By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

This is a monthly column that will run on the third Sunday of each month.        

MONTPELIER — This month’s “Unsolved Murders” article focuses on the 1978 double murder of a young married couple in Montpelier.

High school sweethearts Bruce Moser, age 20, and Margaret Moser, age 22, had been married for three years and were residing in a mobile home on SR 3 in Wells County with their 17-month-old daughter, Kerri.

Bruce was employed at Bob’s Fine Foods in Huntington, and Margaret was a stay-at-home mom.

On Jan. 4, 1978, Bruce left work early to head home and pick Margaret up to take her to an appointment. 

The following two days, Bruce did not show up for work nor did he call in. His manager became concerned and contacted police to request a welfare check.

When police arrived at the Moser home and went inside, they found Bruce lying on the bedroom floor. His hands were tied behind his back and he had been shot in the head.

Margaret was tied to the bed. She had been sexually assaulted and shot multiple times in the head. It was determined that Bruce’s rifle was used to shoot the couple.

Kerri was found in the home, unharmed but hungry and dehydrated.

Police believe Bruce arrived home that day and walked in as Margaret was being assaulted.

Initially, it was suspected that the couple’s murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred several years earlier, in March of 1974.

While still in high school, Bruce was on his way home after a date with Margaret, when he discovered the body of a man who had been shot in the stomach. The victim was a man named Ronald Parks. Bruce witnessed three males running away from the area and watched as they got into a vehicle and drove off.

Three men were later arrested in connection to Parks’ murder: Pete Walters, Jon Kennedy and Richard Mills. Walters was believed to have been the one who actually shot Parks. Kennedy testified against Walters in exchange for immunity and Mills received a lesser sentence after pleading guilty to his involvement.

Bruce was called to serve as a witness for the state at Walters’ trial. Walters was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

Kennedy and Mills were questioned but denied any involvement in the deaths of Bruce and Margaret. Both men provided alibis. 

Another potential suspect was a truck driver named Robert Leslie. Originally from Indiana, Leslie was wanted for questioning regarding homicides in multiple states, including Indiana, Alabama and Georgia, and a kidnapping in Florida. It was determined that the Mosers’ trailer was on one of Leslie’s routes, and Leslie reportedly admitted to police that he stopped at the Moser home in December, shortly before Christmas, to use their phone when he had brake issues with his truck.

However, before police could pick Leslie up for further questioning, he killed himself in a motel room.

Leslie left several letters for family members, including a letter to his sister, in which he confessed to the rape and murder of 16-year-old Trena Biddle, whose body was found along a rural Indiana road.

Anyone with information related to the unsolved murders of Bruce and Margaret Moser is asked to please contact the Indiana State Police at:

Indiana State Police
District Investigative Commander
5811 Ellison Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
(260) 432-8661 or 1-(800) 552-0976
email:  [email protected]