In the late hours of a Tuesday night in Moody, Alabama, a seemingly ordinary car crash would soon reveal a far more sinister story. Nicholas Sloan Harmon, a 20-year-old male, was found in his vehicle which had veared off Kelly Creek Road and struck a utility pole near a Valero gas station on November 5, 2019. A Moody police officer who responded to what was initially believed to be a traffic accident discovered Harmon, still buckled in his seat, deceased from a gunshot wound.
Harmon was the son of the sitting St. Clair County District Attorney, Lyle Harmon.
The investigation into the death of Nicholas Harmon quickly escalated, involving multiple agencies including the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and Alabama State Troopers. Law enforcement officials revealed the case was complex with multiple crime scenes. In the days following the discovery of Harmon's body, two individuals of interest were taken into custody.
One of the individuals arrested was Michael Dale Iervolino. He was subsequently convicted of the capital murder of Nicholas Sloan Harmon. An autopsy revealed that Harmon died from a gunshot wound to the left side of his neck. Testimony during legal proceedings indicated that Harmon had left his girlfriend's apartment around 10:50 p.m. that night. Iervolino was found guilty of shooting Harmon while Harmon was inside his vehicle. Following his conviction, a jury recommended the death penalty for Iervolino by a vote of 10-2, a sentence that was later formally imposed.
Nicholas Harmon was a recent graduate of Pell City High School and was a student at Jefferson State Community College. He had also recently completed basic training and had been accepted into the U.S. Army's flight school with aspirations of becoming a helicopter pilot, following in his father's footsteps. He was remembered by those who knew him as a bright and promising young man.
