Defendant Sentenced to 35 Years in 2010 Disappearance and Homicide Case

By Adriana Marroquin - September 15, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On Sept. 15, DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein sentenced Isaac Moye to 35 years incarceration, with credit for time served, for his connection to a homicide. 

Moye, 46, was found guilty on June 23 of second-degree murder in 24-year-old Unique Harris’ death for a crime that allegedly occurred on Oct. 10, 2010. Harris was last seen near the 2400 block of Hartford Street, SE.

“This was a terrible crime,” said Judge Epstein, stating that, because Harris’ body was never discovered, no one truly knows how much she suffered in her last moments. 

Moye was arrested in 2020, ten years after Harris was reported missing. Court documents state Harris’s children awoke to find their mother wasn’t there, something extremely out of character. There has been no physical or digital footprint of Harris since she went missing, and her body was never recovered. 

During the sentencing, Harris’ mother talked about the impact on her family from the loss, stating that all her loved ones are still grieving 13 years later. 

“You deviant, how dare you take my baby girl,” she exclaimed, referring to Moye. She pleaded with Judge Epstein to sentence Moye to the maximum extent possible, saying, “please don’t force another family to hunt him down for a decade like we did”. 

Likewise, Harris’ sister recalled how for a decade, no one was held accountable for their loss. She said Harris’ kids live with guilt for not helping her when Moye was in her apartment the night of her disappearance. 

“Let’s stop giving grace to a living disgrace,” she said. “Make sure Unique Harris is the last person he does this too.” 

Prosecutors thanked Harris’ family for their hard work and efforts in the investigation, stating that without them the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the prosecutor’s office would not have been able to solve the case. 

They also discussed Moye’s lengthy criminal history, stating that he was convicted of rape and attempted rape with underaged victims in 1994 and 1995. According to prosecutors, in 1999, he attempted to rape his then-girlfriend’s best friend and when he failed, stole her vehicle. 

In August 2010, they said, he was released from prison, which didn’t stop him from killing Harris two months later. Prosecutors insist his involvement in criminal activity did not stop in the ten years it took to press charges against him for Harris’ disappearance. 

“In this case, the maximum is the minimum,” argued the prosecutor when requesting Moye be sentenced to 40 years. 

Jason Tulley, Moye’s defense attorney, told the court that the whole defense team extended their condolences to the Harris family, and acknowledged their “heroic actions” in trying to resolve the case. 

“He’s innocent,” Tulley said, noting that Moye can’t tell anyone where Harris’ body is because he doesn’t know.  

“The system has convicted an innocent man of murder,” he stated, “we’ll see what happens in appeal”.

Tulley claimed that MPD attempted to elicit a confession from Moye by showing him a picture of his deceased mother, who allegedly abused him as a child. 

Tulley requested Judge Epstein sentence Moye to no more than 20 years incarceration. 

Moye chose to remain silent during his sentencing. 

““[Moye] has proven himself to be dangerous,” Judge Epstein stated, “20 years is not sufficient.” 

Aside from the 35 years incarceration, Moye is required to serve a five-year supervised release , must pay $100 to the victims’ crime fund, and receive mental health assessment and treatment while incarcerated.