{"id":130155,"date":"2026-04-30T22:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/former-colleagues-detail-chp-captains-spiral-before-alleged-murder-for-hire-plot-against-husband-130155"},"modified":"2026-04-30T22:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:03:11","slug":"former-colleagues-detail-chp-captains-spiral-before-alleged-murder-for-hire-plot-against-husband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/former-colleagues-detail-chp-captains-spiral-before-alleged-murder-for-hire-plot-against-husband-130155","title":{"rendered":"Former colleagues detail CHP captain\u2019s spiral before alleged murder-for-hire plot against husband"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Former colleagues of a once-rising California<\/a> Highway Patrol captain say they watched her spiral before her estranged husband was killed by an alleged hitman.<\/p>\n

Retired Sgt. Brian Wittmer testified Wednesday at the Kentucky<\/a> trial of alleged Napa hitman Thomas O\u2019Donnell that Capt. Julie Harding, 49, began acting differently toward the end of their 3 1\/2 year working relationship.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege O\u2019Donnell fatally shot Michael Harding, 53, in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by<\/a> Harding, a former CHP commander. O\u2019Donnell has pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges.<\/p>\n

Wittmer testified, according to KCRA<\/a>, that Harding got thinner, acted erratically and began sharing more about her personal life.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In September 2022, Wittmer said, Harding called to tell him her husband was dead. He testified that the call felt exaggerated.<\/p>\n

“When I hung up the phone, I thought she wanted me to remember this moment in time,” Wittmer said, according to KCRA.<\/p>\n

SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Then-Assistant Chief Doug Lyons later took the stand and described receiving a similar phone call from Harding. Lyons said he had just taken on a new role at CHP and had become her supervisor.<\/p>\n

“It was 35 minutes of rambling, and I didn\u2019t even know Julie. So that was the strange part. I never met her,” Lyons said.<\/p>\n

SEND US A TIP HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Asked whether he believed Harding might be a suspect in Michael Harding\u2019s killing based on that conversation, Lyons responded, “Absolutely.”<\/p>\n

FBI<\/a> Agent Wayne Johnson testified that he found no evidence of a payment between Harding and O\u2019Donnell and no forensic evidence tying O\u2019Donnell to a murder weapon.<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Harding later died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound after O\u2019Donnell was arrested at Sacramento International Airport in connection with Michael Harding\u2019s death, KCRA reported.<\/p>\n

Investigators said phone data eventually led them to O\u2019Donnell after repeated calls between the two surfaced in Harding\u2019s phone records.<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“There was this number that she was calling and talking to almost every single day, sometimes more than once a day,” Kentucky State Police Det. B.J. Burton said.<\/p>\n

The California Highway Patrol said in a statement that Harding was on leave at the time of her death. She had worked at the department since 1999 and had been commander of the Yuba Sutter area office since 2018.<\/p>\n

After the couple separated, she remained in California while Michael Harding moved to the couple\u2019s home in Celina, Tennessee. According to CourtTV<\/a>, on September 22, 2022, Michael, who owned a HVAC business, traveled from Tennessee to Burkesville, Kentucky, for what he believed was an emergency service call. Prosecutors allege that the call was a setup, and he was killed at the vacant Kentucky house.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/true-crime\/former-colleagues-detail-chp-captains-spiral-before-alleged-murder-for-hire-plot-against-husband <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former colleagues of a once-rising California Highway Patrol captain say they watched her spiral before her estranged husband was killed by an alleged hitman. 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