Husband of du Pont heiress pleads innocent

LAS VEGAS - The husband of a du Pont family heiress and two others have pleaded innocent to conspiracy charges in a contract killing and have been ordered to stand trial Nov. 30.

Christopher Moseley, 58, of Centerville, Del., is accused of conspiring to arrange the contract killing of his stepson's girlfriend at a Las Vegas motel.

Ricardo Murillo, 37, and Diana Hironaga, 40, both of Las Vegas, also pleaded innocent Friday. All three are charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce and use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

Moseley was arrested at a golf course near Wilmington, Del., last month by FBI agents who say he confessed to conspiring in the death of Patricia Margello, 45. Her body was found Aug. 5 in an air conditioning duct at the Del Mar Motel, north of the Las Vegas Strip.

Police said Moseley did not approve of the relationship between Ms. Margello and his wife's son, Simpson Dean MacGuigan, 41. Authorities said Moseley hired two people to kill Ms. Margello when she and MacGuigan visited Nevada.

A federal grand jury in Las Vegas indicted Moseley, Murillo and Ms. Hironaga last month in connection with the slaying.

Moseley's wife, Lisa Dean Moseley, 69, is a great granddaughter of former DuPont Co. President Lammot du Pont. She had offered to put up $4 million in bail to free her husband, but a federal magistrate in Delaware ordered that Moseley remain in custody and be sent to Nevada to face charges. He has been ordered held without bond here as well.

In his appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Roger Hunt, Murillo was also ordered held without bond. Prosecutor Tom O'Connell said Murillo was a flight risk and posed "grave danger to the community."

O'Connell said Murillo carried out the murder. The prosecutor said the crime was "a potential death penalty offense."

The victim remained unidentified for several weeks until MacGuigan went to police. He told police he and Ms. Margello had come to Las Vegas so MacGuigan could gain residency and file for divorce.

According to the complaint, Moseley solicited Ms. Hironaga's help in July and planned the killing with her over the telephone.

The indictment alleges Ms. Hironaga and Murillo lured Ms. Margello to the motel on Aug. 2, where Murillo strangled her.

According to the indictment, Ms. Hironaga then called Moseley to tell him Ms. Margello had been murdered as requested. On Aug. 4, according to the complaint, Ms. Hironaga and Murillo flew to Philadelphia to receive their fee.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sgt. Kevin Manning said authorities think Ms. Margello's killers were paid about $25,000.