Man charged with abduction after Chesterfield missing woman’s remains recovered over one year later

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WWBT) - A family finally knows what happened to 24-year-old mother Jasmine Moore, but it was not the answer they hoped for.

A man was charged with abduction after Jasmine Moore’s remains were found in Dinwiddie County. She was reported missing in October 2020.

Police say Moore was last seen leaving her home in the 20100 block of Rowanty Court at about 10:40 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2020. Moore was reported missing by friends on Oct. 4, 2020.

On Oct. 5, 2020, Moore’s vehicle, a black Ford Taurus, was found in Prince George County on an exit ramp to Interstate 95.

The Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s Office says in early October, hunters found what they suspected to be human skeletal remains in a wooded area in the 6900 block of Anderson Mill Road in the Church Road area of Dinwiddie.

The remains were taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and were positively identified as those of Moore on Dec 1, 2021. Jennifer Jones lives across the street from the area where Moore’s remains were found. She says she is highly disturbed by the situation.

“It seems really strange to me that this would have occurred here; it makes me wonder like how they came up with this area,” Jones said. “That’s really unheard of. I wouldn’t expect that here on this street, it’s really quiet, and there’s nothing but family-oriented people here. I mean, there’s little kids that live right here.”

Jones says she and the neighbors don’t think twice when they hear gunfire because hunters frequent the area.

“I can clearly tell you that there’s a lot of hunters around here,” she said. “It’s not uncommon to hear random shots.”

On Dec. 1, Ellis Dean Briggs Jr., 27, of Dinwiddie, was arrested and charged with the abduction of Moore in October 2020. Briggs is being held with no bond at Meherrin River Regional Jail in Alberta.

There was no sign of police or forensics near the wooded property where the remains were found, but a friend of Moore’s was there to pay respects. She declined to go on camera but told NBC12 that Moore knew her alleged abductor and they were considered friends. Investigators did not say whether Briggs and Moore knew each other.

“I never doubted that this day would come. I dreaded it, but I’m still stuck in disbelief,” Moore’s friend said. “I will always remember her smile...I know she loved her kids. I know my girl didn’t go down without a fight.”

This investigation is ongoing.

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