5 chilling details about Michelle Mockbee's murder

Michelle Mockbee worked at the Florence, Kentucky-based Thermo Fisher Scientific for nearly 16 years until May 29, 2012, when she left home early in the morning. She was found brutally murdered an hour after being spotted entering the company's compound. The married mother-of-two was bludgeoned to death.

A man named David Dooley was later found guilty in the case after circumstantial evidence collected throughout the investigation indicated that he may have murdered Mockbee, who was in charge of payroll, to cover falsified time cards. Dooley and his wife, who also worked at the warehouse, allegedly clocked in for each other even when they weren't at work.

This article will further delve into Michelle Mockbee's decade-old murder case ahead of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered's upcoming episode, titled The Early Shift, scheduled to air on Oxygen this Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 7 pm ET.

The synopsis of the episode states:

"Michelle Mockbee met her husband at the warehouse where they both worked; it was also where she met an untimely death; security footage led police to a suspect, but when it appeared justice had been served, a scandal turned the case upside down."

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Michelle Mockbee's murder: Five quick facts to know about the killing of the Thermo Fisher Scientific employee

1) Mockbee's body was found an hour after she was spotted entering the warehouse

Reports state that on May 29, 2012, Michelle Mockbee arrived at work early, as she had done several times. Surveillance video from the warehouse captured the 42-year-old mother-of-two entering the compound at 5.53 am. She was discovered dead almost an hour later by a janitor and a company supervisor.

The supervisor allegedly noticed a patch of blood on the carpet outside Mockbee's office and, upon further investigation, found her lying face down in a pool of blood on a mezzanine near her office with her head covered in a plastic bag. Reports stated that her office door had pry marks, likely suggesting that someone tried to break into the room.

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2) She died of blunt-force trauma to the head caused by four fatal blows

An autopsy determined that Michelle Mockbee was bludgeoned to death. She died from four fatal blunt force wounds to her head, while her body showed multiple other injuries, including cuts to her wrists and ear and broken arms. Medical examiner Dr. Gregory Wanger reportedly stated that an industrial tape gun was used to carry out the crime, but the alleged weapon was never discovered.

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3) Surveillance footage showed David Dooley leaving the warehouse compound for a brief period

Michelle Mockbee's husband, Dan, was the initial suspect until he passed a polygraph test. But there were at least 13 other employees at the warehouse when the incident occurred, and they were all to be under inspection as suspects in the case. But the case soon centered around David Dooley, one of the first to discover the crime scene.

Additional surveillance footage captured Dooley leaving the warehouse about half an hour after Mockbee's murder. His truck was spotted leaving the compound at 6.31 am. He returned to the warehouse at 7 am. Authorities also learned that Dooley and his wife worked at the company, but his wife failed to report to work that day.

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4) Suspicions grew when the Dooleys' version of events turned out to be inconsistent

David Dooley and his wife Janet made contradictory statements during the initial stages of the investigation and altered their stories. Dooley claimed that his wife was sick at home and was, therefore, absent from work. He also claimed that he only left that morning to return home to check on her after failing to contact her. Janet initially denied that her husband had returned home that morning.

However, she later altered her story and told authorities that Dooley had returned to change his pants. The latter denied ever changing his pants that day. Detectives also discovered that the couple was stealing from the company by checking each other in on their time cards for hours while being absent.

It was alleged that Dooley murdered Mockbee, who found out that they had been falsifying their time cards. Authorities believe that was the ideal reason, given that she was in charge of payroll.

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5) Dooley was found guilty twice in Michelle Mockbee's murder case

At his initial trial, David Dooley was convicted of murdering Michelle Mockbee in 2014. But after a few legal challenges, the conviction was overturned when new surveillance video from the time of the murder emerged, revealing an unidentified man near the crime scene.

Five years later, Dooley was tried again and was once again found guilty of murder and tampering with evidence. He was given a 43-year jail term.