A Napa Valley man hired by a former California Highway Patrol captain to kill her husband has been found guilty as text messages revealed details of the murder-for-hire plot.
A Cumberland County courthouse in Kentucky found Thomas O’Donnell guilty Friday of killing Michael Harding, the estranged husband of Julie Harding.
Prosecutors say she hired O’Donnell, who she had suggested to colleagues she was dating, to carry out the slaying amid a contentious divorce, KCRA 3 reported.
The jury deliberated for only about two hours after closing arguments.
“There’s no evidence someone else killed him,” Prosecutor Jesse Stockton said as he rested his case before the 12-member jury.
“All this evidence points to this amateur hitman from California. Do your duty. Find him guilty of murder.”
The quick verdict came after days of testimony from dozens of witnesses, including an FBI agent who walked jurors through 2022 text messages showing how Harding was lured to a secluded home under the guise of an HVAC repair.
Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
“At 4:10 p.m., Michael Harding texts the prepaid phone, ‘35 minutes out,’” Special Agent Elizabeth Wheeler testified. She said someone replied, “No worries.”
Michael then responded, “Is that good for you?”
The user of the prepaid phone replied, “Yes.”
“See ya soon,” Michael texted.
“Perfect,” came the response at 4:16 p.m.
FBI data showed the prepaid phone traveled alongside O’Donnell’s personal phone, including three trips to Celina, Tennessee, where Michael lived.
Two days before the murder, O’Donnell’s phone was near Julie’s Sacramento home at the same time as hers.
Prosecutors argued this is when she hired him. On the day of the killing, Julie Harding’s phone was in Sacramento, while O’Donnell’s phone and the prepaid phone were near the crime scene in Kentucky, where Harding was shot at a vacant home on Sept. 19, 2022.
Prosecutors also pointed to DNA and ammunition evidence, though investigators never recovered the murder weapon, the prepaid phone, or a key fob linked to the case.
The defense argued that phone data only shows device locations —not who was using them —and noted there was no direct proof of payment.
Attorneys claimed O’Donnell was involved in a plan but did not intend for Harding to be killed, suggesting a third, unknown man may have carried out the shooting.
“Julie came up with a plan involving another man and Tom,” said defense attorney Sara Zeurcher. “Tom was involved with this plan but did not intend for this result to happen. There has been no proof he had any idea that Michael Harding would be murdered.”
The defense also pointed to Julie as the only person who may have known the full truth. She died by suicide months after the killing.
The murder happened on Sept. 19, 2022, at a vacant home on Glasgow Road in Burkesville, Kentucky. O’Donnell, 64, now faces 20 years to life in prison and he will be sentenced on Monday.
