Gastonia Family Puts Up Billboard In Hopes For Answers In Loved One’s Murder

GASTONIA – A somber moment on Franklin Boulevard in Gastonia Tuesday morning, as crews put up a new billboard through the rain.

Stephan Moore and his family are hoping it will generate leads in the unsolved murder of his brother, John Luke Moore.

“You know, We’re standing in the rain,” he says, “and it’s symbolic of what our hearts are doing. Our hearts have been crying for the last three years.”

This billboard, for them, means hope.

“It means that we will continue to keep his name alive. It means that as a family, we we remain strong. We remain united,” says Stephan.

Someone shot and killed Moore during a home invasion in July of 2021 at his home on Allison Avenue.

He was a local popular barber, and his family says everyone loved him.

Moore’s aunt, Laurette Avery, tells WCCB’s Emma Mondo it’s frustrating that the person responsible is still free. She’s hoping her nephew’s picture sitting high above the roadway for the next three months will help them get answers.

“I’m just hoping that this is going to click,” says Avery. “This is going to do something for them to say “oh no”, now it’s really out in the public for them to come forth.”

The family hoping that anyone driving by who might know something will be able to say something.

If you do know anything about the murder of John Luke Moore, you are asked to call Gastonia Police.