Watertown Man Indicted in October, 2009 Death of Robert Senick

A 32 year old Watertown man has been indicted in the October, 2009 death of 63 year old Robert “Bob” Senick, whose remains were found in the rubble of his mobile home near Liberty, which had been burned to the ground.
Richard J. Mooney of Armstrong Road, Watertown was named in a sealed indictment returned by the DeKalb County Grand Jury last Monday, November 29th, charging him with felony murder and theft of property over $1,000. Mooney is currently incarcerated in Rutherford County on unrelated charges.
The indictment alleges that on or about October 7th, 2009, Mooney killed Senick during the perpetration of theft of property and that he did obtain or exercise control over property, to wit: cash and drugs with a value of over $1,000, being the property of Senick.
Mooney is under a $100,000 bond and will be arraigned on the charges in DeKalb County Criminal Court on December 13th.
The charges against Mooney come as the result of an investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Department of Bomb and Arson, and District Attorney General Randy York and members of his staff.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said Mooney is believed to have gone to the Senick home sometime either Tuesday night, October 6th or Wednesday morning, October 7th, 2009; shot Senick in the head; committed the theft; and then set fire to the mobile home.
According to Sheriff Ray, authorities recovered evidence that links Mooney to the crime scene.
The mobile home, which belonged to Senick, was located in an isolated area about a mile off the Liberty to Dismal Road.
According to Sheriff Ray, the mobile home had already burned to the ground by the time it was discovered and reported Wednesday morning, October 7th, 2009 at around 9:13 a.m.
Senick’s body was later sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Dental records confirmed the identity of Senick, whose body was burned beyond recognition during the fire. The autopsy also confirmed that Senick had a gunshot wound to the head.