Corey Bernard Moss, the Fort Bliss soldier who has admitted to stabbing Rachel Poole, a pregnant woman, said that he wanted to hurt Poole “just enough” to escape to New York, where his fiance lives.
Moss owed $3,000 to Poole for damaging a vehicle he borrowed from her.
Moss confessed to stabbing Poole multiple times in the early morning hours after the attack, El Paso Police Department Detective Alfredo Hernandez told the judge on Tuesday, during the first bond hearing.
Moss told Hernandez that he only wanted to hurt Poole “just enough” to avoid paying the $3,000 and escape to New York, where his fiance lives.
Poole’s husband Justin Jose Poole served with Moss at Fort Bliss and previously at Fort Lee in Virginia. Jose Poole was serving overseas at the time of the attack, and heard the whole struggle because he was video chatting with his wife.
Gary Weiser, an attorney for Moss, said he agrees that Moss should be convicted based on the evidence available right now, but doesn’t agree with the Capital Attempted Murder charge.
“I understand that the offense is terribly heinous, I understand the injuries to the victim in this case, but to take the position that he intended to kill both the mother and her unborn child, in my view, is extreme,” said Weiser, reported KTSM.
Moss should undergo a psychological evaluation, Weiser added.
“Yes he stabbed her, and he had a reason for it. But is that legally sufficient as a matter of law, or was he insane at the time of the commission? I can’t make that determination myself,” said Weiser.
Moss, 19, had just arrived at Fort Bliss in April after entering the service in October 2012, Capt. Benjamin Markley told the judge.
Moss has a history of lying and taking money and not paying it back, Markley said. In one instance, Moss told his commanding officers that his father had died, which didn’t happen. Fellow soldiers gave Moss $350 to help with funeral expenses, but the officers now believe that Moss used the money to travel to New York to see his fiance.
Rachel Poole has given birth to her baby, who is healthy, and is recovering.
