WHEN THE HOMICIDE CASE of Waldorf resident Chris Mader originally aired on America’s Most Wanted (AMW) in September of 2005, Detective Sergeant Keith Moody received a few fair tips in response, but none of them led the Charles County deputy to the person responsible for Mader’s death in the early hours of Thanksgiving Day 2004.

“Hopefully somebody will be watching this time that will come forward and provide that information that will close the case for us,” Moody told The Bay Net in an interview before the case made its second appearance on AMW last Saturday night. 

Moody sat at the AMW call center in Washington, D.C. during and after the Mader case segment. When tips came in, Moody got on the line with the caller and took the information. Any tips that AMW receives from now on, either in the call center or online, are forwarded to the detective.

The Bay Net spoke with Moody on the Monday following the show.

“We got a few tips; not as many as before,” said Moody.

But then he wasn’t really expecting as many either. Now comes the long slow process of following up and substantiating the tips.

For some time, Detective Moody’s top priority has been identifying the voice on the 911 call (transcribed below) which the Sheriff’s office received only a couple hours after the incident.

“I was traveling down 301 earlier tonight and I believe there were shots fired.  And someone mentioned to me…”

It was pretty clear to Moody that the caller was “trying to get information without providing it” – not the usual mode of operation for your average 911 caller. Couple that with the fact that the call came in before news of the incident was released to the media or even the family and it’s easy to see why Moody is anxious to identify and have a word with the caller.

 
Photo by Hannah Vossen

Mader, 24, was shot in the head while driving home after work about 3 a.m. Thanksgiving Day 2004. Mader was driving west on Smallwood Drive in Waldorf, getting ready to turn into the Hampshire neighborhood across from Wade Elementary School.

The angle of the bullet indicates that it was shot from the road’s median or from somewhere in front of Wade Elementary.  Moody told the Bay Net that the evidence, so far, doesn’t support robbery or murder as the shooter’s intent, but he’s not going to rule out those possibilities. 

Samantha Payne, Mader’s mother, watched Saturday’s AMW broadcast with her sister beside her for support. Payne feels strongly that her personable son had inadvertently angered someone in the course of tending bar during his night job, and that person is responsible. 

“The only way to find out [who killed him] is by keeping his memory alive and keeping in contact with Detective Moody,” Payne stated. She shared that Moody had called that day, in fact, to let her know that the combined total of the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Chris’ killer is now $50,000.  She told the Bay Net that she’s thankful for Detective Moody’s continued work on the case. 

Mrs. Payne continues to do a variety of things to keep Chris&r