Arrest made in 1999 slaying

The family of Melissa Ann Galade Mooney has been waiting more than six years for a break in her murder case.

It came with the arrest Tuesday morning of Tyrone M. Delgado, who was picked up in Louisiana. Delgado, 36, was indicted Monday by a New Hanover County grand jury on counts of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the Aug. 5, 1999, slaying of Mooney in her Castle Hayne home.

Mooney, 28, was a secretary and office manager of the FBI’s Wilmington field office. She was a native of McAdoo, Pa., a small town between Allentown and Wilkes-Barre. The victim’s parents, Fred and June Galade, were elated about Delgado’s arrest.

“It’s a little bit of a relief. There’s a little closure on it,” Fred Galade said in a telephone interview. “They did a good job, and we’re just relieved they got a suspect.”

Mooney, the divorced mother of a girl who was 4 years old in 1999, had lived in Wilmington about two years. She was in the process of moving from a Canterbury Woods apartment to a small two-bedroom house on Reminisce Road in the Apple Valley subdivision. Delgado also lived on Reminisce Road.

Investigators said Mooney spent Aug. 5, 1999, moving into the house. She was supposed to meet co-workers at the FBI office on Aug. 6 so they could help her move. She never arrived and they went to the Castle Hayne home, where Mooney’s body was found.

Mooney’s door was broken in, investigators said at the time. She was strangled to death, the medical examiner said.

Law enforcement never stopped working the case. Enough evidence was assembled to obtain the indictments Monday. The sealed indictments were opened Tuesday after Delgado was taken into custody in Leesville, La., near the Texas border.

“There are times when it takes time to put pieces of the puzzle together. We don’t always have all of them,” New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Lt. William Hoehlein said after a news conference announcing Delgado’s arrest. The FBI, State Bureau of Investigation and other agencies assisted in the investigation.

“We wanted to make sure we had everything done as accurately and professionally as possible,” Hoehlein said.

Kevin B. Kendrick, FBI special agent in charge of the Charlotte Division, said members of the agency never forgot the murder.

Mooney was a dedicated FBI employee for 11 years “and she was family to us,” he said.

“This is a very important day for us,” Kendrick said.

The extradition process for Delgado is under way, District Attorney Ben David said.

“He will be brought before a judge in Louisiana. He can waive extradition if he chooses and he can fight extradition,” David said. “We indicted him to help facilitate that transfer.”

Delgado is no stranger to police.

In 2001, he was found not guilty of assaulting an 18-year-old the previous year by shooting him in the neck. He was also charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 18-year-old Jermont James in the same incident. A mistrial in the murder case was declared after a New Hanover County Superior Court jury could not reach a verdict.

In April 2003, Delgado entered a guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 19 to 33 months in prison. He had already served much of that time, including 120 days for an unrelated conviction of assault on a female and other misdemeanors for a 2001 incident involving a convenience store clerk.

“I want to make sure that the defendant gets a fair trial,” David said. “I want to make sure that Melissa Mooney gets her day in court after a six-year wait, and she will.”

Mooney’s daughter is now 10 years old and lives with her father in Nevada, Fred Galade said. He said he and his wife will travel to Wilmington from Pennsylvania if there is a trial, and they may come here when Delgado is extradited.

“I’d like to see what he looks like,” Galade said. “This was a long time coming.”

Ken Little: 343-2389

ken.little@starnewsonline.com