A 72-year-old South Bay woman has been ordered to stand trial for murder in the 2010 beating death of her elderly roommate.
A judge heard from five witnesses in a two-day preliminary hearing for Maria Moore who is charged with fatally beating Charmian Theresa Antaramian, 83. She was found dead in her bathroom in her home on Citrus Avenue in the Palm City area on Dec. 9, 2010.
The victim was beaten all over her body and her ribs were fractured. Deputy District Attorney Amy Colby said the doctor who performed the autopsy determined there was no weapon used and that Moore apparently used only her hands and feet.
Moore was arrested Dec. 10, 2010, but has spent most of her time at Patton State Hospital after a judge determined she was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Another judge ruled on Oct. 20, 2014 she was mentally competent for trial.
Moore was disruptive and made outbursts during the hearing before Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring.
She has pleaded not guilty and remains in the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility on $1 million bail.
Moore was initially thought to be Antaramian’s caretaker, but Colby said she was someone whom the victim met and allowed to move into her home about four months earlier.
A relative of the victim called San Diego Police and asked to perform a welfare check on Antaramian after not being able to talk to her on the phone. Colby said an officer crawled through a window and found the victim’s body.
Antaramian had been dead about three to four days. Moore was located next door at a neighbor’s house and was attempting to leave the area as she was in the process of purchasing a Greyhound bus ticket, said the prosecutor.
Two detectives and a neighbor were among the witnesses who testified during court proceedings.
Moore’s next court date is scheduled for March 18.
