Woman was looking for ‘shady people' to kill her kids' father in Iowa, feds say
The 30-year-old woman pleaded guilty to one count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, court records show. She was sentenced to six years in prison, according to a May 9 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
McClatchy News is not naming the woman to protect the identity of the children.
Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on May 12.
On Nov. 21, 2023, the Scott County Sheriff's Office was called for a report that a woman contacted someone, referred to in court records as 'CI #1,' looking for a hitman, according to a criminal complaint.
A deputy met with CI #1 and was told that the woman contacted them on Snapchat and asked if they knew any 'shady people,' the complaint said.
The woman said she was having issues with the Department of Human Services and had previously discussed having issues with the father of her kids, court records said.
The woman said she wanted to make him 'disappear' and said 'he just needs to go,' the complaint said. She also told CI #1 that if she could do it herself she would but she didn't know how to, according to court records.
'How sketchy of things we talking, I might have someone,' CI #1 asked her while with the deputy. She responded by saying, 'ideally murder,' the complaint said.
She also suggested setting him up for a drug bust so he can spend the rest of his life in prison and said it 'shouldn't be that hard to make it look like someone overdosed,' court records said.
The woman said she was willing to pay, and CI #1 said they would have someone contact her, the complaint said.
The deputy, posing as a hitman, contacted the woman on Snapchat and asked her to send a selfie and for her number so they could talk on another app that he claimed was encrypted, court records said.
The deputy and woman spoke several more times, discussing pricing and when the killing would be carried out, according to the complaint.
The woman agreed to pay $2,000 with $200 up front, court records said.
At one point, the woman questioned her decision, saying she was sad for the kids and didn't want to scar them, but when the deputy asked if she wanted to move forward with it, she said yes, according to the complaint.
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