Mom-of-three is 'killed by her ex-husband in murder-suicide' after 'the entire system let her down'

A second-grade teacher and her ex-husband were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in suburban Illinois last week.

It happened after 64-year-old Real Estate Broker Matthew Moore illegally entered the home of Amy Moore, 46, in the early morning hours of May 29, cops said.

He went on to confront and shoot her 'multiple times', a Normal Police Department's news release said - before dying himself 'from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.' 

The incident has left the former couple's three sons - aged 12, 11 and seven - without a mother or a father.

Amy's family have expressed their fury over supposed oversights made in the buildup to the single mom's death, during which she was allegedly harassed by her old spouse.

Second-grade teacher Amy Moore - seen here with her three kids - was found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in suburban Illinois last week

It happened after 64-year-old Real Estate Broker Matthew Moore (seen here with his now orphaned kids in 2022) illegally entered the home of his old spouse in the early morning hours of May 29, cops said

'There were many red flags, many phone calls, many trips to lawyers to try and address this,' her older Thomas told WGLT this past Sunday - before concluding, 'I think for sure the entire system let her down.' 

'This is something that, with the number of incidents we've had over the years, they should've never been in the same room at the same time, ever. It should have been impossible for that to happen.' 

The same station reported the day after the murder that the couple - who appear to have gotten married in 2013 - had divorced. 

The outlet reported how the paperwork for the divorce included orders of protection filed by a teacher at Unit 5′s Grove Elementary against Matthew, who worked as a broker for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Bloomington, his LinkedIn shows.

They showed how the couple's split was not a clean one, and took nearly two years.  

The final filings to end the marriage, moreover, happened just a week before cops say Matthew orphaned the pair's three children, shooting Amy.

Court documents go on to detail alleged accounts of toxic behavior on the part of the patriarch, whose social media shows him enjoying days out with his brood as recently as 2022.    

Some of the evidence was seen on social media and systematically documented by Amy, while others were left on a court-mandated app meant to expedite communication between the dueling parents.

One such post read: 'Follow the case and you will know the truth. I don't like to start fights but I will never lose one. I have to protect my kids and myself against malicious attacks even if it cost me and Amy $100,000 in attorney fees.'

He went on to confront and shoot her 'multiple times', a Normal Police Department's news release said - before dying himself 'from a self-inflicted gunshot wound'

The divorce case was filed July 28, 2022 - after which,  in 11 different occasions, the presiding judge dealt with orders of protection involving the parents.

All were filed against Matthew and approved, with one even lifted following an agreement by the two parties.

The basis for the first order surrounded an incident four days before divorce proceedings began, after which Amy - reportedly living paycheck to paycheck -  consistently documented her husband's actions.

It claimed Matthew had gotten drunk during a family outing in Wisconsin and left, taking the family vehicle in the process.

This left her and the children to rent a vehicle to come home, the case filing states - before revealing how the first emergency petition for protection in the case came less than two weeks later.   

It also cites two emails in early August of last year that Amy painted as erratic - and ones that also made her feel concerned about her old husband's stability.

'Petitioner claims respondent has reverted to previous behavior of harassing, discussing divorce case with kids,' this section reads, not offering more detail.

The file did not indicate whether Amy interacted with police in Normal during these alleged incidents, and Normal Police Chief Steve Petrilli on Wednesday said he was unaware of a pattern of abusive behavior.

Pictured: The home where the apparent murder suicide occurred. It remains unclear if the children - aged 12, 11 and 7- were home at the time of the incident

But in the court docket, more alleged incidents of harassment and orders of protection are detailed. 

This includes a felony arrest of Matthew in 2022 for allegedly damaging Amy's vehicle, an outburst that allegedly came after he arrived uninvited to the home where the murder would eventually occur.

There, he took a series of unspecified items he was supposed to stay away from,  documents filed by Amy' attorneys state. 

The documents also show the frequency of the protection orders - with a long-term one lifted in August of that year, and another filed just six days later.

'The respondent has sent numerous rambling, nonsensical, and threatening messages to the petitioner,' read one of these petitions, as others cited threatening social media posts from the suspected killer.

'See you in jail, you nasty woman,' one Facebook post left on the teacher's profile read.

Then, in another emergency order, Amy claimed her ex stole cash from her wallet when she was out of the house, and used an app to remotely change the house's thermostat setting while she was at home.

The father - seen posing in a photo with his kids while in a shirt that praises his parenting - also allegedly installed a doorbell with a camera in the house, while she was away teaching and the children were at school. 

The incident has left the former couple's three sons - aged 12, 11 and 7 - without a mother, and the woman's family irate

They're mad over supposed oversights made in the buildup to the single mom's death, during which she was allegedly harassed by her old spouse, seen here

The victim also claimed he put sex toys and condoms into the family Amazon account cart so that they could be seen by the children, and that Matt at one point claimed in one message to have initiated a fraud investigation against her at a local bank.

Despite all of this, the record reflected the two were still in the midst of working towards some sort reconciliation, as recently as February of last year.

There was court-ordered mediation at one point, after which Matthew's erratic behavior persisted - leading to more orders of protection.

Finally, on May 20 of this year - nine days before the alleged murder-suicide - the court docket suggested the former couple had come to an agreement on financial and co-parenting matters surrounding the case. 

On May 22, the last papers in the lengthy split were filed, and a week later, in the middle of the night, police say Matthew snuck into the home to fatally shoot his wife. 

Later that morning, cops surveyed the scene as neighbors gathered in driveways, with the kids nowhere to be seen. It remains unclear if they were home at the time of the incident.

After her death, faculty at Grove Elementary remembered Amy as an 'outstanding mother, daughter, educator, and friend', after 19 years of loyal service.

After her death, faculty at Grove Elementary remembered Amy as an 'outstanding mother, daughter, educator, and friend', after 20 years of loyal service at the neighborhood school

Following the incident, cops were seen surveying the scene as neighbors gathered in driveways, with the kids nowhere to be seen

'A graduate of Unit 5 Schools, Amy was a gifted educator who impacted the lives of thousands of students,' principal Sarah Edwards wrote in a statement. 

'She was a beloved second-grade teacher at Grove Elementary for almost 20 years, and lived her life to serve others, especially her three children.'

Her older brother added to WGLT that Amy was 'essentially a single mother at the end of her life, working full time, living paycheck to paycheck,' after starting a GoFundMe to help with his now-orphaned nephews.

As of writing, the fundraiser has surpassed its $400,000 goal, meant for the Moore Boys 'to help fund their future,' he said.

'Please consider donating... Thanks for your love, support and prayers.'

An investigation into the incident is underway. Cops this week said it is still being treated as a murder suicide.