KILLER COUPLES Donna Moonda lived a double life that ended in murder

On May 13, 2005 69-year-old urologist Gulam Moonda was shot dead in his golden Jaguar on Ohio Turnpike in Cuyahoga County, Ohio while his wife and mother-in-law were in the car. They were carrying $4000 in cash and Gulam’s wife Donna had stopped at an emergency pullout to change drivers after only driving for an hour of their road trip. It was during this brief stop that a masked gunman approached the car and asked Gulam for money. Although he handed over his wallet, the man fired right away, killing him.

The family had been driving to meet Gulam’s nephew Faroq and his wife. Thirty minutes after the murder, Faroq saw Gulam’s Jaquar pulled over and surrounded by emergency vehicles. It was first assumed that Gulam was a victim of highway robbery, but soon informants shattered that illusion. His wife Donna was living a double life with deadly consequences for the wealthy doctor.

Donna Moonda met Gulam, who was two decades older than her, in 1980 right after she graduated from high school in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. She was reluctant to date an older man at first but he showered Donna with attention and gifts to win her over. They didn’t get married right away, but Gulam supported Donna and paid for her to get three degrees, including a Master’s in nursing.

The couple moved into a nice home, which was kept up by Donna’s father. They never had children, but Gulam’s 14-year-old nephew Faroq Moonda, immigrated from India to live with them for a while. They married in 1990, ten years after they first started dating.

By 1998, Donna had some major setbacks. She lost her father in October from a brain hemorrhage and started having health problems of her own. She eased her back pain, kidney stones pain, and the emotional pain of her grief with the powerful opiate Fentanyl. Because she was a nurse, she could supply her addiction at work, but eventually, her bosses caught on.

In 2004, the hospital discovered she was stealing Fentanyl fired her and charged her with theft. She was put on probation and ordered to go to rehab, where she met 22-year-old drug dealer Damian “Kaos” Bradford. Donna started an affair with Damian, lavished him with gifts, and hatched a plan with him.

Oddly enough, Donna’s relationship with Damian mirrored hers with Gulam, except she was playing Gulam’s role. She was the one with money two decades older. She bought Damian a $17,000 car and spent so much on him that she ran out of her own money and started taking money from her husband to give to her boyfriend.

Because of a prenuptial agreement, Donna would only receive $250,000 from Gulam if they divorced. If he died, however, she would inherit several million dollars and a $700,000 life insurance policy on top of that.

After Donna met Damian, Gulam started receiving mysterious phone calls that spooked him. The day before his murder both Donna and Gulam expressed fear about Gulam’s safety. Donna even told a friend that she worried about Gulam because he always carried thick wads of cash.

After Gulam’s murder, two informants alerted police to Donna’s relationship with Damian and her suspicious behavior. Donna wasn’t the only one cheating: Damian had a girlfriend, Charlene McFrazier, who was livid to find out about their relationship.

Damian later testified that everything went off the rails after Charlene called Gulam and told him what was going on. Damian says Gulam offered Donna $1 million to divorce him, but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted him dead and offered Damian money to make sure it happened.

She hatched a plan with Damian to follow them in the car that Friday the 13th in May 2005. She texted Damian updates so he would know when to approach the car. Damian testified that he loved her, but he also was ready to cut ties the moment he got his money.

In July 2007, Donna was sentenced to life in prison for murder-for-hire. Damian got a much lighter charged and sentence because he worked with the prosecution to prove Donna was the mastermind behind the murder. He was charged with interstate stalking, not murder, and received 17.5 years in prison.