A Wisconsin woman has been charged after hiring a hitman for $500.
According to WBAY, 38-year-old Melissa A. Smith has been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide. A criminal complaint states that an investigation into Smith began by Oshkosh Police Vice and Narcotics Unit and Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group Unit after she attempted to pay a hitman.
Police tried to use an informant to connect Smith with an undercover investigator, but she did not want to talk to anyone she didn't know about the murder-for-hire plot; instead, she said she had a specific person in mind that she wanted to do the hit.
In the complaint, the person Smith trusted to complete her murder-for-hire mission is referred to as 'CI.' CI told investigators details from the conversations they had with Smith and mentioned that she wanted the person dead because they told police she was "selling drugs, had urinated on her bed, and had stolen her handgun." CI also told police that Smith was working on getting a handgun and offered $500 for the hit.
On August 2, CI told police that Smith wanted the victim murdered the next day. So, CI wore a wire to Smith's home while investigators listened to their conversation, WBAY reported.
During the recorded conversation, CI mentions the $500 payment or Smith paying a $520 debt CI had. Smith also noted that she had a plan to take money from the victim's home and move to the Dominican Republic.
"The plan was for CI to execute the murder, and CI told Smith that CI would need duct tape and plastic or tarp, for purposes of moving the body," the complaint said.
Later that day, investigators found Smith's vehicle and CI's vehicle at a business in Oshkosh. Smith came out of the store with two bags and handed one to CI. CI told police that inside the bag was duct tape and plastic drop cloths.
Police pulled Smith over a little while after she left the business. While investigators searched Smith's home, they found a Glock airsoft gun and a $500 check written out to CI.
Smith is being held on a $1 million cash bond and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday, August 19.