Ohio Divorce Lawyer Indicted for Murdering His Own Client to Dodge Courtroom Showdown

CLEVELAND, OH — A former Ohio divorce attorney is now at the center of a chilling murder case that’s rocked the legal community and stunned a grieving family. Prosecutors say Gregory Moore, 51, deliberately lured his client, 53-year-old Aliza Sherman, to his downtown Cleveland office in 2013—then had her brutally stabbed to death in a cold-blooded plot to avoid taking her divorce case to trial.

Moore was indicted Friday on multiple charges, including aggravated murder, conspiracy, six counts of murder, and two counts of kidnapping. Authorities allege the lawyer orchestrated the attack just one day before Sherman’s long-awaited trial was set to begin.

“This wasn’t just a betrayal of trust—it was the ultimate act of cowardice,” said a law enforcement official close to the case. “He knew he couldn’t win in court, so he decided to silence her forever.”

A Premeditated Trap

On March 24, 2013, Sherman—a mother of four and respected nurse—was fatally stabbed more than ten times in broad daylight outside Moore’s office building. Surveillance video captured a hooded figure sprinting from the scene, but no arrests were made for over a decade.

Investigators say Moore texted Sherman that day, instructing her to meet him at his office at 4:30 p.m. and to message him when she arrived. According to the indictment, the killer approached Sherman from behind and carried out the attack while Moore continued texting and calling her phone to create a false alibi.

“He was trying to make it look like he was concerned, but it was all part of the setup,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “He planned this down to the minute.”

More Than Just Murder

Authorities now say this wasn’t Moore’s first attempt to manipulate the legal system. He’s also under investigation for sending bomb threats to the courthouse—timed specifically for days he was due to appear in court. While he was never charged at the time, police say he knew he was being watched.

In 2017, Moore pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of inducing panic and falsifying evidence in the Sherman investigation. Those charges now appear to have been just the tip of the iceberg.

“From the beginning, this case stank of something more sinister,” said former homicide detective Mark Brenner. “We had a nurse and mother butchered outside her lawyer’s office, and no real progress for years. Now we know why.”

Justice, Delayed But Not Denied

Sherman’s family, who’ve waited over a decade for answers, say the indictment is the first real step toward justice.

“She trusted him. He was supposed to protect her. Instead, he chose to destroy her,” said a family spokesperson. “We’ve lived with this horror every day since.”

Moore is currently being held and is set to be arraigned at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center later this week. As of now, no attorney has been assigned to represent him.

Political Fallout and Questions of Reform

The case has also raised serious concerns about how someone already on law enforcement’s radar was allowed to practice law for years after the murder. Republican lawmakers in Ohio are now calling for a full review of the state bar’s oversight process.

“This is why Americans are losing faith in our institutions,” said State Rep. Jordan Michaels (R-OH). “We need to know how a man suspected in a gruesome murder and tied to bomb threats could still hold a law license.”

Aliza Sherman’s life was cut short in the most brutal of ways. Now, more than a decade later, the man she trusted to defend her may finally have to face a judge and jury—not as her advocate, but as her accused killer.

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