Published: Sunday, June 3, 2007
Jury selection is set to begin on Monday
The judge has called 300 prospective jurors for the trial.
By LAURE CIOFFI
AKRON — It has been two years since Dr. Gulam Moonda's gold Jaguar pulled off into an emergency stopping lane of Ohio Turnpike and the Mercer County, Pa., man was shot in the head.
On Monday, 300 people are expected to appear in United States Federal Court here for jury selection in the trial of Donna Moonda, widow of the 69-year-old doctor. She is accused of murder for hire and interstate stalking in the doctor's May 13, 2005, death.
Donna Moonda, 48, a former registered nurse, has maintained her innocence since her husband's death and her arrest last July.
But a former drug dealer from Beaver County, Pa., who admits he shot the doctor, contends that Mrs. Moonda was the mastermind of the plot to kill the well-known urologist.
Damian Bradford, 25, pleaded guilty last July to interstate stalking and using a weapon in a crime of violence in Dr. Moonda's shooting death in exchange for a 17-year prison sentence. Part of Bradford's agreement with federal prosecutors is that he will testify against Donna Moonda at her trial this month. He will not be formally sentenced until he testifies.
Prosecutors contend that Donna Moonda started searching for someone to kill her husband as early as December 2004. It was that year that she started an extramarital affair with Bradford after the two met at Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Beaver County, Pa.
Drug charges
Bradford was considered a small-time cocaine dealer. Donna Moonda entered the program voluntarily after being charged with stealing Fentanyl — a powerful painkiller — from the hospital where she worked. Mercer County authorities say she was taking it home to use.
Court records from her Mercer County drug charge show that she completed a two-month program at Gateway and asked to become a volunteer there.
Her relationship with Bradford has been documented by police who contend that before Dr. Moonda's death, she gave her boyfriend approximately $8,000 in cash, plus jewelry, clothing, and money for a car down payment and car payments. They also contend she took steroids and syringes from her husband's office for Bradford.
The affidavit filed to support the charges states that Moonda promised her boyfriend half of her expected $3 million to $6 million inheritance if he did the murder.
According to prosecutors, a prenuptial agreement signed by Moonda limited her to $250,000 if they divorced.
The government revealed at Bradford's plea hearing that they had detailed cellular telephone records showing the contact and whereabouts of Bradford and Donna Moonda on May 15, 2005.
Records show the two met in the early afternoon in Lawrence County, midway between their residences. A short time later, both went home, but Bradford's phone records show he later traveled to Hermitage, Pa., near the Moonda's home.
Phone records
Cellular telephone records show that Bradford traveled in sync with the Moondas and the defendant's mother, Dorothy Smouse, as they drove on the Ohio Turnpike on their way to Toledo.
Police officers testified that Donna Moonda pulled to the side of the turnpike near Royalton complaining of a stomach ache. Her husband got out of the car to take over driving when he was accosted by Bradford, who had pulled up behind the Jaguar.
Court papers state that Bradford ordered the doctor into the Jaguar and demanded his money before shooting him in the temple.
Bradford testified that Donna Moonda had urged him before that day to shoot her in the leg, but he refused.
Donna Moonda told police that her husband's killer was about 5 foot 2 inches tall and she could not determine his race. Bradford is a black man well over 6 feet tall.
The affidavit states that Donna Moonda and her mother flagged down another car for help, but that person believed Dr. Moonda was suffering from a severe nosebleed. Donna Moonda never told the man her husband had been shot, court papers state.
Jury selection is expected to take about two weeks, and testimony is scheduled to begin June 18.
Donna Moonda will face the death penalty if convicted.
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