Overview
- Thomas O’Donnell was found guilty of killing Michael Harding in a murder-for-hire scheme, with sentencing pending and a possible term of 20 years to life.
- Jurors reviewed 2022 text messages that set up a fake HVAC service call and drew Harding to a vacant house in Burkesville, Kentucky.
- FBI analysts said a prepaid lure phone moved with O’Donnell’s phone, including trips near Harding’s home in Celina, Tennessee, and both devices were near the crime scene.
- Prosecutors cited DNA and matching ammunition as key evidence, though investigators never recovered the gun or the prepaid phone.
- The defense argued location data cannot show who held a device and said there was no direct proof of payment, while prosecutors tied the plot to former CHP captain Julie Harding, who later died by suicide.