Murder suspect found dead

Published 2:30 pm Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Dee Trent Reifinger

Dee Trent Reifinger

 

The woman accused of murdering Pinetown resident Michael Moon last year was found dead in Onslow County on Tuesday night, according to authorities.

Dee Trent Reifinger was found deceased at an Onslow County residence — she had been living in the coastal county since she was bonded out of jail last fall, according to law enforcement officials.

At the time of print, the cause of death had yet to be released. According to a source in law enforcement, foul play is not suspected.

Reifinger was arrested Aug. 21, 2013, after Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a domestic call at the home Reifinger and Moon shared on Long Ridge Road in Pinetown. Moon was found deceased at the scene, the victim of a gunshot wound to the head. Reifinger was arrested that night and later charged with an open count of murder by a Beaufort County Grand Jury. She was bonded out of prison the next month. Before her release, she was being held at Raleigh Women’s prison under a $500,000 bond.

Reifinger’s last court appearance was in January when she made a request for a court-appointed attorney, telling the court she was unable to afford counsel on her own. During the same appearance, Assistant District Attorney Tom Anglim asked the judge to change the terms of Reifinger’s release — that she stay away from the Long Ridge Road property and cease attempting to communicate with Moon’s heirs. Reifinger said she hadn’t had access to any of her belongings from the house she shared with Moon since her September release from prison.

Calls to the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office had not been returned at the time of print.