Girlfriend Admits Killing, Cutting Up Cowboy

The mystery of how a likable 300-pound cowboy died eight months ago was solved when his girlfriend admitted she gave him a deadly dose of morphine, cut up his body and scattered it over four counties.

Helen Moore, 41, pleaded guilty Friday to murder in exchange for a life sentence.

Though Moore took out a $150,000 insurance policy on Casey Elliott weeks before he died, she denied in her confession that money was the motive. She offered no explanation for the slaying.

Elliott had lived for five years with Moore and her two sons in Fort Belknap, a small community about 80 miles west of Fort Worth. Friends described him as a big friendly cowboy with a heart was as big as his hat.

Elliott’s torso was found Jan. 21 near a lake in a wooded area of Palo Pinto County. It wasn’t until late March that DNA tests confirmed the remains as Elliott’s.