Woman offered to pay hitman $5,000 in bitcoin to kill her ex’s new girlfriend, feds say
A Utah woman was sentenced after she was accused of trying to hire a hitman on the dark web to kill her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, federal prosecutors say.
Krista Renae Stone, 23, of Salt Lake City, was sentenced to 78 months in prison Monday, Aug. 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah said in a news release.
The sentencing came out of a pre-indictment resolution, Darrell York, Stone’s attorney, said in an Aug. 20 phone interview with McClatchy News.
Stone pleaded guilty in May “to the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire,” according to prosecutors.
“I think the government and our client believed it was a fair resolution, considering the charges,” York said.
Starting in March 2023 through September 2023, Stone offered to pay a hitman $5,000 in bitcoin to kill her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend via a website on the dark web, according to prosecutors.
In her requests, Stone included a description of the woman, along with a photograph, her location and how she wanted the woman killed, prosecutors said.
“Ms. Stone’s murder-for-hire plot was a brazen attempt against another person’s life that caused extreme emotional harm,” U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins said in the release.
Authorities are investigating the website, according to prosecutors.
“I am very troubled by this case,” Senior U.S. District Court Judge David Sam said in the release, adding that he commends law enforcement’s efforts.
“As a result of all that work, a life was saved,” Sam said.
In a letter requesting the court impose a 78-month prison sentence, it says Stone “is deeply remorseful concerning her actions,” court documents show.
“She wasn’t thinking clearly, you know,” York said. “She went down the wrong path, and now she’s paying the price.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Woman offered to pay hitman $5,000 in bitcoin to kill her ex’s new girlfriend, feds say."
