Second murder trial begins for Stark County man accused of killing Glenna Jean White

Jury selection started Monday in the second trial of a Lexington Township man accused of killing an Alliance girl who went missing in 2009.

Robert L. Moore, 53, was previously acquitted of an aggravated murder charge in May 2022 in connection with Glenna Jean White, who was last seen in Mahoning County's Smith Township. The same jury that found him not guilty of one charge also deadlocked on a lesser charge of murder.

Moore has been jailed since his arrest on Dec. 17, 2021.

The prosecution contends White was last seen leaving Moore's Smith Township residence, with Moore, on June 2, 2009. Moore returned alone a short while later with blood and mud on his clothing and an injured hand, investigators have said.

What happened to Glenna Jean White?

White was 17 when she and her boyfriend ran away from home, investigators said. Two days after running away, she went missing on June 2, 2009, and was never found.

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, White and her boyfriend went to stay with their friend, who was Moore's girlfriend's teenage son in 2009. The pair went to Moore's residence in Smith Township to stay a few nights. During that time, White accused Moore of rape and witnesses reported that Moore was going to drive her home.

A missing person report was later filed but White was never found. She remains listed an endangered runaway/missing person on the the Ohio Attorney General's website. She would be 31 years old now.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Maureen A. Sweeney is presiding over Moore's second trial.

A total of 22 witnesses could be called to testify. Ten are identified in online court records as witnesses. The remainder are retired and working law enforcement officers and experts from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Moore's second trial has been postponed repeatedly since its originally scheduled date in January 2023.

Moore previously convicted of manslaughter

Moore was convicted in 1993 of manslaughter in Stark County for the death of Virginia Lecorchick, 22, who was beaten to death. According to court records, Lecorchick's body was found by swimmers in Berlin Lake on July 10, 1993.

According to trial testimony described in Canton Repository archives, Moore confessed he "lost it" after Lecorchick rebuffed his sexual advancements at the reservoir. The pair had gone there after meeting at the Town Tavern in Alliance.

Moore was charged with murder but jurors convicted of him of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, according to court records. He was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison.

July 2022: New trial set for Alliance-area man accused in 2009 disappearance case of Glenna White

Cold case: Suspect arrested in connection with 2009 disappearance of Alliance-area teen

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Robert Moore on trial in Mahoning County, charged with killing teen