A Long Island City exotic dancer turned nurse was extradited to Baton Rouge, La., last Thursday for the 1984 murder of a fast- food businessman.
Leila Mulla, 47, and her then-boyfriend, Ronald Dunnagan, were arrested 28 years ago for the murder of 29-year-old Gary Kergan, who was last seen at the couple’s home, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department. The prosecutor later dropped the case because of lack of evidence.
Officials found a large amount of blood in the trunk of Kergan’s pink Cadillac, but his body was never discovered. Testing at the time did not identify the blood, without a doubt, as Kergan’s.
Recently the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab retested the blood and determined it to be that of the victim, who was declared legally dead in 1986.
“Her extradition went smoothly and we are glad to have her and her co-defendant back in Baton Rouge and look forward to working with the local District Attorney’s Office to finally prosecute them both for this heinous murder,” Baton Rouge Police Lt. Don Kelly said.
Dunnagan, 64, was arrested just outside of Bossier City, La., earlier this month.
Decades ago when detectives searched Mulla and Dunnagan’s apartment, they found the dwelling abandoned and with signs of a violent struggle, according to published reports.
Kergan’s brother Ted believes the couple had planned for an extended time to lure Gary into their apartment. Mulla’s diary outlined a plan to steal from Kergan, who was robbed of a significant amount of cash and jewelry, Kelly said.
“We can’t bring Gary back, but we can finally move forward in bringing his killers to justice and providing closure in my brother’s brutal death,” said Kergan, who co-owned a chain of Sonic drive-ins with his brother.
Mulla was arrested in her home on 11th Street on Dec. 3 and charged by the State of Louisiana with second-degree murder, criminal conspiracy and simple robbery. She was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court as a fugitive from justice. When Mulla was booked last week in Louisiana, she was charged with first-degree murder.
Since moving to New York City, Mulla has promoted herself as a sort of power of optimism and positive thinking guru through her Facebook and Myspace pages, and numerous other websites.
