Cumming Man Sentenced to Life for Murder and Dismemberment of Ex-Wife’s Child’s Father

Jeffery Emerson Moulder, 30, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, after being found guilty of malice murder and two counts of felony murder in the January 2015 strangulation death of 21-year-old Samuel Waters. The jury convicted Moulder after a trial that revealed the chilling details of Waters’ murder and the years-long investigation that led to the conviction.

On January 4, 2015, Waters was last seen alive, but his body was never found. Moulder, whose first wife, Rebecca Bell, had a child with Waters, killed Waters in a desperate attempt to keep him out of Bell’s life. At the time, Moulder faced the prospect of paying child support for both his own child and Bell’s child with Waters. Bell, seeking to salvage her marriage, told Moulder that in order to stay together, he needed to eliminate Waters from their lives.

Moulder then lured Waters to a remote area in Lawrenceville under the pretense of discussing personal matters. Once there, Moulder strangled Waters to death and, after an unsuccessful attempt to burn the body, dismembered it. Moulder disposed of the remains in various locations near Lake Lanier, later describing to multiple individuals, including his wives, where he had buried parts of the body.

In 2021, after Moulder was involved in a violent altercation with his second wife, where he strangled her until she lost consciousness, she separated from him and reported his confession to police. Moulder had told her that he killed Waters and revealed the locations of the remains. Investigators conducted extensive searches of the areas Moulder mentioned, using cadaver dogs to track the remains. While they were unable to recover the body, the dogs discovered evidence that suggested human remains had once been present in one of the burial sites.

During the trial, the jury was shown an audio recording in which Moulder was heard choking his second wife during an argument. In the recording, Moulder can be heard saying, “I killed Samuel Waters, do you want to record that, too?” This statement, along with testimony from the second wife about Moulder’s violent history, played a critical role in the conviction.

Prosecutors were able to piece together Moulder’s actions and motive, showing how he had lured Waters to his death and carried out the dismemberment. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict on all charges. Moulder was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, bringing a measure of justice to Waters’ family after a decade of uncertainty.

Gwinnett County Assistant District Attorneys Don Geary and Angela Mattozzi led the prosecution with assistance from DA’s investigators Damien Cruz and Andrew Whaley. The Lawrenceville Police Department played a key role in the investigation and the subsequent conviction of Moulder.