Day three of Sidney Moorer trial ends with testimony about texts between defendant’s, Elvis' phones

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) - Text messages between Sidney Moorer's and Heather Elvis' cellphones was the focus of afternoon testimony in Moorer's kidnapping case.

Will Lynch, a North Myrtle Beach police officer, testified that he compiled a report based on data extracted from the defendant's cellphone when he worked on the case while previously an investigator with the Fifteenth Solicitor's Drug Enforcement Unit.

That information included text messages between Moorer's and Elvis' phones, which was shown to the jury.

The messages indicated a relationship between the two, which previous witnesses had testified to. One of the messages from Moorer's phone that Lynch testified about stated, "Sorry, I made a mistake."

Another message sent from Moorer's phone to Elvis' said, "Stop stalking me," according to Lynch's testimony.

A second witness was James Perry, who handles electronic and computer forensics for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

Perry testified for solicitor Nancy Livesay that he found evidence on Moorer's computer that was transferred from his cellphone.

That evidence included deleted text messages from the defendant's phone that showed more of the conversation that Lyncy had previously testified about.

Two of those messages recovered on the computer and reportedly sent from the defendant's phone said, "I've been having Sidney followed since 2012," while a second stated, "Hey sweetie, you want to meet the missus?" according to Perry.

During cross examination from defense attorney Kirk Truslow, Perry testified that some of the text messages appeared threatening.

Perry added during cross that he had no idea who had possession of Moorer's phone during the text conversation that was discussed with the jury.

Earlier in the day, the location of Elvis' cellphone at various times in the early-morning hours of Dec. 18, 2013, was the focal point of testimony offered.

Aaron Edens, an intelligence analyst with the Mateo County, Calif., Sheriff's Office, was recognized as an expert in cellphone forensics investigations. He testified for the state that he compiled a report as to the movements of Elvis' phone.

During a PowerPoint presentation shown to jury, Edens walked the panel through his report. At one point, Elvis' phone was located at her residence on White River Drive.

Then, around 2:42 a.m., Elvis' phone was located at Longbeard's restaurant in the Carolina Forest area, Edens testified. It remained there until 2:56 a.m., and a minute later, it was heading to Augusta Plantation Drive and back to the restaurant, returning at 3:01 a.m.

From 3:02 to 3:15 a.m., Edens testified, Elvis' phone remained at Longbeard's. Then, starting at 3:16 a.m., the phone was heading back to Elvis' location, arriving there three minutes later.

The phone was at Elvis' residence for five more minutes before moving from White River Drive to Peachtree Boat Landing starting at 3:25 a.m., according to Edens' testimony.

At 3:37 a.m., Elvis' phone was said to be at Peachtree Boat Landing, Edens testified. The PowerPoint presentation shown to the jury also indicated that four calls were placed from her phone to Moorer's.

The last slide shown to the jury indicated that the last location of Elvis' phone was Peachtree Boat Landing at 3:42 a.m., on Dec. 18, 2013.

During cross examination by the defense, Edens was asked if he compiled a similar report for Moorer's cellphone. He said he had not.

Edens added he also didn't compile the same report for Stephen Schiraldi, who testified on Tuesday that he had gone on a date with Elvis on Dec. 17, 2013.

The last witness before the lunch recess was Devon Soles. During his short testimony, he indicated he works at Beach Ford and that Moorer purchased a black four-door Ford F150 on Nov. 8, 2013.

Day three of the trial started with the jurors getting a ride past the area where two surveillance cameras recorded footage in the early-morning hours of Dec. 18, 2013.

That footage was shown to the jury during Tuesday's portion of the trial. The surveillance cameras showed the areas of Mill Pond Road and S.C. 814, which are both in the vicinity of the Peachtree Boat Landing.

It was at Peachtree Boat Landing that Heather Elvis' vehicle was discovered on Dec. 18, 2013. She has been missing ever since, with Moorer charged in connection with the case.

Sidney Moorer and his wife, Tammy Moorer, were both originally charged with murdering Heather Elvis. But those charges were dropped in March.

Tammy Moorer is also charged with kidnapping. A trial date for her has not yet been set.

The Moorers were arrested in February 2014 in connection with the disappearance of Elvis, who was 20 years old when she went missing in December 2013.

Heather Elvis' parents said the trial is causing them to relive their emotions from the initial disappearance.

"Watching the video of the truck going by and wondering if your daughter is in that truck," Debbi Elvis said. "Everything that's brought up in the courtroom is a resurfacing of everything that's happened."

Elvis said the ultimate goal remains finding their daughter.

"All this evidence and all of these things about Sidney, it's about Heather and it's about finding Heather and it's about proving who took Heather, but we still don't know where she is. We're still missing that piece of information," Elvis said.

Stay with WMBF News both on air and online for complete trial coverage.

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