The Man Who Murdered My Mother: A Daughter's Journey of Seeking Justice

by Tina Ann Healey

When I was two years old, my mother, Donna Litchfield was brutally murdered by Stephen Moore. My mother had broken up with Stephen—her boyfriend, at the time—only a day prior to being killed. A jury found Stephen guilty of the stabbing murder and the judge sentenced him to life in prison. Moore was sent to the maximum-security Trenton State Prison.

Stephen Moore escaped from Trenton State Prison and was on the run for five years. After he turned himself in, he was shipped off to a mental institution, which closed a few years ago. He was then sent to a private mental institution. Moore’s sentence was overturned: not guilty by reason of insanity.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

324 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2019

About the author

Tina Healey lives in Sparta, New Jersey with her husband and 2 children. She is involved in many civic and social programs, and is currently pursing a career in Private Investigation. Tina's passion, however, is in advocating for the passing of Donna's Law, first in New Jersey, then nationwide. Donna's Law would remove the charge of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, making it more appropriately Guilty by Reason of Insanity. By changing the law and ensuring a Guilty charge, the victims' families will have the right to information to which they otherwise would not be privileged. Tina's plight in advocating for this change in law would also provide accountability for the atrocious crimes committed and raise much needed awareness for the difference between the mentally insane and the criminally insane.

Reviews

[Linda Currie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on true story

I found the story tragic of course... the senseless murder of a young mother, however the book was poorly written, very repetitive with no real ending. I did empathize with the author in regard to losing her mother in such a tragic manner and I complement her for giving her father, step-mother & grandparents credit for raising her.... hopefully the book gave the author closure. I recommend the author retain an editor to improve the content.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and Heartbreaking

This is a novel of a daughter going through unimaginable pain and her fight for justice. This is definitely not a novel you can read in one go. It's dark and difficult, in a manner of the crime being true and non fiction, you can't walk away unaffected. This will stay on your mind and pick the corners of your brain of why the Law gave this criminal a leeway and why was it such an impossible task to get the needed justice. If you want a happy ending, then this again is not the book for you. You will be clinging to hope just like Tina, the daughter, the author. The novel has her detailed description and emotional turmoil along with her mother's life from birth to that fateful day. There are pictures of her Mom so while you go through those it will be a heavy moment of sadness and helplessness for a woman so young and beautiful to have died in such a gruesome manner. The end chapters have case files, transcripts and the entire courtroom proceedings word for word.

[Diane Secchiaroli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder

The book was difficult to read. The author has spent years trying to learn about her mother’s death and the perpetrator. She has been stymied repeatedly by the judicial system and the medical community. She wishes to promote Donna’s Law which would change the guilty pleas by reason of insanity to criminally insane so individuals would be sent to prison if they are psychopaths. So far she has not succeeded. She continues her quest.

[Loraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. I respect the author’s quest to get justice for her mother, but to sell it to a reader I do not get. The second half of the book is the transcription of the original court case which had been at length quoted in the first half. The author’s style to get close to the reader does not work for me.

[Sublime Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donna Litchfield was 24 in the summer of 1976 when she was murdered by her former boyfriend. She left behind a two-year-old daughter, Tina Healey, who uses newspaper articles, courtroom testimony, and personal reminiscences to paint a picture of her mother and her relationship with her killer, Stephen Moore. Moore escaped from the maximum-security Trenton State Prison, where he had been sentenced to life. He was on the run for five years before turning himself in. His sentence was overturned to not guilty by reason of insanity. Healey advocates for the passage of Donna’s Law, which would change the charge of not guilty by reason of insanity in murder cases to guilty by reason of insanity.

Sublime Line: “A compelling true tale of crime and punishment told from the point of view of the victim’s child.”

[J.P. Willson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm thinking...

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a moving and courageous telling of one woman's fight against a defensive and uncaring bureaucracy to find out the disposition of her mother's murderer. This is a quick, easy read done very personally - like she is relating it to a friend. Most of the content is the actual trial transcripts she ultimately succeeded in obtaining.

There are also extensive resources for other victims. The author seeks to have us question and reconsider how insanity please are used in murder cases. It certainly comes across as mishandled and misused in this sad case, among other institutional failures.

[Stacia Zynczenko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half a book

The author has an interesting story, but I didn’t like that she ended the book with court transcripts of the story she already told.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very repetitive. Needs to be edited. Half of the book was the actual case files which, although an awful depressing case, was a very boring read.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole story was very sad and unfair. I didn't like reading a book which has no resolution.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a really good read for me. I really tried to enjoy it and get into it but I felt as though it was missing something powerful for me. Though I have to say I am impressed with her will to get answers for the murder of her mother and to get a law passed. I do hope it passes. You can see she has a passion for it.
In this true story, we are introduced to Tina, whose mother was gruesomely murdered she wants an answer, but it seems that all she gets is the run-around. Heck, I don't truly understand how it all went down with him being accused but then yet again found not guilty later. It honestly sounds like some people just do not know how to do their jobs. I would also like to know why she was not getting phone calls back..it seems like there is more here and that people were hiding something.
A problem that bothered me was her friend. She grabs the children and puts them in the car but she doesn't go back in for her friend and then sure hangs up after calling 911? I mean really? I would have still called them and if it ended up being nothing well so be it. Now I am sure her friend feels bad about that, but honestly, it just bothers me.

There were many errors within the story, so another round of edits might need to be done, and before anyone says anything I know she presented us with it as an original. So don't get your panties in a wad. Just in the retelling of her memories and what she was doing to get the justice that was where the errors were.

[Fiona Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can you do when your Mother is brutally murdered, when your only two not much. The narrator and victims daughter has made it her life’s work to ensure that her Mother’s murderer serves his full sentence of life imprisonment. When the narrator finally discovered that the killer had escaped and then been acquitted, she was horrified. Then she was faced with many, many obstacles stopping her from obtaining all the information she needed to understand what had happened? She is still fighting to obtain some of the information. She will not stop. I wish her all the best in getting the Donnas Law passed. The book was mesmerising and I read it in one sitting. Highly recommend.

[Pamela Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hard book to read. It was a great book, just very emotional. You could feel the author's pain of her life. I feel like she might benefit from counseling just to have a perspective. Two years old is a very early age to have your mom die.

[Shadira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tina'story !!

[DON W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I have ever read!! Complete waste of my time!!

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was a little difficult to read. I understand the frustration of the things that happened and how she hoped to find justice. That is not always something that even the law can get to happen and in this case was not a fair circumstance for her. It appears that the only ending is that the murderer will die of old age. A disappointing ending but realisticly that is the only thing to be in the future. I am so sorry for the author and it is a very sad thing to happen to anyone. I hope she can find some peace and satisfaction from this terrible miscarriage of justice.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating narration from a daughter telling us all about her mum, who was sadly murdered by her bonkers boyfriend. I'm so pleased she still had her dad and his wife after this happened. Janice sounds a real star. I was a bit shocked to read at the very beginning that 'All characters appearing in this work are fictitious,' though.....that's an odd disclaimer to read in a true crime book.
It was nice to actually see what Donna looked like as well, the photos are a lovely addition. I was a bit puzzled too as to why there didn't appear to be any contact with her maternal grandparents after her mum's death.....another oddity was when the jury returned with a unanimous verdict yet the defence were still offered to chance to have them polled !! Why ??
It's pretty appalling that when Tina undertook her quest to read more information on the case and to learn of Stephen's whereabouts, that nobody appeared to know !! No wonder she was concerned by this.....we've all heard what letting loose mental cases into a community does, over there the same as over here. Pretty bad too that they had what they referred to as a second trial, which it really wasn't since it was a closed hearing. The family should've been kept informed. Tina does well not to name 'n' shame some of the peasants she attempted to speak with that never responded or returned calls. She's more charitable than I'd have been !!
I didn't spot a single mistake till I was a quarter in, which was pretty good. This sentence is in dire need of a comma, "How many witnesses do you contemplate calling prosecutor ?" Then speechmarks were dropped and for some reason Universe and Jury are sometimes capitalised. Inventing was used and not inviting, do not due, to not two (!!), hat not that, "we can't you help" is pretty self-explanatory and then HIPAA was suddenly written as HIPPA instead.
Tina's presentation pretty much finished 50% into the book and then we were treated to the actual court transcripts and what a MESS they were in !! The stenographer needed shooting......'you indicated that you disgusted with myself' or 'Valerie here's the screams'......I mean to say, these are a matter of historical and legal facts and the presentation is absolutely abysmal !!
I totally agree with what Tina is attempting to bring as Donna's Law which would find the charge of "Not guilty by reason of insanity" to be replaced by "Guilty by reason of insanity" so there's no let-off and therefore families have access to documents they wouldn't otherwise be entitled to, which is patently ridiculous. I hope she gets it passed. I'm including a link to her petition I found online after I finished reading, which I signed. If you've read this far it would be nice if you do, too. Thanks.
https://www.change.org/p/new-jersey-g...

[Joy Page · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book review

Why again can a book be sold that ends more or less 50% very sad the story is but sick of paying for a book that doesn’t go the whole 100% if you can’t write a full book ,then give up

[Ellie Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally gutwrenching for Tina and her family, how her mum was murdered by her partner and how the system was played.