
Gary Kergan was only 29 years back in 1984 when he met a stripper named Leila Mulla. She was known as “Ericka” .
Taken in by her charms was a fatal mistake for the married wealthy businessman, who owned a string of Sonic Burgers.
He was an easy mark for the stripper and her partner in crime, Ronald Dalton Dunnagan, since Kergan was flush with cash, drove a Cadillac and wore $8,000 worth of expensive jewelry.
Gary Kergan was last seen leaving the Night Spot Lounge with Mulla and was never seen again.
Many involved in the investigation just knew that she was responsible for the death of Gary Kergan but knowing it and proving it are two very different things.
Within a few days of Kergan’s disappearance Mulla and Dunnagan hightailed it out of Louisiana and came to Las Vegas.
They were arrested in Las Vegas in December of 1984. The cops had evidence against the pair. They had Mulla’s diary. They had evidence that Gary Kergan was with Mulla on the night he disappeared and they had evidence from Mulla’s apartment that a possible crime had been committed there.
The evidence was deemed not enough and the case was not prosecuted.
Mulla and Dunnagan were free.
For the past 27 years, they likely thought they beat the system.
The former stripper became a nurse in Queens, NY, while Dunnagan apparently chose to remain closer to home in Louisiana.
Kergan’s body has not been found to this day. In 1986, he was declared legally dead.
His car was recovered years ago and there was blood found in Kergan’s late model pink Cadillac, however testing wasn’t as advanced back then as it today.
As part of a cold case review, the blood in the car was re-examined and tested. After many long years, the murder of Gary Kergan has been definitively linked to Mulla and Dunnagan.
Authorities believe they have enough to make the case stick this time.
The Louisiana murder case solved after 27 years must have come as a big surprise to Mulla and Dunnangan.
Mulla, the former stripper who is now a nurse was arrested in Queens, NY and Dunnangan was arrested in Baton Rouge Louisiana.
According to ABC News, Dunnagan has been charged with first-degree murder. Mulla has been charged with second-degree murder.
Both have been charged with criminal conspiracy and simple robbery. They won’t be arraigned until they are returned to Baton Rouge to face formal charges.
It took a long time and it appears that the killers of Gary Kergan have now been apprehended.