HELENA — Thursday marked the first day of the coroner’s inquest that is looking into the causes and circumstances surrounding Danielle Moore’s death in Helena.
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Moore's death was the result of an altercation with the Helena Police Department and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office near the courthouse, where she was shot 16 times.
Coroner's inquests must be held when a death occurs while a person is being taken into custody or is in the custody of a peace officer, or if the death is caused by a peace officer.
Moore is accused of pointing a black handgun at Judge Christopher Abbott and pulling the trigger on the weapon at courthouse security guards.
When testifying, Abbott said, “I thought she was going to shoot me.”
After leaving the area, when officers confronted her several blocks away, she was allegedly uncompliant with commands and reached for the handgun that was in her waistband, which led to the shooting.
In bodycam footage shared in the inquest, Officer George Weaver with the Helena Police Department said, “We don’t want to have to shoot you.”
It was found that her gun was not loaded at the time of her death, and the loaded magazine was in her van outside the courthouse.
A jury is hearing the case from ten witnesses to rule on the cause and whether the death was criminal in nature or not.
Thursday, jurors heard from the lead investigator on the case from DCI, two courthouse security guards, Judge Abbott, Judge Swingley, courthouse staff, and officers involved in the shooting.
In addition to body cam footage, the jury was presented with Facebook videos Moore had posted just hours before the incident.
Moore said in one of the posts, “ I don't want to hurt anybody, but I'm not getting hurt either.”
The coroner's inquest is conducted by Anaconda Deer Lodge County Coroner Jessie Sather and was investigated by the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation.
The coroner’s inquest will continue into Friday.
