By Jane Harper
Source The Virginian-Pilot
“Gosh, he was a good man. The kind you don’t see a whole lot anymore.”
That’s how Barbara Sybert remembered her neighbor, William “Bill” Moore, an 83-year-old retired Norfolk police sergeant who was shot to death in his Ocean View area home Monday night.
Sybert and other neighbors were stunned by the brazen attack at Moore’s house on Phillip Avenue. Moore’s 63-year-old daughter — who’d recently moved in to help him around the house — also was shot and seriously injured.
Connie Hubbard suffered a wound to her face. She was listed in critical condition at a hospital Wednesday.
According to a GoFundMe page to help with funeral and medical expenses, Hubbard worked at TASTE’s Ghent restaurant along with her daughter and granddaughter. The business plans to match all contributions made to the fundraiser, the page said.
Moore lived in his house for 45 years and was beloved by neighbors. He served as a Norfolk police officer for 32 years, from 1965-97, according to the department.
“You couldn’t say enough good things about him,” said Andy Cabannis, who lived next door for 12 years and knew Moore several years before that. “He was so friendly. You could walk in anytime and talk with him.”
Moore was the kind of neighbor who was always offering to help, Sybert said. When she moved into her house a couple of years ago, he came by to welcome her and offered to assist in any way possible.
The two quickly became friends, Sybert said. He’d often stop by to have coffee, and she’d go over to his house, too, to check on him and visit. Moore often told stories about his days as a police officer, she said, but left out the grisly parts to avoid upsetting her.
“He’d say, ‘Darling, you need anything, you let me know,’” Sybert said. “He was up in age so I’m not sure how much he could do, but I know he would do it if he could.”
Moore enjoyed working on cars, watching baseball and getting together with his best friend, another retired police officer who regularly took him out to lunch, neighbors said.
“Ken would pick him up everyday,” Sybert said of the friend. “Every single day without fail.”
Cabaniss was home Monday when he heard shots next door about 8 p.m., and called 911. Hubbard came out of the house afterward, telling him that intruders had come in through the front door and shot her and her father, he said.
Police have arrested and charged two 19-year-old men. Andra Brown and Xavier Hudspeth, both of Norfolk, are charged with second-degree murder and two firearms charges. They were arraigned Wednesday morning and are being held without bond in the city jail.
Court documents didn’t indicate what led detectives to the two men, and police have released few details about the crime or a possible motive.
In front of Moore’s home Wednesday someone had erected a poster board memorial. “Bill, you will be missed greatly by your friends and neighbors,” was written on it with a black marker, as were a few personal messages. Two bouquets of flowers stood next to it.
As she sat in her living room Wednesday — where she and Moore often chatted about their families — Sybert struggled to understand why anyone would want to hurt her dear friend and neighbor.
“It’s just baffling beyond belief,” she said. “Things like that are not supposed to happen to people like him.”
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