La. man convicted in 1984 murder involving Kent native Mulla

A Louisiana man has been convicted of second-degree murder for his role in the 1984 killing of a businessman that also involved Kent native Leila Mulla.

After three days of trial, jurors took less than an hour on Sept. 11 to find Ronald Dunnagan, 66, guilty in the murder of Gary Kergan. Dunnagan faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

“Our family never gave up on Gary. We never gave up on working toward the day that justice would finally come for the violent and depraved murderers who took his life,” Ted Kergan, the victim’s brother, said after Dunnagan’s verdict. “My family rests easier knowing that the ones who killed Gary are finally paying for their crimes. I only wish my mother were alive to witness this trial. She died not knowing what happened to her son.”

Last year, Mulla pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. At the time of the murder, she was an exotic dancer and prostitute, and Dunnagan’s girlfriend. Her testimony during Dunnagan’s trial was the first time details of their violence were laid out publicly.

According to her statements, Mulla lured Kergan to Dunnagan’s apartment in Baton Rouge in November 1984 and served him poisoned wine. Dunnagan, who was hiding in a closet, then smothered Kergan, dismembered his body in a bathtub and disposed of it in garbage dumpsters.

Mulla and Dunnagan were first arrested in December 1984 but were released a few months later after the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney declined to prosecute them because of a lack of evidence. Kergan’s body was never found, and he was declared legally dead in 1986.

The case gained new life in 2012 when DNA testing, which was not available 30 years ago, showed that blood found in the trunk of his abandoned car belonged to Kergan.

Dunnagan and Mulla were both arrested again in December 2012. At that time, Mulla was working as a nurse in Astoria, New York. Dunnagan has been described as a drifter. In the past he has worked as a clown and in an adult video store.

After initially releasing Dunnagan, prosecutors arrested him a third time last year and charged him with second-degree murder. His sentencing is set for Oct. 7.

“My brother, Gary, was a gentle and trusting person,” Ted Kergan said. “Dunnagan and Mulla planned a trap. They lured Gary into it, and they killed him. Then the murderers spent 30 years living their lives after ending Gary’s.”