Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - SHOCK TWIST: MOM SEEKING DIVORCE STABBED DEAD OUTSIDE DIVORCE LAWYER'S OFFICE JUST BEFORE TRIAL

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

Dr. Sanford Sherman and his wife of three decades, Aliza Sherman, are going through a contentious divorce from accusations of infidelity to money changing accounts. Aliza Sherman receives another blow when she learns her attorney is suspended and she needs to hire another attorney.  Gregory Moore of the Stafford Law Company takes over her case, and Aliza notices red flags from the start. Moore does not prepare for each court appearance, and he continues to ask for continuances,  until the judge finally says there will be no more continuances.  The day before their first day of trial, Attorney Gregory Moore texts Aliza Sherman  to come to his downtown Cleveland office to discuss the case. Standing outside the Stafford Law Company in downtown Cleveland, Aliza Sherman tells   Moore she is going back to wait in her car because it is too cold.  As Aliza Sherman walks back towards her car, she is confronted by a masked individual wearing dark clothing and gloves, the assailant circles behind Aliza then chases the 53-year-old and stabs her over 10 times. She is stabbed her face, neck, right ear, and eight times in her back. As the masked assailant leaves the scene, the mortally wounded nurse calls 911. A bystander also calls 911 and an ambulance gets Aliza to the hospital where she is pronounced dead from he injuries   Joining Nancy Grace today: Jan Lash -  Aliza’s Best Friend Derek Smith - Criminal Defense Attorney, Acquaintance of Greg Moore Dr. John Delatorre - Licensed Psychologist and Mediator [specializing in forensic psychology], Psychological consultant to Project Absents: a non-profit organization that searches for missing persons; X, IG, and TikTok: @drjohndelatorre Fil Waters - Former Homicide Detective for the Houston Police Department, President & CEO of Kindred Spirits Investigations & Security, Inc. Josh Lowe - Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal. Northern District of Ohio Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), NEW Podcast: "Mayhem in the Morgue" [launching soon], Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University) Tiffani Tucker - Anchor 19 News WOIO, Contributor to the Podcast “Dark Side of the Land” by 19 News, Facebook: @TiffaniTuckerTV, IG: @TiffaniTuckerNews See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A shock twist when a mom seeking a divorce is stabbed dead just outside her divorce lawyer's office the eve of trial. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Cleveland, Ohio. Aliza Sherman is a dedicated nurse and loving mom of four, working hard to provide for her kids while managing a messy divorce from her husband, Sanford. After her first attorney is suspended while handling her case, Aliza finds another promising lawyer from the firm to deal with her divorce, Gregory Moore. Who stabbed this young mother, a beloved nurse, dead on the eve of her divorce?

Again, I'm Nancy Grayson. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Of course, as in so many cases, let's start with the 911 call. I'm at work right now. I heard her screaming. I ran down as fast as I could. There's nobody around but me and her. And she's bad. Let's start with the 911 call. Just stay, just don't move. Do not move lady. Please do not move.

Turn on the side. Lady, I need you on your side. Yeah, so it'll run out. Right there. They're coming, I promise. Stay with me, okay? Oh my God, I see them. That from our friends at WOIO.

A shocking turn of events in the last days as we go to air tonight. But how does a young mom, a beloved nurse at a clinic in Cleveland, end up stabbed dead on the side of the street? And let me point out that this occurred on a Sunday afternoon. Crime statistics show it is very rare that a case like this occurs on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight. Her life in front of her. This mom had everything going for her. Why was she selected? We have no sex assault. We have no robbery.

Why her? Why does she bleed out on the sidewalk? It's straight out to Dr. Kendall Crowns joining us, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County, that's Fort Worth. Never a lack of business there. He is esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, and he is the star of a hit new podcast, Mayhem in the Morgue. Dr. Crowns, thank you for being with us. Did she ever have a chance? Was there any way Aliza could have survived 11 stabs? Based on where the stab wounds were at, she had two in the neck, probably eight in the back. No, she probably could not have survived

that. The neck wounds alone were probably fatal because usually when you're stabbed in the neck, it will involve your carotid artery and your jugular vein. The fact that she has blood coming out of her mouth either means her lungs have been compromised by the stab wounds or the stab wounds to the neck communicated into her windpipe or trachea, and she was bleeding directly into that. She had no chance of survival. Dr. Kendall Crowns, you, of course, are a medical doctor who have performed thousands and thousands of autopsies, but not everyone knows what carotid jugular trachea means. Could you explain? Sure.

You have structures in your neck, the blood vessels in your neck. The carotid artery is a branch off of your aorta, which is the biggest artery in your body that comes directly off the heart. So the carotid artery actually is a pretty major blood vessel that bleeds quite profusely if cut. The jugular vein is actually the venous return of the blood actually coming out of your brain. So that's a big vein that goes back into the superior vena cava, which is the big vein going into your heart. So these are two major blood vessels in your neck that if they're hit, bleed quite profusely. The trachea is the windpipe or what you get oxygen from your mouth to your lungs. So again, another major structure. There's a lot of

major structures sitting there in your neck. And when you get stabbed there, it can create a lot of problems. Dr. Crowns, would her trachea have filled up with blood? It's a possibility. If the carotid or jugular is stabbed and they're communicating directly into the trachea, it can fill up with blood. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. You heard Dr. Kendall Crowns weighing in. I want to go to a special guest, Jan Lash, Aliza's best friend. Jan, thank you for being with us.

And I know it's very disturbing to relive what happened to Aliza at a point in her life when everything was finally coming together. She's finally getting rid of that husband who was like a chain, a cement block around her neck, cheating, stealing money. And he's a doctor for Pete's sake. You'd expect a lot more from him, but he's a whole nother can of worms. It hurts me even now when I think back on what happened to my fiance just before our wedding, five shots to the neck, the back, the head, the face. I don't like to think of it. I only think of it when I absolutely have to. But hearing Dr. Kendall Crowns describe what happened to Elisa, and she's just going to her divorce lawyer, right? On a Sunday afternoon. How many times did I trudge to the courthouse on a Sunday afternoon to get ready for trial on Monday? Countless. I

can't count how many. And on a Sunday afternoon, I wouldn't look behind my back or worried about where I parked because it's Sunday afternoon. Nobody's around. It's the business district, right? What could have been safer, you know, other than her hiding under her bed. But Jan, to hear Dr. Kendall Crowns talk about the jugular venous and the way that that returns the blood from the brain into the superior vena cava, all the blood pumping from her aorta. It's like a water sprinkler that spurts on your front yard. Bam, bam, bam. The blood potentially pouring into her trachea. And you hear the guy on the 911 call, Jan. She says she's got blood coming out of her mouth. No, it doesn't look normal at all.

Have you allowed yourself to think about what she endured on that sidewalk, bleeding out in broad daylight? It breaks my heart to know that she was sought after to murder, and she was alone, except for Kenny, who had found her. It just didn't make sense. I had spoken with her earlier, and she kept telling me that times were changing and to meet. And so we spoke and she said, I'm going downtown to meet my attorney. He's changed his time so many times on me, but I have to be there. And I didn't want her to go down by herself.

She wanted this divorce. She wanted this divorce. He waited. They had. Yeah. I mean, he's such a dirtbag. But, you know, you'd think it seemed like the perfect family on the outside. Listen, Dr. Sanford Sherman is an ophthalmologist and his wife, Aliza, is a beloved nurse with the Cleveland Clinic living in upscale Beachwood, Ohio Ohio and married for nearly 30 years, the couple has raised four children. Four children they've raised together. He is a doctor and ophthalmologist. They live in a really ritzy area in Beachwood, Ohio, married nearly 30 years. Whoa. But of course, looks are deceiving. Listen.

In the last 11 years of their married life, Beachwood police have been called to the Sherman's home 22 times for reports of domestic disturbances. The divorce of Dr. Sanford Sherman and his wife of three decades, Aliza Sherman, is going to be difficult with accusations of infidelity and money-changing accounts. Gregory Moore of Stafford Law takes over her case. Wow. OK, hold on just a moment. Difficult. That's certainly putting perfume on the pig.

The cheating, the stealing money and the stealing money went on after her murder up to the tune of, I know for a fact, two million dollars. Back to Jan Lash. She wanted this divorce. And that makes me sad because this was her Mr. Right, her dream guy. I mean, you know, she caught the big one, right? A doctor, a beautiful home, all that money, the four children. What could go wrong? Right, Jan? Well, one would think. Who, Jan, was he having the affair with? That I don't know. Infidelity, money changing accounts.

Joining me, as I said, an all-star panel. Now, in addition to Dr. Kendall Crowns and longtime best friend Jan Lash. Tiffany Tucker is joining us. Renowned anchor, 19 News, W-O-I-O, on the story from the beginning. And you can hear her starring on a podcast, Dark Side of the Land by 19 News. Tiffany, thank you for being with us. Tell me about the husband.

Now, I'm just going to go out on a limb and call him a dirt bag, but that's just me. What can you tell me? What led to her going downtown to see her divorce lawyer? I want to hear about the husband and the divorce. Well, Nancy, I can tell you that this murder happened just a few blocks from the 19 News studio on a cold Sunday. As you mentioned, there were no sports teams in town. What we've learned, as you just mentioned, that police were called to the home on numerous occasions for some type of domestic dispute. Sanford Sherman was well known in the community. And Aliza wanted a divorce. She wanted to start a new life, a new beginning. She was looking at an apartment, looking at furniture, and this was her chance to start anew. And she

had already raised her four children and she was heading downtown. That's something I didn't know. You know, Tiffany, I've combed over all these facts over and over. You're telling me that she had gone out and bought new furniture, knew where she was going to move. Is that right? She was looking to do all that stuff. She was ready to start a new life. She was ready to start the next chapter of her life.

She had been married for 30 years, and the marriage was tumultuous at times. So that is why she was meeting with Gregory Moore, because the trial for her divorce was the next day, the next Monday. But it didn't happen, as you know, because she was brutally murdered, stabbed 11 times outside Gregory Moore's office. 11 times. I'm gonna have to go to a shrink on that, Tiffany. But something you said just struck a chord with me. You know, let me go to a colleague, a lawyer who has represented so, so many defendants. Derek Smith is joining me, a veteran trial lawyer who actually knows the divorce lawyer in this case. And you can find Derek at DWSmithLegal.com. Derek, OK, I'm not ready to fight with you right now. I want to talk to you about something very poignant that Tiffany Tucker

just said. And maybe it won't strike you that way, but in so many cases that I had, Derek, there would be just one fact that would just choke me up. And here's an example I often give, but there's one in every case. I prosecuted my first carjack murder case. The young man that was a victim was standing outside of his, he lived with his mom and dad, standing outside of his house, had just gotten out of his car, really proud of the car and was shutting the door. And the perp pulls up and shoots him dead to get his car. Oh, that's bad enough. But what chokes me up every time is the neighbor heard the gunshot and ran out, saw the victim lying in the front driveway and ran back into his house and came out with a pillow and put it under the victim's head as he bled

out. You know, he may have already been dead for all I know. He bled out much the way Elisa did. And that poignant moment, it didn't even matter. It wasn't an element of proof. But in this case, the thought as Tiffany Tucker from WOIO just told us, Elisa was excited about going out and buying new furniture for her new place. You know, a lot of people would want to live in their lux pad, right?

Their home where they raise four children. She wanted to start over and she was actually hopeful, Derek, hopeful, before she was stabbed 11 times in broad daylight, Derek. I mean, don't you find that poignant? Yeah, Nancy. I mean, this case is terrible. I remember when this first broke, I mean, it went across the legal community. Everybody, you know, was curious about what was going on. You know, us as attorneys, when we have clients that we represent, you know, we tend to build relationships with them too. And we want to protect them. We want to do what we can for them

to help them. Obviously, divorces can be tumultuous, can be a very trying experience for the people involved in them and the lawyers as well when they get involved. Jan Lash with me. This is Aliza's best friend. Were you aware that police had been called to their ritzy home at least 22 times for domestic violence? I knew some of the times, but not all of the times. You know, to Dr. John Delatore joining me, licensed psychologist, mediator, specializing in forensic psychology. Dr. Delatore, I've wondered about this ever since I started working at the Battered Women's Center as a volunteer many years ago. Why women keep abuse a secret? I think part of it is they want to keep it secret from themselves. They don't want to admit that the fairy tale isn't true. You know, you work so hard for this happy home, the children, the Christmas

tree, the front yard, the grass, the school, the this, the that, the soccer. And when you throw in domestic violence, it, it kind of ruins the whole thing. So the thing you've been thinking about, maybe in the back of your mind your whole life, isn't real. And I don't think victims want to confront that. No, they really don't. I mean, it also goes to what they think about themselves, right? But that's the deceptive part that's happening because the abuser wants the abusee to think that, right? That's the inherent insidious nature of a domestic violence situation, an intimate partner-student violence relationship, which is the abuser

is doing everything they can to coerce the victim into believing that everything is okay. It takes so long for a victim to finally get the necessary resources, the economic resources, the courage, everything that they need as a support system to actually finally break out of this. And oftentimes, the victims in an intimate partner relationship do not survive. They do not live to see themselves in the happy life that they absolutely deserve. I'm at work right now. I heard her screaming. I ran down as fast as I could. There's nobody around with me or her. She's bad. I'm going to get her some health tips. Calm down. Let her know health is coming. Does it look like she's breathing normally? No, she's got blood

coming out of her mouth. It doesn't look normal at all. From WOIO and podcast, The Dark Side of the Land. Attorney Moore texted Aliza Sherman at 2.30 p.m. asking her to come to his downtown Cleveland office to meet at 4.30 to discuss the case. At 3.54 p.m., Aliza Sherman texts Moore saying she's leaving for the meeting and would be there by 4.30. Moore responds to the text with one that says, take time, closer to 5. Outside Stafford Law Company, Elisa texts Moore she's going to wait in her car. As Elisa walks toward her car, she is confronted by a masked individual wearing dark clothes and gloves. The assailant circles behind Elisa, then chases and stabs her over 10 times in her face, neck, right ear, and eight times in her back. As the masked assailant leaves, the mortally wounded nurse calls 911.

A bystander also calls 911, and an ambulance gets Alisa to the hospital, where she's pronounced dead from her injuries. Who wanted Alisa dead, leaving behind four children to face life without their mother? In addition to our all-star panel, you've already met, joining me now, Phil Waters, former homicide detective, Houston PD, president, CEO of Kindred Spirits Investigations and Security. Thank you for being with us, Phil. Just these facts are not adding up. We've got no rape. We've got no sex attack. We've got no grabbing her pocketbook. We've got no carjacking. I got nothing. I've got nothing. It's a random attack. That's like a

needle in a haystack. Those are the worst cases to try to investigate, solve and prosecute. Because I mean, think about Koberger, right? Brian Koberger. The defense is going to be able to argue. He didn't even know these people. Why are you prosecuting him? It could have been anybody. See what I mean? That's a problem. That is a problem. So with no sex attack, no robbery, no carjack, no mugging. And in broad daylight. You know the reason I keep saying in broad daylight? Because statistically, crimes do not happen out in the open in broad daylight. Much less on a Sunday.

Think of those stats. Run them through that big brain of yours. No, this is completely all wrong, Phil. I will tell you that everything you just listed, looking at those set of facts in the eyes of a homicide cop, tells me an awful lot about that scene. So if we have no sexual assault, we have no signs of a robbery, then that's what that is going to indicate to me is that we have a targeted attack. And the use of a knife is a very personal way to murder someone. You have to be up on them. You have to be right in their face. And then when you have multiple stab wounds, in this case over 10 stab wounds, that aligns itself with a more personal involvement with the suspect and the victim. So there's a lot really to glean from the scene itself. And the fact that it's happening, as you've already stated, on a Sunday afternoon, there's

nobody around. It's in the middle of the day. But I tell you what, that is the perfect scenario for the person that committed this crime. So they planned this thing out. That's what it's telling me. This was a planned event, fewer witnesses around. And the fact that it's in broad daylight adds this nuance to it, that this person dressed in black and doing all the things to hide their identity. So there's a lot to be gleaned from what you just stated in terms of the facts of this case. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Tiffany Tucker with me, soaking in everything that Phil Waters, homicide detective, just said. Anchor, 19 News, W-O-I-O. Been on the case from the beginning. And also, you can hear her starting on Dark Side of the Land podcast, which is amazing, by the way, Tiffany. Tiffany, just tell me, because you walk this walk all the time. I want to hear about the area. I want to hear, is it around a lot of other big buildings? Does the place go deserted on the weekends?

You know, like downtown Atlanta and in some parts of Manhattan, there's nobody there. Like in the financial district and other places, everybody's gone, right? And then it comes back to life on Monday morning. So what is that area like on a sunday afternoon so cold sunday afternoon and obviously there were no games the guardians weren't playing you know the basketball teams weren't playing no one around quiet pretty much deserted and then come monday, things picked back up again. And as I mentioned, it was just a few blocks from the 19 News studio.

So when we heard, got a tip, one of our reporters got a tip that something happened down the street. Of course, we sent our photographers out the door to see what was going on. And that's when we saw all the crime scene tape and those horrific, horrific images of Elisa's shoes on the sidewalk and blood and everything else. It was absolutely horrible. You know, I'm curious, Tiffany Tucker, you clearly walk past this quite often. I'm sure the sidewalk saw cleaned up and there's not a memorial or anything. Does everybody just walk over it like nothing ever happened? You know, as a reporter, as an anchor, when you cover stories and you often pass by the stories that you cover, you remember the family of Aliza Sherman has kept this story in the forefront. And every year on the anniversary of her death, they have had a visual at the time

in which and the place in which he was brutally stabbed. So people in this community often thought about it. How many times they thought about it as they walked by, I'm not sure. But being that it was so close to our station, every time I drove by it, I thought about this case. There are several cases as a reporter that really touch your heart in an impactful way. You always want justice for the victims and the victims' families. But this particular story has stuck in my mind for years, Nancy. With all the people that loved Elisa, least of all her four children, right? And there's never a time like when I first had the children, thought oh they need me desperately Lord help me get through all these physical ailments when Lucy and I almost died

in childbirth and let me help raise them just just let me get them through the first year Lord and then the second you know my oh my stars they need me now more than ever now they're about to graduate on my oh my stars they need me now more ever. There's never a good time to leave your children. And you hear Tiffany Tucker describing and Jan Lash describing how much she is loved. And then you think about Dirtbag. Listen. After the murder of his wife, Dr. Sanford Sherman moves to Florida. He refuses to speak to police, but his daughter Jennifer has

been doing her own investigation and files a suit against her father for conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, remedy for criminal acts. This suit by Jennifer Sherman, the daughter of Aliza against her father, Sanford Sherman, alleges during the divorce cases discovery process, forensic accounting showed a Merrill Lynch financial account in Lisa's name only was secretly opened by Sanford Sherman. He allegedly made more than $2 million in deposits into the account. Sherman forged a durable power of attorney, which allowed him to withdraw funds from the account. In the following six years, the account was emptied. Wait a minute. Two million dollars? The husband moved her money? Jan Lash, did Elisa have any idea her husband was not only dating a stripper, but that he was stealing the life savings? I believe she knew that things were hidden. She just had a thought that things were hidden from her. And all she wanted was to get a divorce and get what her part of what was

she owed for all those years. Dr. Sherman admitting to an extramarital affair, the defamation lawsuit involving an exotic dancer, and a conversation where Sanford solicited advice from a friend on how to commit the perfect murder, where the friend suggests not using his own car, wearing black from head to toe with gloves and head mask. What? Okay. Stop everything. So let me understand. The husband, the doctor, is what? Dating an exotic dancer? I'm sure she did not get her creative dancing degree at Juilliard. So he's dating an exotic dancer, translation stripper. And let me understand what I just heard. We find out that he asked his friend about how to wear all black, wear a mask and gloves.

Wow. To Derek Smith, veteran trial lawyer, criminal defense attorney, who's no stranger to a domestic dispute case. Derek Smith is the husband that stupid? He actually said those words? Why doesn't he just take out a billboard on 3rd Avenue? I did it. Well, that's one way to go about it, Nancy. But as you know, it's not circumstances. It's not what you think may or may not happen. It's what you can prove. And just him, you know, exercising his curiosity, looking online to see certain things. I mean,

divorces can get very toxic, can get frustrating, and your fantasies can get the best of you. You start looking online and indulging these things, it doesn't mean you're actually going to put it into practice and actually go ahead and act out your psychotic fantasies. Indulging yourself, planning your wife's murder and what you're going to wear to the affair while you're dating a stripper and stealing money, I think that's a little more

than just indulging his fantasies. And then he kicks it off and dies. Listen, Dr. Sanford Sherman passed away in Florida, having moved there shortly after his wife's murder. Sherman never cooperated with the investigation into the death of his wife, Aliza. But the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation continues. The cold case murder of Aliza Sherman is not forgotten by the Cleveland police as they have handled the investigation from the start. But in an effort to get another set of investigators to give the case a look, the case is turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The BCI reinvestigates every aspect of the unsolved homicide and the investigation in Alisa Sherman's death is active and ongoing. So now, just to complicate everything, the husband kicks the bucket and he never cooperated.

He stole money. He dated his tripper. He planned what to wear to the perfect murder right down to a tee and then dies before investigators ever get anything out of him. He lawyers up and clams up, but then a lucky break. Investigators get a lucky break when nearby surveillance footage is found of the assailant dressed just as discussed by Ellie's husband, Dr. Sanford Sherman, wearing black from head to toe, a face mask and gloves. In fact, the disguise is so complete, cops can't make an ID of the killer. Oh, my stars. To Phil Waters joining me, former homicide detective, Houston PD,

president, CEO, Kindred Spirits Investigations. Phil, I actually had a case where I had Phil's video, and even I, who really wanted to ID the defendant, could not make a visual ID. It was a bank robbery, right? He had on such a disguise, I couldn't even identify him. Lucky for me, he was slew footed, walked like a duck, and then he was stupid enough to take the stand and walk like a duck right up to the witness stand.

I was so happy. 12 jurors, 24 eyeballs hung over the rail and watched him walk conviction. But in this case, look at the video, Phil, there's no way to ID this guy. Nothing about him. He's not slew footed. He's not short. He's not tall. And he's totally decked out in black. This was planned. Have you ever had a case where you could not ID the defendant off surveillance video fill waters? Oh, yes. It is very frustrating for any detective that sees the suspect, sees them there and can't put a finger on them. And again, but this indicates the amount of planning that

went into this attack. Now, the only thing that I would look at this video that you might be able to derive from it is the manner in which he's running. So then you would have to, if you have a viable suspect, see if you can get them into a running mode and make a comparison. Good luck with that. In fact, on this one, Phil, it's a lot like the Missy Beavers case. I can't really tell if it's a man or a woman problem. But then, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, stop everything. Listen. Investigators tracing Galiza Sherman's activities for the day show she was in downtown Cleveland to meet with attorney Moore. At 3.57 p.m. Sherman texts that she has left and asked Moore, I left and will wait. Call me when you get there. Aliza misses a call from Moore

around 4.15 and texts him back apologizing at 4.19 telling her attorney she will wait in her car until she hears from him. Not hearing from Moore, Aliza sends another text at 513 p.m. asking if Moore will be there soon. It's getting cold, she says. He replies at 515, been here. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace they found a number of bomb threats called into area courthouses that had one thing in common courthouses where gregory moore was scheduled to represent a client the lawyer for eliza sherman placed three phone calls to the cuyahoga county old courthouse on July 10th, stating a bomb was set to explode at 1130 a.m. Moore also called bomb threats into the Geauga County Courthouse and Lake County Courthouse. In each case, Moore had a case scheduled before the court on the day the threat was called in, causing a delay in the case. To Tiffany Tucker joining us.O. Anchor 19 News.

Explain to me her own divorce attorney had been calling in bomb threats when he needed a continuance. Yeah, we reported that he would make these bomb threats free to be more specific because he wasn't prepared for his case. He had a reputation of not being prepared. So investigators say that's what he did. He called it in so that he would have more time in those cases. So that's what Gregory Moore did, investigators said. Derek Smith, you know this guy. This is the guy that has been calling in multiple bomb threats to multiple courthouses whenever he's not ready. What? I mean, you know, sometimes

you can get, you know, a little overloaded with some facts and some issues in a case or with, you know, an abundance of clients. But to be that unprepared, to go to these lengths, to kind of delay court proceedings, yeah, that's a little bit much. It's also, I mean, a bit of a stretch to push it to that level where you're doing it multiple times. I've seen those reports. I've heard those reports. There's definitely better ways to go about requesting a continuance and authorizing it through the court properly. However, he thought in these instances he had to go to another degree on those matters. So we're developing a track record here, Derek. We're developing a track

record. And the track record is whenever the lawyer, Greg Moore, is not ready to go forward with plenty of warning, and he had already been paid $100,000 to handle this divorce for Elisa, a hundred grand, and he's not ready. There was no way I could get in front of my judge and say, oh, I'm not ready. No, I would be held in contempt. So he would call in bomb threats multiple times. Well, that was followed by an intense police investigation, the divorce attorney that Eliza trusted, now wanted as a fugitive. Joining me right now, Josh Lau, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal, Northern District of Ohio, who actually apprehended Gregory Moore. Josh Lau, thank you for being with us.

Tell me what happened. I assume he had fled the jurisdiction. Yeah, so on Friday, May 2nd, the Marshal Service was asked to get involved in this investigation. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation reached out to us and said that they had a fresh warrant for Gregory Moore stemming from the incident from 2013. From there, we took over the apprehension responsibility for Mr. Moore and we handled this similar to how we handle most of our fugitives. We started digging into known addresses, family, and patterns of life for him. Our initial information that we had developed was that he had a residence in Sagamore Hills Ohio that he was staying at with his family. On that day on Friday we

started looking into that address and we actually discovered that Mr. Moore and his family were not home. It was a little out of the norm for them and so then we started digging into other avenues investigatively and we had figured out that Mr. Moore had actually gotten on a flight that morning and he had traveled to Austin, Texas. So our first thought was why Texas? You know, why is he going to Texas? Is this a coincidence or is, you know, is he trying to flee? So we started digging into Texas with him, with his family. We ended up figuring out that he actually has family near the Austin, Texas area, in a suburb called Round Rock.

From there, we passed off our investigation to our counterparts in Austin, Texas, Marshal Service says nationwide breach, and that's what we did in this situation. We sent it to the guys there, and they were able to get eyes on him and actually arrest him in a place in Austin, Texas, 8000 block of Cornwood Drive. What happened when you finally apprehended him? So there was no drama

involved with the arrest. He complied. I think he was caught off guard a little bit, to be honest with you. Like I said, initially, we didn't understand why he was in Texas. I genuinely believe that it was a coincidence that he had left to go see family that day.

We have no indication. Put him up. Josh Lau. Wait a minute. So he calls in multiple bomb threats. He lies to police about where he was at the time. Elisa was getting stabbed in the front of his law office. Then we find out all the other evidence, the $100,000 that she had been paid.

The fact that he had a track record of pulling outrageous stunts when he wasn't ready to go forward with a trial, and you think he was gone as a coincidence? Well, like I said, we didn't know. You could look at it either way. Either way, he wasn't in Ohio where he'd been staying consistently. And that morning, he had fled or left whatever way you want to look at it but he wasn't in Ohio and he was definitely in another state but our guys were able to figure out where he was at.

I'm at work right now. I heard her screaming. I ran down as fast as I could. There's nobody around with me or her. She's bad. I'm gonna get her some help. Just Calm down, let her know health is coming. Doesn't it like breathing normally? No, she's got blood coming out of her mouth. It doesn't look normal at all. WIO podcast, dark side of the land. In a secret indictment, former attorney for Aliza Sherman, Gregory Moore is charged with one count of aggravated murder, one count of conspiracy, six counts of murder, and two counts of kidnapping. Moore allegedly plotted for months to kidnap or attack Aliza Sherman, all to prevent the divorce

case from getting in front of a judge, having been warned there would not be another continuance. Moore had used bomb threats to prevent other cases from being heard. This time, it is alleged, he murdered his own client to prevent the case from going to court. Jan Lash joining me, Aliza's best friend for many, many years. What was your reaction when you found out the husband, the cheating husband, had nothing to do with her murder? That it was her own divorce lawyer? I can only say that I'm relieved for her children. It would be horrible to think that your father murdered your mother. You're right. Dr. John De La Torre joining us, renowned psychologist, to live with the thought your father murdered your mother, basically over money,

is something you'd carry around the rest of your life. But a lawyer, a divorce lawyer, your confidant, murdering you, stabbing you 11 times, as you heard Dr. Kendall Crowns describe, in the jugular, in the carotid, in the back, because he's not ready to go to trial. Yeah, your attorney is supposed to be your safe place, right? When the entire system is against you, when another person is against you, when some business, whatever entity is against you, your attorney is supposed to be the place where you can be safe. Their attorney is supposed to be your zealous advocate

against every enemy that you are facing. He is the one person, he or she, they are the one person that you are supposed to be able to count on, that you can be your most vulnerable with, that you can tell the truth and they will listen and they will be on your side. To have that authority just shifted and corrupted and you put in a position where you trust someone only for them to look you in the eye as they stab you to death is disturbing in a way I can't imagine. Tiffany Tucker joining me, anchor 19 News, WIO. What happens now, Tiffany? What happens now is that 51-year-old Gregory Moore right now is in a jail just outside of Austin, Texas. He is scheduled May 14th to have

his extradition hearing. Then he is also scheduled to be here in Cleveland, Ohio, just a few days later, May 16th, where he will answer to those 10 counts that we saw in that indictment. As you mentioned, aggravated murder, six counts of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy. He will have his day in court. And we are told we will learn more information about this case on that day. A case that has really shaken this community, a community who so very much loves Lisa Sherman, the fertility nurse from Cleveland Clinic, a nurse who was looking to start a new life, looking to start brand new, looking to rid of all the past that she had dealt with in terms of family and friends saying that there were domestic violence issues in the home. This was her way out. Of course,

Gregory Moore will have his day in court. Whether he played guilty or not remains to be a mystery. We'll find out shortly next week if, in fact, he is found guilty of these charges. Nancy, I'm told, he could get up to life in prison without a possibility of parole. Out to you, Attorney Gregory Moore. Ohio still has a death penalty, although they rarely use it. So settle in. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.