Second person indicted in La. murder involving Kent native Leila Mulla

Several months after 48-year-old Kent native Leila Mulla pleaded guilty in the 1984 murder of a Louisiana man, a second person has been indicted in the case.

Ronald Dunnagan, 65, of Bossier City, La., is accused of second-degree murder in the death of Gary Kergan, a south Louisiana businessman who was last seen alive in Baton Rouge. In his arraignment on Sept. 5, Dunnagan pled innocent.

In May, Mulla pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. She also implicated Dunnagan and offered to cooperate with investigators.

At the time of Kergan’s disappearance, Mulla was an exotic dancer and the girlfriend of Dunnagan. In May, Mulla admitted in court that in 1984 she lured Kergan to her apartment and served him wine poisoned by Dunnagan. Authorities say Mulla and Dunnagan conspired to rob and kill Kergan.

“My family is relieved that after 30 years, justice is finally being served for Gary, who was lured into a trap, poisoned and savagely beaten to death,” Ted Kergan, Gary’s younger brother, said after Dunnagan’s indictment. “We look forward to bringing justice to those responsible for this horrific act of violence that took my brother away from us.”

Baton Rouge prosecutors said in court that after Gary Kergan was poisoned, Dunnagan dragged him into another room, killed him then placed the body in the trunk of Kergan’s car to dispose of it.

Mulla and Dunnagan were first arrested in December 1984 and accused of plotting to rob Kergan. They 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. In 2012, 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, who has been described as a drifter, was released in 2013 while prosecutors pursued Mulla. He was arrested a third time this month.

“We’ve never given up on Gary, and neither did the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office nor the Baton Rouge Police Department. With their help, we are finally giving Gary the justice his memory deserves,” Ted Kergan said.