AKRON, Ohio -- So secretive was murder suspect Donna Moonda that most of her family did not know of her drug addiction, her firing from her nursing job for stealing narcotics or her affair with a young man she met in a rehab center, one of her brothers-in-law testified yesterday.

A guide to the Moonda case Previous Post-Gazette articles, photos and graphics, plus federal court documents, are available on our Moonda index page. Listen In: Staff writer Milan Simonich reports from Akron, Ohio, that prosecutors rested their case against Donna Moonda.

Thomas "Chip" White said Mrs. Moonda comported herself as a grieving widow in the first days after her husband's murder on the Ohio Turnpike. But under a rough cross-examination, Mr. White said she went from sad to scared after her drug problems received media coverage as part of the murder story.

He also conceded that he could have told police Mrs. Moonda's behavior in the year before the murder was "erratic." He testified that he felt annoyed with Mrs. Moonda after she told shell-shocked relatives to leave her home six days after the murder so she could invite in her Narcotics Anonymous group.

One member of that group was Damian Bradford, now the admitted killer of Donna Moonda's husband, Dr. Gulam Moonda.

Mr. Bradford, 25, previously pleaded guilty to killing Dr. Moonda, 69, in a plot that he says was masterminded by 48-year-old Mrs. Moonda.

Mrs. Moonda, of Mercer County, Pa., was driving her husband and mother on the Ohio Turnpike two years ago when she suddenly pulled into an emergency parking lane, purportedly because Dr. Moonda wanted to drive.

Mr. Bradford, who had been following them, robbed Dr. Moonda and then killed him with a bullet to the face. Donna Moonda described the shooter as a skinny man who stood 5 feet 3. She told police Mr. Bradford, much taller and more muscular, could not have been the killer.

More than a year after the murder, Mr. Bradford admitted his guilt and began cooperating with federal prosecutors. Mr. Bradford said she wanted her husband dead so she could get his money.

Her lawyers have put forth the theory that Mr. Bradford committed the murder alone. They suggest that Mrs. Moonda failed to recognize Mr. Bradford because he covered his face with a ski cap.

Mrs. Moonda's defense team also says Mr. Bradford had ample reason to lie about her involvement. The plea bargain he reached with prosecutors calls for him to serve as little as 17¹/₂ years in prison. Mrs. Moonda could be put to death if she is convicted.

During Mr. White's first 10 minutes on the witness stand, he testified that Mrs. Moonda was kind and generous. Born into a family of four sisters, Mrs. Moonda was the one who was closest to their mother and the one who helped her the most, he said.

At this point, Mrs. Moonda began weeping so loudly that jurors began glancing at her.

Mr. White also said he and his wife had traveled a few times with the Moondas. He testified that he had heard Dr. Moonda suggest a highway stop so he could take over the driving.

After the murder, Mr. White said, Mrs. Moonda was sick with grief. "She was crying all the time. She was very upset, very distraught."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Barr cross-examined him with controlled fury. She asked him if he had said Mrs. Moonda became worried after details about her arrest for stealing drugs from a hospital were included in media coverage of the murder.

"Worried/mad, maybe," he said.

Mr. White also said Mrs. Moonda had not called him or his wife, Shirley, the night of the murder. He admitted describing Mrs. Moonda as "a stong personality," a portrait that is opposite of the way her lawyers characterize her. They say she was a naive housewife who was used by Mr. Bradford.

Mr. White also admitted that Mrs. Moonda told him three months before the murder that two people in Mercer County had threatened her husband. An electrician, Mr. White said he installed more lights at the Moonda home after these alleged threats against Dr. Moonda.

"Didn't Dr. Moonda do this to humor the defendant?" Ms. Barr asked. Mr. White said that was possible, as she was the one who did all the talking about the "threats."

Roger Synenberg, Mrs. Moonda's lead attorney, also called an expert witness to attack the idea that she would have killed for money.

David Pollock, an attorney who specializes in matrimonial law, testified that Mrs. Moonda could have collected $1.2 million to $1.6 million in a divorce. Prosecutors have said she was worried that a prenuptial agreement would have limited her to a $250,000 divorce settlement.

Mr. Pollock also said Dr. Moonda, a urologist, was making about $600,000 a year. He calculated that Mrs. Moonda could have collected as much as $3 million if she were a widow rather than a divorcee.

Greg Kelley, another expert hired by the defense, said an investigation of Mrs. Moonda's home computer showed she had not researched unsolved murders in Ohio. Mr. Bradford had said she wanted her husband murdered in Ohio because of a spate of unsolved homicides in the state.

On cross-examination, Mr. Kelley said he found two e-mail accounts on the computer under the name "Babygyrl." Babygyrl was Mr. Bradford's pet name for Mrs. Moonda. She called Mr. Bradford "Daddy," though he is 23 years younger than she is.

Before prosecutors closed their case yesterday, they called a highway trooper who said Mrs. Moonda had not used her home computer to print driving directions for the turnpike trip. Instead, Sgt. Dennis Goodhart said, Mrs. Moonda asked a worker at her husband's medical office to print the directions and then fax them to her at her house.

Cell phone tracking records show that Mrs. Moonda and Mr. Bradford met soon after she received that fax. Mr. Bradford said she gave him the directions at their meeting, so he could tail the Moondas and kill the doctor.

The defense, claiming the evidence against Mrs. Moonda is flimsy, then asked U.S. District Judge David Dowd to acquit her without sending the case to the jury. Judge Dowd refused.

The defense could rest its case today. Mr. Synenberg said he will wrap up this afternoon unless he puts Mrs. Moonda on the witness stand. He said the defense team has decided whether she will testify, but he would not reveal the strategy.