Moonda convicted in murder for hire scheme

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A jury convicted a Pennsylvania woman of murder for hire and other charges today in the Ohio Turnpike shooting death of her wealthy husband.

Donna Moonda, 48, of Hermitage, Pa., who was portrayed by federal prosecutors as a perpetual liar, thief and drug user, cried quietly as the verdict was read. She could receive the death penalty.

Moonda’s lover, Damian Bradford, was the key witness, testifying that she offered him half of her husband’s multimillion dollar estate if he killed 69-year-old Dr. Gulam Moonda.

Bradford, 25, has admitted shooting the doctor in the side of the head May 13, 2005, after his wife pulled over on the turnpike south of Cleveland, supposedly to let her husband take the wheel.

The U.S. District Court jury also convicted Moonda of interstate stalking and two counts of using or carrying a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.

As Judge David D. Dowd Jr. read the four guilty verdicts, Moonda went from holding back tears, to shaking her head to quietly sobbing, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

Jurors deliberated for eight hours over two days after more than two weeks of testimony.