Woman accused of hiring a dark web hitman to kill her parents

Australian authorities announced that multiple charges of incitement to murder have been filed against a woman accused of hiring a hitman via the dark web in order to kill her parents. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to both charges and the trial will take place in a few weeks.

The investigation began in late 2020, when a journalist contacted Australian Capital Territory Police to report on a conspiracy to commit murder. The informant gave authorities evidence that the Canberra-based woman agreed to pay $20,000 AUD in exchange for the murder of two people.

The journalist also showed that the defendant transferred $15,000 AUD from her parents’ bank account to a new account, later withdrawing $6,000 that she sent to the alleged hitman in a Bitcoin

 transfer through the dark web platform known as “The Sinaloa Cartel Marketplace”.

“Willing to pay $20,000 AUD to have this done as soon as possible. 2 individuals, death by accident if at all possible,” the defendant wrote in a message to the alleged administrator of the platform, simply identified as “Juan”.

After some research, police interviewed the defendant’s parents, finding that the couple’s children would get equal shares of their $8 million estate in the event of her death.

A couple of months later, police interviewed the defendant and searched her home and, although she denied knowing anything about Bitcoin or murders for hire on the dark web, she was arrested later that day. Prosecutors filed two counts of attempted murder, two counts of incitement to murder, robbery and trespassing.

At her most recent hearing, conducted via videoconference, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges of incitement to murder, although she had already pleaded guilty to the remaining charges against her. 

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