’ll say he murdered him
and everything."
Serious, for real.
That to me is preposterous,
and it actually shows
her lack of knowledge
about how things work.
Some stranger
that she doesn'’t know
is gonna allow her
to pin a murder on them.
It just doesn'’t work that way.
We reached out to Mike Smith,
who'’s a police officer
that me and my partner Dave
had both worked with previous
in a drug task force.
So we asked him if he'’d
be willing to help us
and pose as
a drug-dealing murderer.
And he said, "Absolutely."
So we immediately set up
a meeting with DeeDee
where Mike is able to say,
"Well, listen,
I'’ll take the rap."
She asked him,
"What you do want?"
He said, "50 grand."
And then Mike tells her,
"If you want me to do this,
I need to know
where the body is,
how he was killed.
I need to know everything.
I'’m not gonna go to the cops
and tell them that I killed
this guy and choked him
and they end up finding him
with stab wounds
or bullet holes."
Later that day, she calls Greg.
She was like,
"Listen, I got the gun."
And she said,
"The guy called and told me
where Abraham'’s body is."
"The guy?"
"Yeah, the guy Ronald."
DeeDee said
that some drug dealer
named Ronald had killed
Shakespeare.
I said, "Okay, I tell you what.
I need to get that gun.
I need to file all
the serial numbers off of it.
I need to throw it in the lake."
Later that day, she meets Greg
and hands him over the gun
that killed Abraham.
As soon as the gun
was turned over to Greg,
he turned it over to us.
We immediately called ATF,
ran the serial number.
ATF was able to tell us
this gun was purchased
by Dorice Moore.
I tell her, "Listen,
now I need to get the body."
And she told him exactly
where to find the body.
She drew it out
on a piece of paper
Where X marks the spot.
Once we dug up Abraham,
we were able to get
a positive ID.
When they dug that body up,
they called me that night.
He said, "Greg, we got him.
Now we need to get her."
Thank goodness they could
finally lay Abraham to rest.
But DeeDee still
wasn'’t in custody,
and now someone else was about
to join her sordid story...
Her ex-husband.
They had Abraham'’s body.
They had a motive.
What they didn'’t have
was hard evidence
against DeeDee Moore,
at least not yet.
I remember
that interview with her
like it was yesterday.
I told DeeDee,
"Hey, we need to talk."
And she hem-haws around
and says,
"I don'’t know what'’s going on,
but you need
to look at this guy,"
referring to Greg
and his cousin.
"That'’s who y'’all
really need to look at."
I said, "Well, listen, DeeDee,
I have bad news for you."
They said,
"DeeDee, Greg work for us."
"His cousin is not his cousin.
That'’s Mike Smith.
He'’s an undercover
police officer.
And for the last month
and a half,
every time that you'’ve met
with Greg Smith,
we'’ve been listening.
We'’ve watched it."
She started crying,
screaming and hollering.
"I just didn'’t wanna tell you
my son killed Abraham."
She said her son killed Abraham
because Abraham was choking her.
She went from me killing Abraham
to her son killed Abraham
to the drug dealers
killed Abraham.
She changed her story
so many times,
but finally
she actually tells me
exactly what happened,
but just puts someone else
in the picture.
She blames some fictitious
drug dealer. Ronald.
She actually points to herself.
"He shot him here and here."
And that'’s where Abraham
was shot. Here and here.
I still get chill bumps
thinking about that
because she says
Abraham grabs himself,
says, "Why?"
And then he collapses and dies.
She thinks she'’s coming up
with all of these stories
that'’s going to help her,
and she'’s actually making it
worse for herself.
She kept burying herself
deeper and deeper
in the involvement
of Abraham'’s murder.
The day that Shakespeare died,
he was very suspicious
of DeeDee Moore
and what was happening
with his money.
DeeDee ultimately has Abraham
come to the house
and says, "Hey, listen,
I'’m gonna get you
a bunch of cash
and you can go
wherever you want."
He probably became aware
that something was amiss
and started questioning her,
and that turned into something
that ended in him being killed.
I think that when Abraham
started asking questions,
then she felt she had
no choice but to kill him.
DeeDee was sophisticated
in business,
but she was not
sophisticated in murder.
So she brings him
into the house,
opens the safe.
He thinks he'’s getting money,
but she pulls the gun out
instead of money...
...and shoots and kills him.
We found a lot
of Abraham'’s blood
in the room where the safe was,
so we know he was shot in there.
The clothes
that we dig him up in
are the same clothes
in that video
she makes the day of April 7th.
Are you gonna miss your home?
Through our investigation,
we knew that
she purchased a backhoe
with Abraham'’s money.
She calls her ex-husband
James Moore.
She called him.
"Hey, I need you to come
dig this hole for me.
I bought you a backhoe."
She tells him,
"Dig it about six feet deep,
and I'’ll call you back later
to fill it in."
DeeDee'’s ex-husband
had no idea what he was doing
other than
she was just digging a hole
to put some yard trash in.
He had no clue.
Of course, she never told us,
but she'’d have put him
in this wheelbarrow.
She dragged him,
it was only 75 yards.
DeeDee was a big woman.
She could'’ve dragged him
by herself.
DeeDee could'’ve picked
Abraham up, big as she was.
DeeDee'’s sole motivation
was greed.
That lotto ticket for Abraham
was DeeDee'’s meal ticket.
Her thirst for money,
in the end,
obviously cost Abraham his life,
but also hers.
At 5:00 this evening,
the Sherriff'’s office,
along with assistance
from Polk County
Sherriff'’s Office,
arrested Dorice Donegan Moore.
She'’s charged tonight
with accessory after the fact,
first-degree murder in
the death of Mr. Shakespeare.
When the case went to trial,
DeeDee had the nerve
to plead not guilty,
but the jury wasn'’t fooled.
She was sentenced
to life in prison
without the possibility
of parole.
When the jury came back
with the guilty verdict,
we felt justice
for not only Abraham
but his mother,
who had to suffer
through all of this.
I never did think that Abraham'’s
life was gonna be taken
because of that money
that he had won.
How could that woman
do him like that?
I never got a chance
to see my son'’s face again.
Never did.
There'’s not one soul
that anybody can think of
that has given to the level
that Shakespeare has
to everyday people
in the community
with no strings attached.
It'’s unheard of.
That'’s how he will be
remembered.
I remember a conversation
he had with me.
Me and him was riding one day.
He was like,
"I wish you had this money.
You'’re smart.
I wish you had it."
And I told him that same day,
I said, "Man, I don'’t
even want that money.
If you'’re going through
what you'’re going through,
I don'’t even want that money."
He was a sweetheart
at the end of the day.
He would do anything
in the world for you.
I don'’t think I'’ve had
a better friend than him.
I still to this day
have trouble thinking
that Abraham is really dead.
Like, you know what I'’m saying?
It'’s like...
This can'’t be.
We just had a baby.
It was, like, we knew
at the end of the day,
we'’re gonna finish
our day together
and we'’re gonna start
our next day together.
Period. Point blank.
Abraham Shakespeare thought
DeeDee Moore was his savior,
but all the money in the world
couldn'’t protect him
from the greed in her heart
and the thirst that turned
her into a killer.
The NFL made Rae Carruth
an instant star
the ladies couldn'’t resist.
But Rae never let them
get too close,
until the day he met
Cherica Adams.
He had real feelings for her.
But one night
changed everything.
It was catastrophic for him.
A suspect on the run.
He fled in the trunk,
and he stays
in that trunk 21 hours.
He was back there
with bottles of urine.
This guy went out in a bad way.