Parker Moore’s mother calls for renewed attention to 2018 Warner Robins cold case
Seven years after her son was killed at Barberitos, Leah Maas urges the community to speak up.
WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – In 2018, Parker Killian Moore was shot and killed while working at Barberitos in Warner Robins. Nearly seven years later, the case remains unsolved, and both his family and the Warner Robins Police Department are asking for the public’s help.
Parker’s mother, Leah Maas, says the initial investigation didn’t feel right. She believes authorities rushed to identify a suspect, leaving her family frustrated and unsure about the direction of the case.
“In my opinion, they rushed to find who did it to make this town feel safe,” she said. “That their police department is on the ball and got the guy…’Thank God.’ And they were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.”
In 2019, a Houston County grand jury indicted Daniel Bruce Franz II in connection to Moore’s death, along with charges tied to an attempted murder during the Barberitos robbery. Current Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards confirms Franz was formally charged and indicted, but the case changed course before trial. In 2024, the case was sent back to Warner Robins Police “after some potentially-exculpatory evidence was discovered pre-trial which pointed toward another person of interest,” Edwards told 41NBC. The DA’s office says WRPD has its full support as the new phase of the investigation continues.
Franz is currently serving a 25-year sentence for an unrelated 2018 killing at Tanglewood Apartments. Georgia Department of Corrections records show he is incarcerated at Coffee Correctional Facility with a maximum possible release date of 2043.
Maas says she’s grateful that the current team of investigators is looking more thoroughly at the case. As she pushes for answers, she’s also working to keep her son’s memory alive not just as a victim, but as the kind, generous young man she knew.
“There are so many people in this world that are losing out by not having met him,” she said. “So I feel like if I continue to keep him alive in stories and memories, more people will know him.”
Warner Robins Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Tips can remain anonymous, and CrimeStoppers is offering an $8,000 reward. Maas says community members have also pledged to add more money to the reward amount.
She shared this message to the community:
“If anybody knows something, please come forward. Don’t just comment on Facebook. Call the police department, please. Parker didn’t deserve this — he was the last person in the world that deserved this.”
Maas continues to honor her son through stories, nonprofit work, and “Be a Parker” campaigns aimed at spreading the positivity and kindness he was known for.
Call Warner Robins Police at (478) 302-5378 or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68-CRIME if you have information.
