Convicted Pennsylvania Drug Dealer Handed 40-Year Sentence In Client And Ex-Girlfriend's Murder

The man responsible for two unrelated deaths in Pennsylvania last year has now been sentenced to a maximum of 55 years in prison in the cases, prosecutors announced this week. 

Matthew Moser, 32, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend Kristin Graham, 47, as well as to a drug delivery resulting in death charge related to the overdose of a 24-year-old male victim, who has not been named by authorities. Last week, Moser received a sentence of 20-40 years in Graham's murder and 6-15 years for the death of the male victim; the sentences will be served consecutively, as per a plea agreement, the Lancaster County district attorney announced on Wednesday.

Police were called to a home in Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County — which is about 55 miles west of Philadelphia — on Jan. 29, 2020, for a reported overdose, according to prosecutors. When they arrived, the 24-year-old victim was found dead. A subsequent investigation revealed that Moser had supplied the drugs that resulted in his death. 

On Monday, March 2, 2020, police were called by Graham's estranged husband, Scott Pauster, to perform a welfare check, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by LNP/LancasterOnline. Pauster had said he was concerned because the couple's 14-year-old daughter had not been able to reach her mother for two days.

When officers arrived at the home, they said they found Graham's body locked inside her bedroom, covered in a beanbag chair, bathmat and towel. She had blood around her nose and mouth and a cut above her right eye, according to the affidavit. They later determined her cause of death to be strangulation, according to Fox affiliate WPMT in Harrisburg.

According to the probable cause affidavit reviewed by LNP, in the early morning on March 1, Graham's daughter received a text message from Moser, who had been living with her mother part-time.

"Hey, I'm not trying to sound 'childish' or anything but I am almost certain your mom is seeing another man," he reportedly wrote to the girl. "Her car was there but she wasn't there all night idk if she blocked me or if her phone is dead, but she never did that before. I'm concerned. If you hear from her can you please have her call me? Thanks."

The teen said she told Moser that she was going to ignore his accusations, but because she had some things she had to pick up from her mother's home, she would let him know, according to the affidavit. 

The girl told police that she went to her mother's apartment on Monday with her older sister, who is 20 years old; they found the car outside, her mother's keys and the bedroom door locked. The girl banged on the door, got no answer, and left a note for her mother on the whiteboard asking her to call. She texted Moser that day that she hadn't seen her mom and was worried.

The girl then told her father, who called the police on Monday evening around 6 p.m. Pauster also said that he'd called Moser, who had told him that he'd dropped Graham off to go shopping on Saturday and witnessed her "get into a white van with a shady looking man," the LNP reported of the affidavit.

Pauster told police he thought Moser sounded strange when he told him this detail, they said. 

Meanwhile, Moser reportedly texted his own father on Monday afternoon.

"Two major things happened, and two people lost their lives due to my actions," Moser's texts to his dad read, according to the affidavit. "One of them was a really bad person. A demon. The other was a good guy just a stupid guy. It's really his own fault but the law blames me. It's so stupid but it's a big deal."

Moser also reportedly told his father that he wasn't going to surrender to the police.

Moser's father then allegedly met him at the Quality Inn in West Goshen — about 27 miles southeast of Caernarvon Township, in Chester County — where Moser admitted to strangling Graham and covering her body, according to NBC affiliate WGAL, which also reviewed the affidavit. Moser was reportedly living at the hotel when not residing with Graham.

After police discovered Graham's body on Monday evening and started their investigation, they quickly identified Moser as a suspect, according to a press release by the DA's office. State police filed for an arrest warrant on March 3, and a state police Special Emergency Response Team proceeded to serve it to Moser at the Quality Inn around 1 p.m.

Moser initiated a six-hour stand-off, according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News, barricading himself in his room and threatening other guests. Police evacuated the hotel and, according to a statement reported by WGAL, "successfully used less lethal force to extract Moser from the building and take him into custody." 

Moser was taken to Chester County Hospital and treated for his injuries.

After his arrest, Graham's friend, Jennifer Procyson, told the LNP/LancasterOnline that Graham had ended her relationship with Moser a month prior to her murder. She'd reportedly told her that Moser had a possessive streak and had "grabbed her" a couple of times.

"If anything happens to me, Matt did it," she'd reportedly told her friend.