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Donna Moonda sentenced to life, no parole for murder of her husband NRI Dr. Gulam

Ohio, July 18, 2007
Bal Krishan

David Grant, Defense attorney successfully argued his client was no more culpable than Bradford, a small-time Beaver County street thug she met in drug rehabilitation.

• Grant argued "the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst: serial killers, people who kill children; people who plant bombs in buildings where hundreds of people die."
• "We are not going to seek to justify...excuse...condone....what happened here," he continued. "Gulam Moonda was a good man, a generous man. He did not deserve to die."
• But, he reminded the jurors, Donna Moonda's death is not going to bring him back to life.
• "There is no question that Donna Moonda will die in prison. The only question is if the government will decide when it happens or if God will decide when it happens," Grant told the jury before they began deliberations.

Damien Bradford boy friend of her, was the key witness against her was sentenced last week to 17 1/2 years in prison as part of a plea-bargain arrangement with prosecutors. The prosecutors made a deal with a Damian Bradford.

She cried as Barr described her as a "wanton...willful" schemer who "plied Damian Bradford with money."

Barr said:

• She made the plea agreement with the approval of Gulam Moonda's family because it was the only way to bring Donna Moonda to justice.
• Dr. Gulam Moonda had every right in the world to live...But Donna Moonda was one of two people who callously took that right away....for the basest of all possible motives -- money

Dr. Ravi Sachdeva close friend, confidante and the executor of his will, said:

• He believes Donna Moonda changed when she started using drugs.
• I mean, I knew her for 25 years since he started dating her and she's not the person I thought she was

Defense attorney Roger Synenberg said:

• He predicted Bradford's lighter sentence would play a role in the jury's decision.
• How can you ignore that the fellow who shot Dr. Moonda will be out of jail before he's 39 years old
  

Ohio judge sentenced Damien Bradford 17.5 yrs in jail for killing NRI rich doctor
Donna Moonda will get the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole

Ohio, July 13, 2007
Bal Krishan

Ohio judge sentenced Damian Bradford for killing a NRI doctor, the confessed murderer told the judge that Donna Moonda betrayed him by not sticking to their original plan.

Bradford's cooperation with investigators reduced his sentence for gunning down Dr. Gulam Moonda. He could be a free man when he's about 40-years-old.

Ohio jury found Donna Moonda guilty on all counts for arranging the murder of her husband. Her sentencing hearing is set to begin next week.

Donna Moonda will get the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole

Dr. Moonda's nephew, Dr. Farouq Moonda said that while Bradford should get the punishment of a murderer, he holds Donna Moonda more accountable for his actions.Bradford told the judge that he thought Donna Moonda would stick to their original plan and describe the gunman opposite of his description.

"I was betrayed," he added. "I thought that person was going to be there for me as my star witness."

Bradford said: "I made the decision to do what I did... I want to say to the family that I'm sorry."

Bradford's attorney, Michael DeRiso, also revealed today what it was like when Bradford decided to plea about a year ago.

"We knew from Mrs. Moonda's previous counsel that she intended to take the Fifth and that Fifth Amendment would be exercised in front of the jury which is incredibly damaging," DeRiso added. "We talked to Damian and Damian broke down and indicated that, you know what, 'I have to do what I have to do. The family needs to know the truth.' He just kept repeating that -- and here we are."

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No bail for wife who killed her NRI Husband

Ohio, Aug. 06, 2006
Bal Krishan

US federal judge, Ohio, denied bail to wife of NRI, accused her for plotting her millionaire NRI husband's murder with the help of her boyfriend. US district judge David Dowd said the evidence against Donna strongly suggested that she planned to kill Dr. Gulam Moonda, 69, and that she enlisted her lover Damian Bradford's help to carry out the murder. The judge wrote that "the apparent planning for some time of the killing of her husband and the detailed planning of the homicide strongly suggests that she remains capable of being a danger to any person or the community if released"

Prosecutors have claimed that Donna, 47, conspired with her boyfriend to kill her husband so she could collect millions in inheritance and life insurance.

NRI Dr. Gulam Moonda, 69, urologist shot to death,

NRI doctor Gulam Moonda, age 69, was murdered while traveling on a highway with his Wife, Donna Smouse Moonda, 47and her mother. He was going a weekend trip on May 23, 2005 to Toledo, Ohio, to look at a house his nephew, Faroq Moonda, and Faroq's wife, Afreen, were interested in buying.

Mrs Moonda reported that her husband asked to stop at a convenience store to buy a bottle of water. During the transaction, she says, the doctor may have inadvertently flashed a large wad of cash. About six miles later--around 6:30pm, still daylight--and just two miles beyond a busy rest area on the Ohio Turnpike, Mrs. Moonda pulled over and asked her husband to take the wheel. As he exited the car to comply, another vehicle pulled up behind the Jaguar. The other driver approached the doctor and demanded his wallet. The doctor obeyed at once. Although he had received the money, the thief shot Dr. Moonda in the face and fled in a dark van. Mrs. Moonda, hysterical, did not have sufficient composure to note the gunman’s appearance or to record his license number. She telephoned police, and state troopers arrived shortly, although too late to help Dr. Moonda.

Faroq and his wife, who had been traveling the same stretch of highway, came upon the scene of the crime, recognized the Jaguar and stopped. They learned Dr. Moonda had died of his gunshot wound.

The police almost immediately suspected a more complicated story than was told. Why had the thief bothered to shoot Dr. Moonda when the wallet was already turned over? Why had the two witnesses been spared? Why did the convenience store not have video of the doctor buying the bottle of water? As time went on, other questions arose.

As they investigated the doctor’s death, police soon discovered Mrs. Moonda had recently pleaded no contest to a charge that she—while working as a nurse anesthetist at local hospital—had stolen quantities of the painkiller fentanyl, which she took home for her own use. She admitted, in fact, to being an addict. She was placed on probation and required to attend a two-month rehabilitation program at a clinic an hour’s drive from her home.

While in rehab—just a month before her husband’s death--Mrs. Moonda began a relationship with Damian Bradford, age 23, a self-described cocaine dealer also enrolled in the rehab program.

After Dr. Moonda’s murder, the police tracked down Bradford and found him living near the rehab facility in an apartment with a lease that listed Mrs. Moonda as a cohabitant. In that apartment, police found gifts from Mrs. Moonda to Bradford, along with six cell phones, a number of syringes, vials of injectable testosterone, bloody towels, and a t-shirt and sweat pants spattered in blood.

The police call Bradford “a person of interest” in the murder of Dr. Moonda. He has been arrested and jailed for parole violations and on drug possession charges. Mrs. Moonda remains free. She has hired a respected trial lawyer from Cleveland and no longer speaks to the press. Various DNA tests are underway.

Just last week, on August 1, a hiker found Dr. Moonda’s wallet 7 miles from the scene of his shooting. Police have not disclosed the contents of the wallet, but report that highway workers recently found other personal items a few miles from the crime scene.

NRI Dr. Gulam Moonda, 69, urologist

NRI Dr. Gulam Moonda, who was a successful urologist in Hermitage city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. A medical specialist who works hard and treats many patients, which is what Moonda’s colleagues say he did, can accumulate a considerable fortune.

Moonda came to the United States in 1970 from India, To his patients, he was a man who mixed modern medicine with old-fashioned care and compassion. Moonda continued to have close ties to his family in India."He took care of his family and brothers in India, his sisters in India, his in-laws -- Donna's mother (and) father. He was a really quiet gentle man we will really miss him," said Dr. Iftikhar Chatha,

Doctors and friends at Sharon Regional Health System offered insight about the slain urologist."They were allowed to call him anytime at home, he always used to tell them call me anytime any problems at home and they used to do that,” said Dr. Ravi Sachdva, Moonda's friend.

Dr. Peter Daloni, another one of Moonda's friends, said, "I unfortunately have had to see several patients this morning who were in the hospital and they were quite shook up also talked to some patients on this morning and there's quite a loss and quite a gap that we're going to have to fill."

In the same document, Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Gerald Funelli values the doctor’s entire estate at between $2 million and $3 million. She would also have received $676,000 from her husband’s two life insurance policies. Among the items on the estate inventory is the doctor’s $550,000 home on Trout Island Road in Hermitage and vacant land worth $650,000 that he owns along the road.

Moonda’s will is complex and his beneficiaries were not expected to collect on his estate until several years after his death because he left a substantial portion of his money to relatives and charities in India, his native country.

The inventory of Moonda’s personal property and real estate on file in Mercer County Common Pleas Court values his assets at $1,441,491.

A pending medical malpractice suit against Moonda, 69, is also prolonging settling the estate.Dr. Iftikhar Chatha, a co-executor of Moonda’s estate, said Mrs. Moonda is not receiving money from her husband’s estate because the will is tied up in court.

Dr. Moonda has been described as a man who enjoyed his wealth, and newspapers often characterize him as a “millionaire doctor.” His home has been described as a “mansion,” although the house would not be considered grand in communities more affluent than the modest one in which he lived and worked. Dr. Moonda gave generously to the mosque where he worshipped, funded a chair in Islamic studies at a nearby college, and gave money to help friends and family in this country and India.

Wife, Donna Smouse Moonda, 47, is a nurse anesthetist

• Dr. Moonda’s wife, a blond, former high school cheer leader began her career as a receptionist in another physician’s office but later became a nurse anesthetist, her education generously funded by Dr. Moonda.
• Mr. Bradford also told police that Mrs. Moonda began talking about finding someone to kill her husband in December 2004. He said he agreed to shoot the 69-year-old urologist from Mercer County, Pa., because Mrs. Moonda promised him half of her inheritance and life insurance proceeds, totaling more than $3 million.
• By Mr. Bradford's account, Mrs. Moonda decided the killing should be done on a family outing and made to look like a highway robbery. She and her mother, Dorothy Smouse, 76, witnessed Dr. Moonda's death.
• Mr. Bradford, though, told police he spent a few days with Mrs. Moonda after Christmas. He wanted money, he said, and she gave him about $2,000. The big promised payday from inheritance was held up by the murder investigation.
• Mrs. Moonda has some $200,000 in jewelry and a retirement fund of another $125,000 available to her, she could run if she is released on bail, the prosecutor said.

Damien Bradford

• Bradford, 25, has pleaded guilty to the shooting on the Ohio Turnpike the evening of May 13, 2005 and agreed to testify for a reduced sentence. He told investigators that Mrs. Moonda believed she would get $3 million to $6 million from her husband’s estate, according to the criminal complaint against her.
• Donna Moonda had reportedly been having an affair with Bradford. According to Bradford's mother, the two met in a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program.

NRI Dr. Gulam Moonda, 69, urologist murdered

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Wife, Donna Smouse Moonda, 47, is a nurse anesthetist, murdered Dr. Gulam Moonda,with the help of her boyfriend. She was sentenced to life, no parole

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Damien Bradford, 21, killed Dr.Gulam Moonda He was sentenced last week to 17 1/2 years in prison as part of a plea-bargain

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Dr. Gulam Moonda's home has been described as a “mansion,

 

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