CLEVELAND (Court TV) — A divorce attorney accused of killing his client is asking a judge to toss the case, saying that the prosecution’s delay in filing the charges violated his civil rights.
Gregory Moore, charged in the death of Aliza Sherman, appears in court July 9, 2025. (Court TV)
Gregory Moore, 52, has pleaded not guilty to a list of charges, including six counts of murder, kidnapping, aggravated murder and conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Moore lured his client, Aliza Sherman, 53, to his office on March 24, 2013, by saying he needed to meet with her. An indictment alleges that Moore wanted to have his client kidnapped so that he wouldn’t have to try her case in court. When Aliza Sherman waited outside for the doors to be unlocked, someone approached her and then chased her before stabbing her more than 10 times.
At the time of the victim’s killing, Moore was under investigation for calling in bomb threats to Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Judges and staff. A later indictment would allege he also made threats in two other counties. Moore later pleaded guilty to two counts of inducing panic in connection with the incidents.
Moore was indicted on murder charges in 2025; in his motion to dismiss, he claims the 12-year delay before the indictment was prejudicial and left him without the ability to call crucial witnesses or present exculpatory evidence at trial. Moore’s motion points the finger at Aliza Sherman’s estranged husband, Sanford Sherman, as a more likely suspect in her death. “Many facts pointed in the direction of Mr. Sherman as being involved in some capacity in this homicide,” the motion says. “The motive to protect his assets is clear. Mr. Sanford dishonestly and in a complex scheme forged the decedent’s signature, hid approximately $1,000,000 and disposed the funds in a clandestine manner. His tactics were intentional, illegal and sophisticated. Aliza Sherman was scared of him and felt he was dangerous and capable of violence to herself and others.”
In a response filed with the court, prosecutor Kevin Filiatraut says that cellphone evidence made it clear that Sanford Sherman could not have been the killer.
Explaining why it took so long for prosecutors to obtain a murder indictment against Moore in the case, Filiatraut said that Moore destroyed his phone after he learned that he was under investigation for the bomb threats. He not only obtained a new phone that investigators never knew about, but also allegedly obtained a hotspot device that allowed him to circumvent cellphone towers. “The State believed it was dealing with honest attorneys acting in good faith in the interests of their recently murdered client who would also act in good faith in response to requests for information. Rather, the State was communicating with people who were actively aware of two criminal investigations — the bomb threats and Aliza Sherman’s murder — and who were hiding evidence of both crimes in response to both investigations.”
Moore’s defense team was granted additional time on Wednesday to draft a response to the prosecution. No hearing date has been set. Moore was released from custody after posting a $2 million bond after his arrest last year.
