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Family opposed to parole bid
Published January 6, 2009
Phillip Moore doesn’t know when he will see his mother again, but he knows it will be in heaven at the Lord’s side.
His mother, Joyce Gillilan Moore was murdered on May 20, 1999, while closing up shop at the T&J Quickway convenience store at the intersection of Alabama 205 and Wagner Drive.
Arrested and later convicted of the crime were Annette Belisle and her husband at that time, Rick Belisle. Annette Belisle distracted Moore earlier in the day so Rick Belisle could hide either in the ceiling or a bathroom at the rear of the store.
Police think Rick Belisle came out of hiding when the store closed, stealing $1,500.
Moore’s family members think that in the process, Rick Belisle was startled by Moore, causing him to bludgeon her with the closest weapon, a commercial-sized can of peas.
“When he dropped out of the ceiling, he was probably startled by her and may have been high at the time. Regardless, he beat her to death and took her from us,” said Joyce Moore’s sister, Sheila Madrigal.
“At the time, there hadn’t been a murder in more than 10 years in Boaz. It was quite a shock and was very traumatizing to the family. We lost Joyce forever. We will not see Joyce again until we cross over. We will never see her again on earth. It is just not right that (Annette Belisle Williams) gets to come out and have a life after she took a life. After she took our Joyce.”
Sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea agreement in exchange for testifying against Rick Belisle, Annette Belisle Williams is now up for parole for the first time, a fact that angers Joyce Moore’s family.
“She got married in prison. She started a new life. Now, she might get out of prison on parole and start her life again. Joyce can’t do that.
“We will never get her back,” said Phillip Moore, Joyce’s son.
Rick Belisle received the death penalty and sits on death row.
The family is now preparing to attend Annette Belisle Williams’ parole hearing, set for Jan. 13 in Montgomery.
“Joyce’s children and mother received registered letters and will be able to speak before the parole board,” said Madrigal.
“Fact is, I don’t think she will make parole, but the thought she could get out without serving every day of her sentence is almost more than we can bear. She can still have her life. She is still young.”
Planning to attend the hearing are Phillip Moore and his wife, Melissa; Joyce Moore’s siblings, Steve Gillilan and Sheila Madrigal; and the victim’s mother, Lois Adams. They hope to hear a decision that day.
“Lord willing, I will be there as long as I am able to,” said Adams, noting that family members have been present at every hearing, court appearance and press conference they have been aware of through the entire process.
“We were taken by surprise this time,” said Phillip Moore. “I didn’t expect this, this soon. I know what I want to say. I don’t know exactly what I will say. I do know around about what I will say.”
Sandra Cochran, executive assistant at the Board of Pardons and Parole, said the doors would open at 7:30 a.m., allowing family members for a number of prisoners up for parole to sign in.
Family will be allowed to speak on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 9 a.m. Generally, comments are limited to five minutes and only two or three family members are allowed to speak, she said. The board will render a decision that day and give the news to family members before they depart.
Madrigal says family members who did not get letters inviting them to speak before the parole board plan to write letters expressing their opposition to the board. They are also urging concerned citizens within Marshall, DeKalb and Etowah counties to write letters as well.
“We want people to consider writing letters. We want them to keep her in jail as long as possible so she can’t get out and do this to another family. It could be anyone’s family. We are trying to get the news out that she is up for parole. I would hate for her to get out and do this again in the state of Alabama,” Madrigal said.
Boaz police investigator Gary Stanfield, who worked on the case in 1999, said he plans to attend the parole hearing if possible.
“I think she should serve her whole time,” Stanfield said. “Both she and Rick Belisle were involved. I think she should be held to serve every day of her sentence.”
Joyce Moore’s family spent the holiday season thinking of Moore and remembering the good things about her. They each received the parole board hearing notices in early December.
“Christmas is always tough for us. She was a real big giver. She had a real big heart. If she had a dime, and you needed it, she would give you the whole thing. That is just the way she was,” Phillip Moore said.
“That’s the way she was to these people (the Belisles). A lot of people don’t know about this. Mother was disabled and my aunt (store owner Joy Harvey) was just getting the store off the ground.
“Mom was working that day, just helping out my aunt at the store the way family does. Someone called in sick. Annette worked at the store previously. (My mom) had given them (the Belisles) food … she had just bent over backwards helping these people.
“This girl copped the first plea agreement. I feel that if this girl had never worked at the store before, there wouldn’t have been a robbery. She knew the layout of the store and how things worked and where the safe was. She got less than $2,000. She got such a short amount of time.
“First, she made a 15-year plea agreement. Then she spent two years out of jail and started a new life while waiting on an appeal. She met a new man, started a new life.
“She turned herself in … and said she wasn’t represented right. She hired a high-power attorney. All these girls in jail with her told her she got a good deal for murder. In the end, she traded a 15-year sentence for a 20-year sentence. She is sneaky … real sneaky. I feel she’s just as much, if not more responsible than he is. She should serve every moment of every day of every year of the sentence she got.”
Madrigal said Joyce Moore never feared anyone and enjoyed a good life in Boaz.
“She never worried about being safe in Boaz. She never locked her doors. She left the keys in the car. She told me a couple of weeks before her death that I was being too ‘citified.’ I was living in a larger city in Ohio at the time and all the time told her to be safe and take care of herself.
“We never thought anything like this would happen in Boaz. She would say she lived in Alabama and no one would be out to hurt her here. Those words came back to me when I got the call.
“We relive (the murder and subsequent trials) every time this (the Belisles) comes up. It is not that we mind reliving Joyce’s life. She is with us every day. It’s not that we have forgotten her. We don’t want to be reminded of how they brutally killed her every day.”
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Related Stories:
Court upholds death penalty
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