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Nearly 13 years before Elena Moore was found dead near a middle school in Lexington, South Carolina, her husband was stripped of his law enforcement certification following an internal affairs investigation that referenced MDMA, a pool party and an unnamed girlfriend.
The investigative report, obtained by FITSNews through the Freedom of Information Act, reveals the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD) initiated the probe in late 2013 against then-narcotics detective Brannon Slice — who married Moore in 2024.
Slice, who authorities have not referenced in any capacity in connection with his wife’s death, was the person who reported Moore missing to the Lexington Police Department on June 12, 2026 just hours after she was last seen leaving a Planet Fitness location on Whiteford Way and heading toward Old Cherokee Road in Lexington.
It took five more days before Moore’s body was discovered nearly two miles southwest of the Planet Fitness, in a wooded area near Lakeside Middle School.
By then a case drawing national attention, Moore’s autopsy offered little clarity when Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher announced no evidence of trauma had been found. As a result, authorities have no immediate cause of death for the 39-year-old — leaving the question still pending as of this publication.
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What remains patently clear, however, is that Moore’s own Facebook page tracks her relationship with Slice back to approximately March 2013, around the same time she was rising through the ranks as a pinup calendar and product model.
Her future husband, however, was on a different path entirely.
Just three months into their relationship, Slice’s own ranks triggered an internal affairs investigation into his “personal associations” with known drug figures tied to a narcotics case he had previously worked.
Records from that probe (.pdf) revealed that Slice and his “girlfriend” — whose name was redacted throughout the report — had attended a Memorial Day weekend pool party at the home of an individual with multiple ties to arrestees from the same narcotics case.
The host’s name was similarly redacted.
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?? POLICE SCANDAL TIED TO ELENA MOORE'S HUSBAND SURFACES AS DEATH INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
— Andrew Fancher (@RealAndyFancher) June 29, 2026
Nearly 13 years before Elena Moore was found dead near a middle school in Lexington, South Carolina, her husband was stripped of his law enforcement certification following an internal… pic.twitter.com/lhJrRdnNos
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“Slice was skeptical about [REDACTED], in particular with recent financial matters,” the investigative report notes. “Even with these facts, Slice attended a social gathering (pool party) in late May 2013 at [REDACTED] residence while off duty.”
According to the report, one of Slice’s own arrestees — whose name was also redacted — showed up at the party “briefly,” despite Slice telling investigators he had attended only with the understanding the individual “would not be there.”
Slice further volunteered to investigators that someone at the party offered his girlfriend “some Molly,” though the heavy redactions make it unclear whether it was the host, the arrestee or another individual entirely.
Internal Affairs also noted that “Molly” was a factor in the underlying narcotics case.
Heavily redacted portions of the report further indicate that, according to Slice, information collected during that same narcotics case came from his girlfriend, who he said had been renting a room from someone affiliated with that network.
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“Although Slice contended he and his girlfriend then severed interaction with [redacted],” the investigative report states, “Slice neglected to inform his supervisory chain about [redacted] until early June 2013.”
The same investigative report documented a series of contradictory statements by Slice, with multiple supervisors disputing his claims that he had kept them informed of the developments.
The probe ultimately yielded two sustained findings against Slice, including “poor judgment” for attending the pool party with knowledge of the host’s drug connections, and “insubordination” for making false statements to supervisors.
Slice never faced the findings directly, though, as paperwork from the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA) confirmed he resigned from LCSD before the internal affairs investigation concluded.
He was subsequently charged with misconduct and stripped of his law enforcement certification.
SCCJA records indicate Slice later requested a contested case hearing before the S.C. Law Enforcement Training Council, the state body charged with determining whether officers should be decertified for misconduct.
Only six of the council’s 11 members participated in the vote, all of whom voted in the affirmative. Of the five members who did not participate, only one remains on the council today: S.C. Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson.
Now more than a decade removed from law enforcement, Slice is currently listed as a private investigator for the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr., LLC, in Lexington, South Carolina.
As for Moore, her death remains under active investigation by agents with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy Award–winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. He joined FITSNews in 2023 after leaving an NBC affiliate, where he served as on-air talent. His reporting focuses on public corruption in South Carolina, with an emphasis on law enforcement misconduct and abuse of power.