Murder Victim's Sister: “I believe in miracles, but I don’t see one happening for you”

Monday, December 14, 2015 at 6:28 AM

By Mike Perleberg Allison Moore is escorted out of the Ripley County Courthouse on Friday, December 11. She will be sentenced for murder of December 21. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. (Versailles, Ind.) - It was an emotional day in a Ripley County courtroom as relatives of Milan murder victim Nancy Hershman addressed her killer. “You won’t meet my sister again. She’s in heaven… …You’re going to hell,” said Dave Kelly, Hershman’s brother, told Allison Moore during a sentencing hearing in Ripley Superior Court on Friday, December 11. Moore, 25, is facing anywhere from 45 up to 105 years in prison for the December 30, 2012 burglary and murder of Hershman. A juror convicted her on charges of Murder, Burglary, and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary in November. The one saving grace for Moore at trial was that the jurors decided against recommending she receive a sentence of life without parole. Kelly said he was disappointed in the jury for coming to that decision. Judge Jeffrey Sharp took Friday’s testimony and legal arguments under advisement. He set Moore’s pronouncement of sentence for Monday, December 21 at 10:00 a.m. Hershman was a special education bus driver who was shot dead by Moore, of Colerain Township, Ohio, when she and two teen boys busted into Hershman’s home not long after midnight. Moore, then 22, had committed an armed robbery of a marijuana dealer in Cross Plains earlier the prior evening. Darlene Grace, one of Hershman’s five relatives who testified, said that her sister and Moore were completely opposite people. Nancy, she said, gave herself to others. All Moore did was take from others. “She was the kindest person you would have ever met in your life,” said Grace, relating a story about how Nancy would visit Alzheimer’s patients at a local nursing home and paint their fingernails. “I wish you could have done something like that instead of being so stupid,” she told her sister’s killer. “I believe in miracles, but I don’t see one happening for you.” Grace repeatedly noted that it has been two years, 11 months, and 11 days since Nancy was killed. The day she was killed was Grace’s birthday. When she got an early morning phone call she figured it was Nancy calling with an early morning birthday greeting. It was another relative informing her of Nancy’s murder. Like others testifying, Grace requested that Judge Sharp give Moore the maximum sentence. She also wanted the judge to consider not allowing Moore to receive two for one credit which would essentially cut her sentence in half.

Nancy Hershman's relatives embrace outside of the courtroom following Friday's sentencing hearing. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. Dawn Evans, Nancy’s daughter, was upstairs in the home the night of the break-in and fatal shooting. She told Moore that she had taken a grandmother away from her sons’ graduations and weddings. “I hope I will never have to worry about where you are every second of every day,” Evans said before leaving the courtroom. After a brief conversation with her defense attorney, Michael Sarapata, Moore decided to briefly testify on her own behalf. It was her first time speaking at length in court. She said she worked in a couple fast food jobs and had attended classes for one month at ITT Technical Institute studying for a possible career in criminal justice. Wearing a blue jail jumpsuit, red rimmed glasses, and the same tight haircut since before her arrest, Moore stated that everybody shows remorse in different ways. However, she never directly apologized for murdering Nancy Hershman. “I am not a bad person. I’m sorry if you think I am,” Moore said. Moore’s mother testified in support of her daughter, who she explained had been taken off medications for ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder before getting mixed up with neighbors who were bad influences. Pamela Moore-Mitchell said she blamed herself for not seeking a second or third opinion from other doctors regarding Allison’s medication. Moore-Mitchell said her heart went out to Hershman’s relatives. She asked the judge to consider her daughter’s lack of criminal history. Moore said she has gotten closer to the Lord while in jail. But her record of behavior while in jail suggests Moore may not be an entirely changed person. Called to the stand by Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel, jail administrator Bob Curl testified that there have been 13 incident reports in the jail regarding Allison Moore. Indiana State Police detective Tracy Rohlfing said that two of the jail incidents led to more criminal charges against Moore. One was for a fist fight with another female inmate. The other was for verbally threatening an inmate who was to testify against Moore at trial. “She said ‘She had better watch her ****ing back,’” Rohlfing testified about a felony Intimidation charge against Moore. Sarapata said that Allison made the statement in response to a threat made against her. He stressed to the judge that those newer charges against Moore are pending matters and have not yet been proven in court. Hertel submitted a sentencing memorandum to Judge Sharp requesting a sentence of 90 to 95 years. He cited Hershman’s age and Moore’s alleged intimidation of witnesses as aggravating factors. The prosecutor also referred to the long wait for justice which the victim’s family has gone through. Hertel said the case has seen three judges, three defense attorneys, an appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court, two change of venue requests, a continuance the night before trial, jail house snitches, guilty pleas for Moore’s two teenage accomplices, Moore’s confession to police tossed by judges, three days of jury selection, six days of trial, and less than two hours of jury deliberations. “As an officer of the court I can say I believe in our system, but at times the system can fail to give enough consideration to the victims,” Hertel said. “At times we had to have some difficult conversations with the family… I feel like I came to know Nancy from them. I can say I was proud to represent the state in the case against Allison Moore.” With the exception of the official pronouncement of Moore’s sentence, Nancy’s family will soon be able to begin healing. “I hope that there is no leniency whatsoever,” Grace said. 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