Lawyer allegedly killed client to prevent trial, police report

Ohio authorities arrested a divorce attorney who they say murdered one of his clients because he did not want to go the case to trial.

Gregory Moore, who is now 51 years old, is accused of pursuing and fatally stabbing 53-year-old Aliza Sherman outside his law office in downtown Cleveland in 2013. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office claims that Moore’s motive was to prevent Sherman’s divorce case from proceeding to trial as scheduled by incapacitating her.

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On Friday, Moore was charged with aggravated murder, conspiracy, and kidnapping. The indictment reveals that Sherman was scheduled to meet Moore at his office at around 4:30 p.m. on March 24, 2013, for a discussion about her case, which was set to go to trial the next day. Moore instructed Sherman to call him upon her arrival so he could let her in, though prosecutors stated it was a meeting Moore never planned to conduct.

According to authorities, the attorney was not prepared for her trial and he had a history of crafting ways to delay his court appearances. The year prior, Moore called in three separate bomb threats to courthouses where he was slated to appear. He would go on to plead guilty and serve a six-month jail sentence, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

On the day in question, Sherman texted Moore shortly before 4:30 p.m. to let him know she had arrived at his office and would wait in her car until he got there. But unbeknownst to Sherman, Moore had turned off his phone so it couldn’t later be used by law enforcement to track him, cops said. The attorney allegedly used a company hotspot to text Sherman that he was “here.” Confused that he wasn’t letting her in, Sherman texted that she was going to walk back to her car because it was cold outside.

But prosecutors say either Moore or an “unknown conspirator” walked up to Sherman from behind, chased her down the street and stabbed her 10 times. In another effort to throw off investigators, Moore allegedly kept texting Sherman asking where she was, if she was going to meet with him and to call him.

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Sherman called police for help and a passerby also dialed 911 after seeing her lying on the sidewalk. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

As cops investigated at the scene, Moore entered his office building through a back entrance to avoid detection, per the indictment. He turned on his phone and continued to call Sherman as if he didn’t know about the assault, cops said. In the days following, Moore also switched cell phones. The divorce case was dismissed without ever having to go to trial. Her estranged husband died last year, per the Plain Dealer.

Investigators had long suspected Moore.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” Ed Tomba, the initial lead investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, told the Plain Dealer. “I had suspicions, but we didn’t have the evidence. When you deal with an aggravated murder charge, you have to be buttoned-up tight.”