Trial Scheduled for Lansdale Man Accused of Killing Ex’s New Boyfriend

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

A jury trial has been scheduled for a Lansdale man who is accused of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in April and killing her new boyfriend.

Court records show the criminal case against 21-year-old Christopher Moore will head to a four-day jury trial from Jan. 2, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2024. Moore is charged with first-, second-, and third-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Wesley Wayne Smith, as well as felony counts of burglary and criminal trespassing.

Moore, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, faces life in prison if convicted of first- or second-degree murder. He is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail.

Lansdale Borough Police were dispatched to the Walnut Arms Apartments along the 400 block of Walnut Street on April 17 at 11:09 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Arriving police found Smith dead on the floor of the master bedroom, and Moore suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Moore was airlifted from the scene to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia.

Investigators said Smith was visiting his girlfriend at her apartment when Moore, who is the father of the woman’s children, allegedly broke into the apartment through a bathroom window, entered the bedroom and began shooting. Smith then returned fire before succumbing to his injuries, police said.

Two firearms and multiple fired shell casings were recovered at the scene, according to the release. An autopsy of Smith’s body was conducted by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, which determined he died as a result of sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. Smith’s manner of death was listed as homicide.

Investigators said that in the 11 months prior to the shooting, police had been dispatched to the apartment seven times for domestic incidents involving Moore and the mother of his children, including a call for assistance less than two weeks before the shooting. The criminal complaint can be read here.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.