Convicted Pittsburgh Murderer On The Run Since 1971 Arrested
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A man on the run for decades for the murder of a woman in Homewood is now in jail.
His name is Leonard Moses, but for years he traveled under the alias Paul Dickson. The 71-year-old was arrested Thursday in Michigan. FBI Pittsburgh are giving credit to today's technology for his capture.
"I think the length of time is a sad part of the story," says FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent In Charge Mike Christman.
It took almost 50 years, but with escaping and changing his name, Leonard Moses was able to create a life for himself that had him living as if he was a free man.
But in January this year, that freedom would be cut short after getting arrested for embezzlement while working as a traveling pharmacist. It was that arrest that connected him to a more serious charge here in Pittsburgh.
According to the FBI, in 1968 during the "Pittsburgh Riots" that happened after Dr. Matrtin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Moses and his friends allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a home in Homewood. The woman inside the home, Mary Amplo, received burns during the attack and died.
Moses escaped custody while attending his grandmother's funeral in Homewood in 1971, the FBI says. At that time, he was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder after being convicted. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Moses after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid confinement.
Moses was arrested in Michigan on Thursday by FBI Detroit's Fugitive Task Force.
"I hope this arrest brings some closure to the family members of Mary Amplo, who was killed back in 1968. Mr. Moses will now have to face justice for her murder," says Christman.
"Through our coordination with the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office and our partners in Michigan, we were able to identify Mr. Moses using the FBI's Next Generation Identification System. It's these new advances in technology that the FBI must continue to identify and use to make sure those who commit crimes are brought to justice."
Pending an extradition hearing and Michigan state charges, the FBI says he'll be brought back to Pennsylvania.
