Husband thought he was answering a service call. Prosecutors say it was a murder setup by his police captain wife
A former California Highway Patrol captain allegedly hired a hitman to kill her estranged husband — and now the wannabe assassin is on trial for capital murder
NEED TO KNOW
- Michael Harding, 53, was killed in 2022 in Kentucky while answering what he thought was an HVAC service call
- Authorities allege that his estranged wife, California Highway Patrol Captain Julie Harding, 49, hired Thomas O’Donnell to kill him
- O’Donnell, 63, is on trial and facing the death penalty if convicted of capital murder
On Sept. 22, 2022, Michael Harding drove to a home in Burkesville, Ky., for an emergency HVAC service call.
Once inside the vacant home, Michael was fatally shot multiple times, according to the Kentucky State Police. His body was found four days later by a realtor who was showing the house to prospective renters.
The ensuing investigation revealed that Harding’s estranged wife, California Highway Patrol Captain Julie Harding, 49, of Antelope, Calif., allegedly hired Thomas O’Donnell, of Napa, Calif., to kill her estranged husband.
As PEOPLE previously reported, Julie was found dead of a gunshot wound on Dec. 10, 2022, in the couple’s home in Celina, Tenn., according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Her apparent suicide came two days after she was arrested for allegedly stalking and burglarizing the home of the woman who was dating her husband, court documents obtained by KCRA alleged. She was on administrative leave at the time of her death.
Now O’Donnell is on trial in Kentucky after being arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with Michael’s death, according to a release from the Kentucky State Police.
Prosecutors allege Julie conspired with O’Donnell to kill her husband and paid him to carry it out, CBS News reports.
“The defendant was engaged in a conspiracy with the victim’s estranged wife, Julie Harding,” according to court documents filed by prosecutors in Cumberland County, Ky., CBS News reports. “The defendant committed the offense for himself or another (Julie Harding) for the purpose of receiving money…”
Julie and O’Donnell called each other 194 times in the three months leading up to Michael’s alleged murder, prosecutors alleged in court documents, CBS News reports.
After filing for divorce in May 2022, Julie withdrew large amounts of cash from the bank accounts she shared with Michael in the amounts of $102,000, $73,000, and $47,700, court documents allege.
Prosecutors allege that Julie used this money to pay O’Donnell, court records show, the Citizen-Statesman reports.
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O’Donnell’s defense attorneys say their client is innocent and that prosecutors have no evidence that O’Donnell shot Michael, KCRA reports.
Julie Harding began working with CHP in 1999 and became a commander in 2018, KCRA reports.
After Julie and Michael separated, Julie stayed in California, where the couple had lived for years. Michael moved to the Celina, Tenn., home where the couple had planned to live after retiring.
Michael Harding was living in the home with a girlfriend when he was killed, police said.