Mustafa Tariq Moody, a 39-year-old Black man known to some as “Moo,” was killed in his Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, apartment on January 16, 2023. His family had last spoken with him that day and grew concerned when he stopped replying to their texts, which was unusual for him.
Two days later, on January 18, friends went to check on him at his residence on the 400 block of Long Lane, above the J & J Mini-Mart. They found the apartment door unlocked and discovered Moody inside. He had died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. The apartment appeared to have been rummaged through, with kitchen cabinets left open and other rooms in disarray. Investigators found a .45-caliber cartridge casing, drug paraphernalia, and sealed bags of a green vegetable-like substance, but no money was located at the scene.
Detectives with the Upper Darby Police Department began piecing together Moody’s final hours.
Surveillance video showed him entering his apartment at 7:31 p.m. on January 16; he was not seen alive again. The video later captured a man entering the apartment at 8:33 p.m., followed by a second man with a distinctive limp at 9:05 p.m. Just four minutes later, at 9:09 p.m., both men were recorded leaving the apartment carrying a large black box.
Investigators identified the first man as 21-year-old Hyibreaire Rigney. The second man was identified as 31-year-old Davontaye Johnson, also known as “Big Cuzzo,” who was tracked through surveillance footage taking public transit from his home in North Philadelphia. Police uncovered text messages sent between the two men on the night of the murder. At 8:49 p.m., Rigney allegedly texted Johnson that he was about to carry out the crime, followed a minute later by the words, “To da head.” He also texted about being delayed because Moody kept receiving phone calls. Records showed Moody’s phone was last used at 8:55 p.m.
In February 2023, U.S. Marshals arrested Johnson at his home on an outstanding warrant. A search of his residence uncovered the phone used to send the texts and clothing that matched what the man in the surveillance video was wearing. On May 23, 2023, the Upper Darby Police Department announced that both Rigney and Johnson had been charged with homicide and related offenses. Authorities stated the motive was a drug deal gone bad and “pure greed.”
Upper Darby’s police superintendent commended the detectives for their work in untangling a complex web of evidence. As of the announcement of the arrests in May 2023, both men were being held without bail as their cases entered the court system.
