CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — An Aransas County Jury sentenced 37-year-old Chilton Moore to prison for 35 years, after he was found guilty of shooting a well-known Rockport man outside his home.
According to a release from the Aransas County Attorney's Office on Thursday, Moore was found guilty of killing 58-year-old William "Cowboy" Mullinix in June 2021.
KRIS 6 News reported on Moore's arrest at the time of Cowboy's death.
On Thursday, the ACAO shared details from the trial about the shooting.
"The evidence showed that on June 6, 2021, shortly before 8 p.m., the Defendant parked his truck across the street from Cowboy’s house, and took a revolver out his glove box before exiting his truck," ," the release states. "In the driveway of Cowboy’s home, there was a confrontation where Cowboy held a pocket knife and indicated that the Defendant was not welcome on the property."
The release states Moore admitted he and Cowboy had not been getting a long for a year, and "the Defendant was not invited to Cowboy’s residence."
"The Defendant pulled out the revolver and shot Cowboy in the side of the head while Cowboy was approximately 5 to 6 feet away and turning away from Chilton," the release states. After shooting Cowboy, the Defendant drove to the seawall by the Rockport Harbor Aquarium Education Center and threw the revolver into the bay. Then, he drove to a Stripes gas station to purchase gas and alcohol."
The release states Moore finished his evening at a local bar with friends.
He later confessed to the shooting to one of his friends, the release states, and that friend reported him to the Aransas County Sheriff’s Office a few days after the murder.
On June 24, 2021, deputies found Moore and he was interviewed by Aransas County Sheriff’s Office investigators.
"Initially, he claimed to not be involved, but after finding out that there was footage of his truck near the scene and that it was reported to their office, he confessed and told Investigators his story," the release states. "(Moore) claimed that he was acting in self-defense and was threatened by Cowboy with the pocket knife."
The release states at trial, one of Cowboy’s brothers testified about trying to resuscitate Cowboy in the driveway with some help from his roommates while waiting on paramedics.
"The medical examiner testified that Cowboy was still alive for some period of time after he was shot and left in the driveway," the release states. "(Moore) testified on his own behalf at trial and stated that he shot Cowboy because he was scared of being injured, and he did not turn himself in because he was scared of the repercussions of his actions."
The release states they asked Moore if he could do anything different that night, he said he regretted not staying at the scene.
Chilton Moore has been in custody at the Aransas County Jail since June 24, 2021, and will remain there until he is transferred to prison.
"We would like to extend our thanks to the Aransas County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work investigating this case, and the Aransas Pass Police Department dive team for retrieving the murder weapon from the bay," the release states.
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