A former Ohio divorce lawyer has been charged with murder and kidnapping in connection with the fatal stabbing of a client, which prosecutors described as a brutal scheme to obstruct her divorce trial.
The lawyer, Gregory J. Moore, allegedly lured his client, Aliza Sherman, a 53-year-old in vitro fertilization nurse and mother of four from Beachwood, Ohio, to his office in downtown Cleveland on March 24, 2013, just one day before her divorce trial was scheduled to begin.
According to prosecutors, while Ms. Sherman waited outside Moore's office building, she was stabbed more than 10 times by him or an accomplice. She was pronounced dead later that day at a hospital.
Prosecutors stated that Moore intended to kidnap Ms. Sherman to prevent her from attending the divorce proceedings, aiming to render her "unavailable due to serious physical harm and/or death," as outlined in a grand jury indictment issued this month. The indictment did not clarify the reasons behind his desire to delay the trial.
Additionally, prosecutors noted that Moore had previously attempted to avoid court dates by feigning illnesses, staging a car crash, and making bomb threats to courthouses in 2012. He was sentenced to six months in jail in 2017 for charges related to those bomb threats and for lying to police during the investigation into Ms. Sherman’s death.
In June 2021, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was requested to lead the cold-case investigation into Ms. Sherman’s death, dedicating extensive resources to solve the homicide, according to Ohio’s attorney general.
Moore was arrested by federal marshals in Texas on May 2, 2025, following an indictment by an Ohio grand jury on charges of murder, conspiracy, and kidnapping. He pleaded not guilty during a court appearance via video link.
The judge set Moore's bond at $2 million after Ms. Sherman’s daughter, Jennifer Rivchun, expressed the family’s prolonged wait for justice, stating, “Greg Moore stands before this court charged with the kidnapping and murder of our mother, his own client, a woman who trusted him.”
A prosecutor indicated that evidence suggests Moore planned and attempted to cover up the kidnapping and killing, which also clears Ms. Sherman’s estranged husband, who had been suspected in the case.
Moore's attorney stated that he intends to contest the charges, questioning whether any new evidence had emerged since the initial investigation. The attorney suggested that the evidence presented was the same as that which had been available 12 years prior.
The indictment revealed that Moore had texted Ms. Sherman to meet him at his law office but had no intention of doing so. He allegedly disconnected his phone from the cellular network to avoid location tracking and used a mobile hotspot to communicate with her while she waited outside.
As Ms. Sherman stood outside, an individual, identified as either Moore or an accomplice, approached her from behind and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing the scene. After the attack, Moore sent texts to Ms. Sherman, attempting to create the impression that he was unaware of the incident.
Following the attack, Moore reconnected his phone to the cellular network and called Ms. Sherman several times to further the illusion of ignorance regarding her assault. Additionally, an employee at Moore's law office attempted to cancel the mobile hotspot and deleted a voicemail from Ms. Sherman, while crucial video footage from inside the building was also erased.
In court, Ms. Rivchun urged against Moore's release, emphasizing that his actions posed a threat to society. She stated, “Greg Moore is reckless, unpredictable and capable of taking extreme measures to fulfill his evil agenda. We cannot take that risk.”