'I had to send my son to heaven and myself to Hell': Chilling moment mother executes her boy at firing range

This is the chilling moment a deranged mother held a revolver to her unsuspecting son's head at a shooting range and pulled the trigger, killing him before turning the gun on herself.

Marie Moore, who thought she was the Anti-Christ, took her 20-year-old son Mitchell to the Shoot Straight range in Casselberry, Florida, for what he thought was an afternoon's firing practice.

But as he concentrated on the target in front of him, his 44-year-old mother picked up a gun, pointed it at the back of his head and murdered him at point-blank range.

Marie Moore, centre, and her son Mitchell, left, speak briefly with a man in the next booth at the shooting range

Then, the shocking moment Moore raises her rented gun and aims it at the back of her unsuspecting son's head

Mitchell collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood as Marie lowers her gun - then steps back beyond the range of the camera and shoots herself

The man in the booth next to the mother and son realises what has happened and yells for help

Mitchell slumped to the floor dead as his mother stepped back, placed the gun in her mouth and again pulled the trigger. She died a short time later in hospital.

'I'm so sorry. I had to send my son to heaven and myself to Hell,' she wrote in a suicide note.

In rambling and tearful audio messages recorded before the incident she said she planned her son's slaughter to save the world from violence.

She said she heard God telling her: 'You have a gun. You can do it.'

Tragic: Mitchell Moore, who was shot dead by his mother, who believed she was the Anti-Christ

Happy: Mitchel with his girlfriend, Ashley Morales

'I have to die and go to hell so there can be a thousand years peace on earth,' she explained in the two tapes.

'God's turned me into the Anti-Christ... I'm a good person, but the Devil and God turned me into the worst person in the world. I'm so ashamed. And I'm so afraid. And I'll pay forever and ever.'

She adds: 'I'm sorry to leave you like this. It's a horrifying thing to do.'

The entire horrifying scene was captured on a security camera.



Moore turns to speak to her son. She appears to be smiling at him - just minutes before drawing her gun and firing a single shot into his head

'I look and I see this kid collapsing, spitting up blood,' said eyewitness Bobby Davidowitz.

Casselberry police Lt. Dennis Stewart said there had been no warning that Moore was about to execute her own son.



'Nobody knows why,' he said. 'There was no argument or anything before.'

Police reports revealed that Moore had a history of mental illness. In her audio tapes, she talked of having spent long stints in psychiatric hospitals, and of the mental 'misery and torment' she suffered amid hallucinations that had her convinced at times that she was being buried alive, eaten by ants, burned at the stake and gassed.

In addition to rambling audio recordings, Moore left at least two suicide notes, addressing this one to 'King' - believed to be a boyfriend - and signing it 'Failed Queen'

Moore also addressed 'King' in this note, telling him she'd left $7,900 in cash in a green bag

She had apparently been barred from Shoot Straight seven years ago after trying to commit suicide there, her ex-husband - Mitchell's father - told police.

An attorney for the firing range has claimed allegation is not true, one report said. But the claim, in addition to her history of mental illness, immediately raised questions as to how she had been able to rent a gun there.

Moore also had two convictions for driving under the influence, which should have disqualified her from handling weapons.

The Shoot Straight gun range, where the tragedy occurred

Eyewitnesses to the murder incident said she had been acting 'hyper' and that she and her son appeared 'anxious with each other', with Moore pacing up and down and hovering nervously beside him minutes beforehand.



But she was also seen to be laughing at one point and swapping small-talk with a marksman in the lane next to theirs.

Today Mitchel's friends left shocked messages on his MySpace page, painting a picture of a happy young man who seemed just about to come into his own as an adult.



Ashley Morales, Mitchel's girlfriend, who wrote him a heartbreaking letter that she posted on MySpace

His anguished girlfriend, Ashley Morales, wrote him a heartbreaking letter that she posted on the page.



'mitchel baby why did she have to take you?' she wrote. 'she wanted me to go with you but u were my savior. i feel like this world needs to come to an end...

'i dont know what to do with myself, im going crazy, i havnt eatin in 3 days i cant sleep... i know your my guardian angel, and i know u can listen to me cuz i cant stop talking to you... i feel so sick mitchel help me please help me..'

Ashley wrote of her fear at living without Mitchel. 'I cant breathe, you were my oxygen.,' she said. 'its like this is all a bad dream that isnt waking me up. im trying to be so strong mitchel its so hard, but i know that u would want me to be happy and not sick.'

'i cant stop thinking about the good times that we had,' she wrote. 'u ARE such a GREAT person. you ARE the best thing that has ever happened to me. and i know u use to always say i was the best thing that has ever happened to you.'



Ashley also revealed that the couple were trying to have a baby together: 'u wanted a baby boy so bad, we were trying so hard.. the day before u were gone i remember us talking about getting married and u said u wanted our honey moon in hawaii.'

Mrs Moore was divorced but had a boyfriend who she addressed in notes and on tape as 'King', signing herself off as 'Failed Queen' and telling him: 'I'm sorry. I love you forever and ever.'

'The devil got to me, he destroyed me. He made me destroy all of us,' she wept on tape.

She added: 'I will pay forever and ever for what I've done and I just hope you can forgive me. When you get to heaven, tell my son how much I love him.'