VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It's been about two-and-a-half years since Joseph Moore and his cousin, William Moore, were shot and killed outside the Allure nightclub in Virginia Beach.
"Everybody loved Joe," said Yolanda Thomas, Joseph Moore's sister. "It's unbelievable. Like all we have is pictures and memories."
In October 2021, Thomas got a FaceTime video call from a friend, showing Joseph and William had been shot outside the club off Newtown Road.
"[Joseph] was gasping for air, blood was coming out of his mouth," she said.
Joseph and William died at the scene.
The next day, police arrested then 33-year-old Trayvon McCoy at a Virginia Beach hotel. Prosecutors said McCoy had a previous conflict with one of the men and admitted to shooting both in the nightclub's parking lot.
In Sept. 2023, a jury convicted McCoy of aggravated murder, first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
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Man found guilty in 2 brothers' 2021 shooting death by VB nightclub: Attorneys
Prosecutors provided the following timeline of events during the trial:
- Cousins William Moore, 38, and Joseph Moore, 33, were with each of their brothers at Allure. They left the club around 11 p.m.
- McCoy, who had a previous conflict with William Moore, left the club shortly after. He got a rifle from his car, and he and William Moore approached one another in the parking lot.
- After McCoy and William Moore briefly spoke, McCoy shot William in the chest. He then shot Joseph Moore in the back when he was trying to run away.
- McCoy drove off, and William and Joseph both died despite bystanders giving them first aid.
McCoy claimed he was acting in self-defense, even though he didn’t see a weapon on William or Joseph, prosecutors added.
"He emphasized again and again that he thought his life was in danger," said Eric Korslund, McCoy's defense attorney.
Korslund said surveillance video, showing the shooting, made the case difficult.
"I think the video showed he simply could have drove away," he said.
Korslund said McCoy "told the judge 'I wish I would have just drove home. I wish I would have just left, however, I did feel that I was in danger'."
Yoland told News 3's Jay Greene she will miss her brother's outgoing personality.
"[Joseph] was a lovable person," she said. "Wasn't one to be in a lot of chaos."
Korslund said he has already filed an appeal in McCoy's case.
As for Thomas, she said she and her family will be going through the grieving process again as her father was shot and killed on Sunset Avenue in Norfolk last summer. No arrest has been made in that case.
