State College man strangled wife and dreamed of shooting her, police say

A State College man kicked his wife in the shin, bit her, said she was lucky he didn’t shoot her in the head and had a dream that he shot her, according to State College police.

Donald Moore Jr., 49, grabbed his wife’s left arm and kicked her right shin during an argument on March 3, according to police. Moore and his wife were arguing over divorce paperwork a week later, which is when he said she was lucky that he didn’t get his gun and shoot her in the head, according to police.

A day later, Moore became upset after the dog he was watching escaped. The woman attempted to leave the residence to retrieve the dog, but Moore grabbed her and bit her finger hard enough to cause bleeding and bruising. She attempted to escape, but Moore put both hands around her neck and the woman said she was not able to breathe, according to police.

Moore said “everything was his fault” in an interview with police. He told police he had a dream that he shot her and didn’t remember the altercation on March 3. Moore admitted to biting her finger to prevent her from leaving, according to police.

Moore was charged with a felony count of strangulation, misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats and simple assault and a summary count of harassment.

He was arraigned before District Judge Casey McClain, who set monetary bail at $25,000. Moore did not post bail and is being held at Centre County Correctional Facility.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 21.

This story was originally published March 12, 2018 at 4:59 PM with the headline "State College man strangled wife and dreamed of shooting her, police say."