Oneal Moore

Oneal Moore, 34, an Army veteran and one of the first two Black deputy sheriffs in Washington Parish, was shot and killed while on patrol near Varnado on the night of June 2, 1965 — one year and a day after he and partner David "Creed" Rogers, also Black, were sworn in. A pickup truck with a Confederate flag decal pulled alongside their patrol car and its occupants opened fire; Moore was killed instantly and Rogers was blinded in one eye but survived and radioed a description of the truck. About an hour later, a matching truck was stopped in Tylertown, Mississippi and its driver, known Klansman Ernest Rayford "Ray" McElveen, was arrested and charged with murder, but released after nine days on bond raised by fellow Klan members; the charge was ultimately dropped for lack of evidence. McElveen died in 2003. The case remains unsolved.

Varnado, LA · Washington County

• 1965: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• Victim identity, role, and the June 2, 1965 date and circumstances, per the DOJ's public case file.
• Ernest Rayford McElveen's arrest and release, per the same file and public reporting; McElveen died in 2003.

• No one was ever convicted in Moore's killing.
• The identities of any other occupants of the truck beyond McElveen were not publicly confirmed.

• U.S. Department of Justice — Civil Rights Division case page
• PBS FRONTLINE Un(re)solved — case summary
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs