(Entry brought forward) The plot thickens in the Dr. Moonda murder mystery. It seems that Donna Moonda was having an affair with a man she met at a drug rehab center. The man, Damian Bradford, 23, has been arrested for unrelated drug charges, but he is considered a person of interest in the Moonda murder.
Moonda & Bradford
Bradford is in the Beaver County jail on charges of possessing drug paraphernalia and violating probation from a sentence for receiving stolen property. Bond has been set at $50,000.
Notably, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that a confidential informant told police that "Donna Moonda and a man named Damian were in drug rehabilitation together and that she is paying for his apartment."
Whoa! It looks like Donna Moonda, aka Donna J. Smouse, likes to cozy up with convicted felons. Investigators have determined that, in addition Bradford, Mrs. Moonda had a close relationship with convicted burglar Thomas Kase Jr.
In a Pennsylvania State Police search of Kase's vehicles (2) and Bradford's apartment, a bank payment book was found indicating a vehicle loan was granted in the names of both Kase and Donna Moonda. The vehicle is a black 1995 Land Rover, which is generally comparable to the "van" reportedly driven by the killer of Dr. Moonda. Other items confiscated from Bradford's apartment included three pink bath towels with suspected biological stains, 19 $50 bills, clothing, four 200-milligram vials of the steroid depo-testosterone, five hypodermic needles, several cell phones, a pager, and a handwritten steroid price list.
The probable cause for the search of the vehicles and apartment was to find evidence of a financial or romantic relationship between Bradford and Donna Moonda. Obviously, the police are looking for additional evidence of the relationship so reliance on witness testimony won't be necessary. Unidentified informants have stated that Donna Moonda and Bradford were lovers and she planned to divorce Dr. Moonda and collect millions in a settlement. At this point, it's not clear the police found what they were looking for. What was found, however, makes Dr. Moonda's murder a much juicier mystery. Think about it. You have a murder of a prominent physician, a drug-addicted unfaithful wife, two ex-cons, a daylight robbery-murder on the turnpike that appears scripted, and two eyewitnesses that saw essentially nothing.
Donna Moonda has hired Cleveland attorney Niki Schwartz to represent her. Bradford remains in the Beaver County Jail on drug charges and is represented by Pittsburgh lawyer James Ecker. Notably, a friend of Bradford has stepped forward and provided him with an alibi for the time of the murder. There's no information on the status of Thomas Kase.
Trackback to Festival of the Fatwas.
[Update 07/06/07]
Donna Moonda found guilty of murder.
[Update 09/21/07]
Moonda gets life in prison.
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