Family of murdered Lubbock teen demanding justice after apparent suicide of her accused killer

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A Lubbock mother is demanding answers from police after the apparent suicide of her daughter’s accused killer. Ladesia Dial, the mother of Lakaria Moore, hosted a news conference Tuesday afternoon, revealing she has heard more people were involved in her daughter’s murder.

Investigators say Christopher Carter shot and killed Moore, 18, after a party, then cleaned the scene, drove her body out to East Lubbock and abandoned her in mid-May. Carter then went on the run for two months before police say he died by suicide Monday afternoon during a police stakeout.

“I want justice,” Dial said at the media conference, “and I’m going to get justice. If I have to go above everybody in Lubbock, I’m going to get justice.”

Dial said she wants “all those in connection with” her daughter’s death to be charged. She said she was sent a recording of Carter and another man talking about Moore’s killing. She said they mentioned being there along with a third man after the murder.

“I know it’s a law against not reporting a crime, tampering with evidence,” Dial said. “How is y’all cleaning up blood, wiping up blood, driving my baby out here, disposing of her like a damn rag, a filthy animal or something. She human.”

Gary Pringle, who has been working for Dial as a private investigator in her daughter’s case, was at Tuesday’s media conference, as well, echoing her claims of more criminals.

“He touched the body,” Pringle said of the unidentified suspect on the purported recording, “he turned her over, he took her pulse. He looked up at Carter and said ‘what are you going to do now?’ And did not report it to the police. We want to know why he has not been charged.”

Dial said she gave that recording to detectives, but said they told her instead of pursuing charges against the two other men, they would better serve as witnesses.

“I just feel like that’s not fair,” Dial said. “Chris is no longer here. They can’t be used as a witness now. What happens next?”

The family wants to know who was helping Carter hide while running from police, who rented the hotel room he was in Monday afternoon, whose car was he driving, and who the man was who told police Carter was dead.

“I want to know who was the person who came out,” Dial continued, “how was it considered ‘in-custody’ when y’all did not have him in handcuffs? I do not take that as an ‘in-custody death,’ you did not have Chris Carter.”

“There are more unanswered questions than there are answered questions,” Pringle added, “and it’s time for the Lubbock Police Department to man up, do your job -- which you have not done heretofore -- and solve this to the completion and charge everybody involved.”

Dial said when a detective called to let her know Carter was dead, he asked her to wait to post about it for an hour out of respect for Carter’s mother. Meanwhile, she’s doing her best to be a good mom for her four other children while mourning Lakaria.

“I miss everything, everything,” Dial said, sobbing near the end of her news conference, “There’s just so much I could name, so much: her smile, her personality, everything.”

Dial said Carter should still be alive because she claims police were repeatedly told where he was over the past two months and did nothing.

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