KENTUCKY, USA — Kentucky prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a man accused in a murder-for-hire investigation involving a California Highway Patrol captain.
Thomas O’Donnell is accused of conspiring with CHP Captain Julie Harding to kill her husband, Michael Harding, according to documents filed on April 12 in Cumberland County Circuit Court.
O’Donnell, a 60-year-old from Napa, was arrested at the Sacramento International Airport on Dec. 8 on suspicion of killing Michael Harding.
Michael Harding was found shot to death on Sept. 26 in Burkesville, Kentucky.
Julie Harding was found dead from an apparent suicide on Dec. 10 in Tennessee, two days after she was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.
Michael and Julie Harding purchased a home in Clay County, Tennessee where the pair intended to move. However, with Michael in Tennessee and Julie in California, the two became estranged and Julie filed for divorce in California, according to court documents.
Jesse M. Stockton Jr., the commonwealth attorney for the 40th Judicial District covering Cumberland County, wrote in court documents Julie withdrew about $222,700 from three accounts without Michael's knowledge.
The documents outline communications between O’Donnell and Julie Harding leading up to Michael Harding's death. Julie Harding had "194 voice contacts" from July 1, 2022, through Sept. 8, 2022, with a number used by O'Donnell, according to court documents.
The court documents allege O’Donnell lured Michael Harding to Burkesvile, Kentucky, under the guise of an HVAC service call at a house that was for up sale. O’Donnell got the code to the lockbox from the real estate company by pretending to show the house to potential clients.
Michael Harding never returned home and was reported missing on Sept. 20, according to Kentucky State Police.
Kentucky has had three executions since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. There are currently 26 inmates on death row in Kentucky, according to Kentucky's Department of Corrections.
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