CLAYTON COUNTY, Georgia – Marcia Killebrew told reporters that her 16-year-old son was called out of the classroom by his substitute math teacher, Randolph Forde. Her son says that Forde asked if he was gay. This angered her son, and the next day he and Forde got into a verbal argument. Some time later, the Mundy’s Mill high school teacher told a student that he had a hit on someone and needed him to take care of it. When the student asked who it was, “the teacher held a piece of paper up with the victim’s name on it,” said Otis Willis III of the Clayton County Police Department. Killebrew’s son became alarmed and immediately told her. “He says, ‘Ma, you’re not going to believe this but Mr. Forde offered another student money to kill me,’” she said. The student told administrators about Forde’s questioning of his sexuality and the following argument, but nothing was done. It wasn’t until now that Forde was placed on paid administrative leave. His attorney says this is all a big misunderstanding. Merely a bad joke that has been blown out of proportion.

BOYNTON BEACH, Florida. – Dalia Dippolito, 26, was recorded telling someone “When I set my mind to something, I get it done.” If Dalia was setting her mind on getting charged and arrested for hiring a hit man to kill her new husband, well then she was not lying. Police were tipped off by an informant that Dalia was looking around for someone to bump off her husband. They obliged her and set up a meeting with an undercover policeman. Then, even with enough evidence to charge her with solicitation to commit first-degree murder, they added a bit of insult to the injury. They staged a fake crime scene and recorded her reaction after being told the horrible news that her husband had been found murdered. Classic.

Of course Dippolito is claiming she is innocent, but police have more than enough evidence to contradict that. Including audio and video of Dippolitio meeting the informant at a Metro gas station on Saturday to gave the informant $1,200 for the hit man to buy a gun. She also gave the person photographs of the man she married in February, Mike Dippolito, 38, and their Renaissance Commons home. Police state that during this meeting, Dippolito reveals her alibi will be that she was getting her hair done in Boca Raton at the time of the hit. She also states that she did not want to hear any excuses on why the murder did not happen.

But that’s not all. Dippolito then met with the undercover police officer hit man found by the informant the very next day in a CVS parking lot. She offered the hit man $3,000 when the murder was completed and told him, after being asked if she wanted to change her mind, “I’m not going to change my mind. I am 5,000 percent sure I want it done. When I set my mind to something, I get it done.”

Meanwhile, police are talking with her surprised husband and letting him know what his hot piece of ass had been up to over the weekend and then brought him to the station so that they could set up a fake crime scene. In the video below, you can see Dalia Dippolito start blubbering and howling her way through one of the worst recorded performances in the “Best Wife Trying To Act Distraught At Learning Husband Has Been Murdered By Hit Man She Hired” Category. When she is brought to the police station, it is only then that she is confronted by the hit man, now revealed to her as a police officer, and informed her husband was in the next room. Snickering.

I made up the snickering part. But aside from the lame tribal looking tattoos on his arms, Mike Dippolito seems like a pretty cool, laid back guy. “I’m disappointed,” he said. “There’s no reason for it. The girl had everything she could have wanted.” He also stated the possible motive behind her actions. Money. I know, shocker. Mike, who runs some kind of email marketing business (Hmmm…I hope he isn’t responsible for the 50 emails I have to delete on a daily basis – emails selling me Acai Berry and drugs to help me satisfy my hand woman) told WPBF News 25 “there’s a lot of funny business going on here for a long time, just unexplained money and things…a lot of unclaimed money out there that, you know, didn’t get where it was supposed to get to,” he said.

And the Oscar goes to…..

Source | Source

Tulsa, OK- Stephen Bowen, 55, is just a greedy old fart. After being married to the same woman for 17 years, he just couldn’t bear the thought of parting with his assets and half the parking lot striping business he owned in a divorce. So what did Stingy Steve do? He tried to hire a hit-man to kill his wife, of course. The details in this one are pretty telling about what kind of man Stephen is and where his priorities lie. If I were his wife, I’d be filing for divorce and buying a gun quicker than you can say O. J. in a white Bronco. It all began when Bowen tried to offer the dirty deed to one of his former employees.

Stephen Bowen

The employee refused, but told Bowen he would find someone else for him that may take up the offer. Thankfully, the employee contacted the police who sent an undercover officer to play the role of the hired hit-man. Bowen met with the undercover officer at a truck stop to work out the dirty details and Bowen was very specific of how he wanted it all to go down. He wanted his wife, Sharon, murdered on Thursday between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Bowen  told the undercover officer that he wanted her shot to death with a gun equipped with a silencer. He said he would leave the back door of his home unlocked and wanted it to look like a home invasion robbery. Bowen said his wife would be asleep on her side or back and he wanted her to be shot in the chest and then he would be shot in the shoulder.

Bowen also said that he would report $3,700 cash as part of the loot taken from the home. He told the undercover officer to take all of his wife’s jewelry, including the rings on her fingers, but, most importantly, do not take the televisions. Heh. Can’t say the guy doesn’t have priorities. Bowen also drew a map to his house and a diagram of the lay-out and then gave the undercover officer a key to a Post Office box, where weekly payments of an unknown amount would be made. It was not until Bowen began driving towards his home to show the undercover officer where he lived that he was finally stopped and arrested. Bowen, thinking about his priorities again, asked the police to call his wife to come get his truck because he was worried about the work equipment in it. The officers did call her and that was when they informed her of her husband’s murderous scheme and her reaction was complete shock. Tulsa Police learned that another man had accepted the job to kill Bowen’s wife, but was arrested on a unrelated incident before he got the chance. Stephen Alan Bowen was charged with soliciting murder and his bond was set at $100,000 bond. Here’s hoping Sharon says ‘good riddance’, sits back on the couch with a cold one, and watches what she wants for a change on what is now one of her many televisions.

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Mary Sharpski, Michael Calvin Shores II, and Antonio Ortega

Just before 6 a.m. on March 3, 2009, neighbors woke to the blood-curdling screams of a man crying for help. Frank Sharpski, 47, had just left his apartment to go to work as a FedEx contract driver when he was suddenly attacked by a man with a machete. Neighbors said the screams were “chilling” and some even heard the blows of the machete pounding Sharpski’s flesh as he fought for his life. Sharpski’s thumb, index finger and middle finger on his left hand were cut off. His skull was crushed and his nose was nearly sliced off his face. The attacker left his disfigured victim for dead. Police found the mutilated man oozing blood in an alley near carports where he lived.

Based on the severity, the police immediately felt the horrific assault was personal. Ya, think? They did not believe Sharpski was attacked because he witnessed a crime and the “Jason” wannabe was trying to escape. After a month long investigation, police now believe they have all the people responsible for Sharpski’s malicious attack. They first began their investigation with those living in Sharpski’s home.

Police said things never really added up from the beginning. Michael Calvin Shores II, 39, was an unemployed security guard down on his luck. Being a good Samaritan, Sharpski offered to rent a room to Shores in his home. Shores moved in and lived there with Sharpski, his wife and their three children. Personally, I would have just given the guy directions to the nearest homeless shelter, unemployment office, and possibly some cash to get a meal. I believe it’s difficult for someone to learn their own strength when they live off the strength of others. How did Shores repay Sharpski for his kindness? He began having an affair with Sharpski’s wife, Mary.

As Mary and Shores relationship grew, so did their dislike for Mary’s husband, Frank. They decided to contact Antonio Ortega, 23, who is a very good friend of Shores. Besides being a local grocery store butcher, Ortega is an avid knife and sword collector. Police believe Mary began plotting with her lover and the grocery store butcher to have her husband killed as part of some twisted love triangle.

Search warrants were served for Sharpski’s apartment, Ortega’s Santa Ana home and the Huntington Beach Stater Bros. grocery store where Ortega worked. They found Ortega’s knives and swords and among them was an extremely large, jagged hunting-type knife. Forensic evidence at the scene put Ortega as the attacker and police believe Ortega was waiting in the dark for Sharpski to come out that morning. Police are unsure what, if anything, was paid to Ortega for his part in this murderous plot to savagely slice and dice Frank.

Mary Sharpski, 46, confessed to conspiring against her husband, Frank. She was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and mayhem. Antonio Ortega is being held on suspicion of attempted murder and mayhem. Michael Calvin Shores II is being held on suspicion of being an accessory to attempted murder and mayhem. All three are behind bars in lieu of $1 million bail.

After remaining in critical condition for several weeks after the attack, Frank Sharpski is now recovering from several surgeries. Police say the surgeons did a phenomenal job and Sharpski’s nose has been repaired. Surgeons tried to reattach his thumb and two fingers, but were unable to reattach his thumb and another finger. Part of a fourth finger had to be amputated because it was so badly damaged. The Sharpskis are still married and have three children, ages 16, 11 and 10. They are all in protective custody.

Note: Police had identified Ortega as a butcher, but his employer, Stater Bros., said he was a meat wrapper at its Huntington Beach store. Personally, I think after showing that he is very capable of hacking up fresh meat, Ortega has earned the term Butcher.

Edward Graziano

Tampa Bay - Almost two years ago douchebag Nick Bollea, son of Hulk Hogan, was involved in a car wreck that left his passenger, John Graziano, a breathing, permanently brain damaged zucchini. Nick served a whopping 5 months in jail for his involvement in the crash. But this isn’t about Nick; this is about John Graziano’s father, Edward Graziano. He has just been arrested for trying to arrange a hit on his estranged wife, Debra. He paid for her death with $1,100 in cash, a $1,000 personal check and a $13.06 gift card to Westshore Pizza

Police say that Graziano, 53, was arrested after a 2-and-a-half month long investigation. Graziano met with an informant and an undercover detective posing as ‘go-between’ to a hit man on numerous occasions in public places around Pinellas County. These meetings were held to discuss when and how the hit should be carried out. Graziano wanted his wife’s death to be the result of an automobile accident. His reason for wanting his wife dead was in order to help solve a few financial issues stemming from their divorce.

Debra and her attorney were notified of the threats to her life late last year. Since that time, she has spent the majority of her time in the VA hospital where her son resides while the investigation continued. Debra’s attorney has now released this statement: “She is saddened by all of this. She can’t believe so much tragedy can strike one family. Her main purpose is concentrating on John getting better.”

Graziano was arrested at his home and will be charged with solicitation to commit murder. I, on the other hand, will be sure to check out Westshore Pizza whenever I am in Florida. Not only did he offer it as a form of payment, but the fact that it didn’t seem to be suspicious when the “hit man” took it leads me to believe that place must have some damn good pie. EDIT - I just checked out Westshore…looks like a franchise akin to a Papa Johns. Anyone ever eaten Westshore’s crap?

David Ward

PACIFIC, Mo. - David Ward had a rough relationship with his daughter. Court records show he had been charged with assaulting her four years ago. This may have something to do with why his daughter would not allow him to see his granddaughter. David Ward decided the best course of action would to be to attempt a reconciliation with his daughter. Find some mutual ground, possibly show that he really wants to be in his granddaughter’s life. Convince his daughter that no matter what the issues where they were currently experiencing with their relationship, he had made changes in his life and should be allowed some sort of visitation, even if supervised. He started this by hiring a hitman to beat the shit out of her. 

Obviously, I am not sure exactly what David Ward had attempted to try and repair the relationship with his daughter in order to see his granddaughter, I was just being a smartass. Also, the daughter may very well be 100 percent in the right for not wanting her dad to be anywhere close to her granddaughter. The fact that he was callous and stupid enough to hire a hitman is evidence enough that the latter scenario may be the more plausible one. Who knows. I mean, he did assault her at some point.

But the fact remains, whether or not David should see his granddaughter or not, he did hire a hitman with specific instructions to beat the crap out of her. He even provided a map and various pictures of her to help in identification. As usual, the hitman was an undercover officer (aren’t they all?) and David was arrested. The motive behind the beating was so that his daughter would be so injured, that he would then be able to not only see his granddaughter, but to also try and get custody of her. I know, it makes no sense to me either, but that is what the reports are saying. 

If we get lucky, maybe some friends or family will stop by and shed a little light on the situation, and give us a bit of insight on why David Ward felt so desperate that he resorted to this absolutely asinine plot.

Retha Hutchinson

Cleveland, OH – Retha Hutchinson, 23, wanted her husband dead.  Being the cunning minx that she is, she decided that the best way to secure the services of a hit man was to advertise on the internet.   Surprisingly, she got caught.

Deputies arrested Retha at her apartment in Alliance on Monday.  She’d moved out of the home she’d shared with husband Bill Hutchinson, 54, over a month ago, and all of this took him by surprise.   I guess no one told him he should be doing periodic scans of the internet to see if anyone was trying to put a hit on him or anything.  Come to think of it, I’m adding that to Ruby’s weekly ‘to do’ list now.

Here’s some MySpace fun:

Retha’s standard MySpace is here.

Bill’s MySpace, which is set to private, is here.

But then there’s a MySpace Retha seems to have created just to fight with Bill.  This MySpace page is ‘Playing Dirty,’ wherein she says (and I quote, because I fear I could not do this justice by paraphrasing),

“he probably hasnt even told his family the real reason i left his ass. like how a 54 yr old man cant even pick up after himself when his wife should only be picking up after a 22 month old baby boy. or how he cant please a woman in bed. and the fact that he refuses to make a call to find out if he is still married. if he is he has committed bigotry and his ass can go to jail.”

You can’t make this stuff up.  Yes, Retha was worried that her man had committed ‘bigotry’.  How very civic-minded of her.

Retha is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, and is being held in the Stark County Jail on $50,000 bond.    The bad news is that they have a 22-month-old son.  I hope someone will take care of that little boy while his whack-job of a mom spends time in da big house.

Bill, for his part, is watching his back.

UnamusedCat and Tazzzz are putting a hit on this over in the forums.

But not the pecan or macadamia type…

Wilbur Eichman and Charles Pernot

NEWARK, Del –  Wilbur was really pissed at his 44-year-old ex son-in-law. So mad in fact, that he wanted him hurt very badly. Now, after a bad decision and a chain of stupidity, he has been charged and arrested for offering someone $1,200 to assault the man. He even added a bit of an incentive. An extra $3000 if he cut off the man’s genitals and brought them back.

The plan fell apart when the man hired to do the deed botched the assault, running off after the victim began yelling for help. The wannabe hitman decided he could make some quick cash much easier by ratting out Wilbur. What he did was priceless in a dumbass sort of way. Almost like an episode of My Name is Earl. The man called the victim on his cell phone and told him he was “Chaz”, the man who had assaulted him earlier. Chaz told the victim that someone wanted to hurt him and he had been hired to do it. If he wanted to know who, they should meet in a public place. Once together, Chaz told the victim that for 500 dollars, he would give him a recording of the person who had solicited the assault. The victim paid Chaz and immediately recognized the person on the recording as his ex father-in-law. He then went to police. Using the cell phone call, it didn’t take much time for police to track down Chaz. Chaz was actually 34-year-old Charles Pernot and he was subsequently charged with attempted robbery, attempted burglary and conspiracy. He also gave up Wilbur. Again. Wilbur didn’t get the nuts he wanted, and instead got charged with one count of criminal solicitation. He has been released after posting a $500 bail. If this case interests you, keep an eye out on the comment section on this site. Someone posted that the son-in-law had garnered his father-in-law’s anger because he cheated on his daughter with the nanny, and stole some money from the family.

Auburn, WA – Elizabeth Beimer has been involved in some ongoing custody issues with the father of her 6-year-old daughter. Let’s face it, any kind of custody battle sucks donkey dicks. Regardless, there are good ways and there are bad ways to handle the stress. Beth Beimer chose a bad way. I’m talking the kind of “bad way” that results in a $1,000,000 bail.
What happened was that an acquaintance of Beimer’s became tired of her repeated requests to have the father of her child killed. But wait! That wasn’t all–Beimer wanted the man’s wife and parents killed as well. After said acquaintance failed to talk her out of such a course of action, he showed himself to have the makings of a truly decent human being, as he reported Beimer’s intentions to the Auburn police.

A big thanks to the Auburn police, since they could’ve pooh-poohed the acquaintance’s claim, but they didn’t. Instead, they arranged for a King County sheriff’s detective to contact Beimer posing as a hit man.

You have a good chance at successfully guessing where the meeting between Beimer and the detective met, since when such meetings are held face-to-face, they seem to always occur in (a) parking lots or (b) hotels. And if you guessed (b), you win the Dreamin’ Demon Desktop Detective Award! It was at this meeting that Beimer told the detective that she wanted her daughter’s father and his wife killed, along with the father’s parents, should that be at all possible. And for the murder of four people, Bethie was willing to cough up the amazing sum of $500.

I know, with the current economic climate, everyone is trying to find ways to save money. And c’mon, Beth Beimer came to her supposed hit man with the planning already done, so that has to mean a serious price break, right? After all, she brought floor plans, photos of members she wanted killed, a description of the order in which the members should be killed…and even a weapon that could be used to commit the murders.

Let’s suppose for a minute that Elizabeth Beimer is a very protective Mamma Bear when it comes to her daughter. Say she only wants the absolute best for her daughter and feared that changes in the current custody arrangement (which has the man seeing his daughter one day a week) would expose the little girl to avoidable hardships and dangers. Thus, perhaps contacting a hit man was her misguided attempt at achieving a stable and safe environment for her child (setting aside the fact that she also would be depriving her child of her father and a full set of grandparents).

Truth is, I’d be inclined to set aside a drop of sympathy for her were that the case. But in light of the murder weapon Beimer chose, I think she’s just a vengeful angry bitch. What she provided the detective with was a length of rebar–that heavy, ridged iron bar used to reinforce concrete. That says to me that having these people dead wasn’t enough for Beth; she also wanted them to suffer on the way out. Let’s face it, rebar as a murder weapon only makes sense if you want someone beat to death.

Wednesday Beimer was charged with solicitation to commit murder and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Hey, Beth–nice job. I think you conclusively resolved that whole custody issue.

So Jaded has Beth’s number over in the forums.

Versailles, MO – In a perfect world, Dreamin’ Demon would be required reading for everyone.  Then jerks like Gilbert Leon Silvey would know that his gig has already been done by Ralph Nickel and it didn’t work out so well for him, either.  But noooo, Silvey thought he could do it better.  He was wrong.

Gilbert Leon Silvey, 44, has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder after trying to hire a hit man to kill a 14-year-old girl and her family.  Silvey wanted the girl dead so that she couldn’t testify at his upcoming trial for multiple counts of child molestation. 

The whole thing started in 2006, when Silvey decided to get his rocks off on a twelve-year-old girl.  He allegedly molested the child several times that year and into 2007. In November of 2007, Silvey was charged with three counts of child molestation.  He was arrested and jailed in Morgan County, Missouri, with his set at $20,000 cash.

In February of 2008, Silvey’s bond was reduced over the protest of the prosecution.  The bond was lowered to $5,000 with a ten percent cash or surety option, meaning that Silvey walked out of jail on February 15 for about five hundred bucks.

In April, the case was sent to the Morgan County Circuit Court.  That judge revoked bond, but by then Silvey was sitting in the neighboring Cooper County Jail after a fourth charge of child molestation was filed against him there.  Silvey tried to get a public defender and a bond reduction in Cooper County, but was denied, mainly because he already had a private attorney handling the Morgan County case.

Silvey’s Morgan County trial was scheduled to begin on October 9.  But during the course of the Morgan County and Cooper County joint investigation into the molestation charges, deputies got an earful.  During a recorded jailhouse conversation, Silvey tried to hire another inmate to kill his victim – and her family. He mentioned the hit more than once, and tried to set it up.  The intended hit man had been listening to Silvey talk about killing the young girl and alerted deputies, who began surveillance – and sure enough, Gilbert Silvey thought that by killing his victim and her family, he’d get away with both murder and molestation.  Oops.

On September 25, Silvey wasn’t in court in Morgan County for a scheduled hearing, but his attorney was.  During that hearing it was determined that the taped interview with the victim would serve just fine in lieu of her personal testimony – a good move, since the child is clearly in danger if Silvey gets anywhere near her.

Silvey remains in jail, and is charged with attempted murder in addition to the four counts of child molestation.  His bond on the attempted murder charge has been set at $50,000 cash.

FOUNTAIN, CO -Nikita Weis, 18, has to like big titties more than any person I have come across so far. He likes them so much, that he wanted his girlfriend, 21-year-old Sophia Nicole Alsept, to get implants. The only issue that kep this from becoming a reality was a lack of funds. So he came up with a great idea and decided him and his girlfriend would get jobs, make money and save up enough to have the procedure done. Oh no, sorry, that was another couple. Nikita hired two hitmen to kill his mother so he could sell her car and empty her bank account.

Nikita Weis and Sophia Alsept

On Thursday night, on the 7100 block of Yampa River Heights in Fountain, Nikita was at his mom’s house where she was fixing him dinner. Suddenly, a man dressed in black entered and began beating 44-year-old Hyun Weis in the head with a small, wooden baseball bats. Weis was able to hit the panic button on her car, which scared of her attacker and allowed her to run to a neighbor’s and dial 911.

Turns out that the attackers was actually 18-year-old Juan Antonio Velez. He had been hired, along with Brandon Michael Soroka, 19, to kill Hyun Weis and dispose of her body. Nikita had offered them $7,000 to do the deed. They had actually attempted this same stunt on the previous night, but Weis wouldn’t answer the door. During the attack, Sophia Alsept was hiding with Brandon Soroko outside of the house. I assume they were there to help with disposal. But after the attack was botched, the foursome fled. Nikita and Sophia came back to the scene and told police that they had been held at gunpoint by the attacker, but the police weren’t buying their story and soon after, the plot, and everyone’s involvement, was revealed.

Gonzales and Soroka

Hyun Weis spent a short time at the hospital but has been released. Nikita Weis, Sophia Alsept, Brandon Soroka and Juan Gonzales, are currently being held on $50,000 bond, each charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Constance and Guido Boldini

KEENE, N.H. - Seriously, ALL hitmen are cops. This lesson was learned recently by 76-year-old Constance Boldini and her son, 42-year-old Guido Anthony Boldini. They have been charged with soliciting a hitman to kill a person named only as M.H. Of course, as usual, the hitman was actually an undercover policeman.

The pair offered the man $10,000 to kill M.H. by the weekend. Police have not stated who M.H. is, what their relationship is with the two, or why they wanted M.H. dead. The affidavit states that they provided a good deal of info on M.H., her address, vehicles M.H. drove, and photographs. That doesn’t seem like some people just fucking around.

Now, the AP reported that the Boldini’s next door neighbor is 36-year-old Michelle Hudon. She is also the girlfriend of Guido Boldini who just happened to have Guido served with a restraining order back in March of 2007, claiming he was violent towards her and her son. Hmmmmm.

Luckily, an unknown acquaintance of the mother-son duo alerted police of their plan, allowing them to set up a sting using a member of the New Hampshire Drug Task Force. The two are currently in jail, each being held on $250,000 cash bail.

Their names are perfect for this, though. They make this story seem like an episode of the Sopranos.

PASADENA, TX - Thomas Ramirez, 17, ran into a problem a lot of us have had before at some point in our lives. When the friend of a person you are dating just doesn’t like you. Ramirez, a student at Sam Rayburn High School, found himself in a similar situation when his girlfriend’s best friend didn’t like him and did not approve of the couple’s relationship. He felt that this is why his girlfriend broke up with him and was also preventing any type of reconciliation. So Ramirez did what any normal kid would do in that situation. He hired a hit man to kill the girl.

But as is normally the case, the hit man when found was actually an undercover police officer. Seems as if Ramirez actually had tried to get a 17-year-old classmate to do the deed, but this person ended up calling Crime Stoppers because, well, not all teenagers are that dumb. Now with the police involved, an officer posed as the hit man and met with Ramirez at a local park. Ramirez gave the undercover officer a name, a photograph, an address and a partial payment of Xanax, with more after the job was completed. He also told the man that he had another job for him after this one was done.

Ramirez’s father is standing by his son and says that his son is “a good kid who makes stupid decisions…he doesn’t think.”

Ramirez denies that he had a hit list and has stated that he never meant for anyone to die, even though he provided the hit man with a name, a photograph, address and a partial payment of drugs. Ramirez has also stated that he is sorry and that he hopes the girl he tried to have killed forgives him…even though he was just fucking around. Yeah, Thoma Ramirez is sorry alright.

Ramirez is now sitting in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, charged with solicitation of capital murder. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 26.

Litchfield, Poston, O’Conner

S.C. - My favorite story of the week. Police learned via an anonymous tip, that Matthew Jason Litchfield Jr., 27, had employed two men, James O’Conner, 33, and Martin Wayne Poston, 30, to help kill his wife, her unborn child and her boyfriend. So they set up a nice sting that got all three men arrested before anyone got hurt. But before we get to that portion of the story, here is a bit of background.

Litchfield was already in trouble with the law because of a May of 2007 arrest on charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and lewd act upon a child under 16. As a condition of his bond, he had to wear an ankle bracelet. Later, in July, he was arrested for grabbing his wife of 9 years, Elana Clark, by the neck and choking her at knifepoint. It was this incident that led to Clark leaving Litchfield and taking their two daughters aged 8 and 4, with her. She eventually moved in with her current boyfriend.

In January, after numerous court appearances where both Litchfield and Clark accused the other of being shitty parents, a judge granted custody of their two children to Litchfield’s mother. I would love to know why. Up to this point, Clark had kept her location hidden from Litchfield, but two weeks ago, she was made to state her address in public court.

So now we are in April. Litchfield wears an ankle bracelet and living with O’Conner and Poston. Clark is living with her boyfriend and is now 8-months pregnant, and Litchfield knows where she lives.

On Wednesday, deputies got an anonymous phone call from someone alerting them to a murder-for-hire plot involving Litchfield and Co. They learned that Litchfield had told O’Conner and Poston that a pickup truck would be waiting for them in a convenience store parking lot. They would use this pickup truck to drive to the Clark’s location and use a shotgun to kill the inhabitants. That was the plan. A fairly simple plan. Here is what the men did not know.

They did not know that Clark and her boyfriend were already in protective custody. They also didn’t know that police had immeditately started surveillance on both parties after the anonymous tip. They also didn’t know that before they had got there, police had switched the truck in the convenience store parking lot with one of their own, complete with a nifty wire to record whatever was being said inside it. They were compeltely oblivious to the fact that they were followed to Litchfield’s house where they were observed walking out of the house with a shotgun. They didn’t notcie that parts of the highway they were on was closed down. Since deputies already knew where the two men were headed, they had done this in case the upcoming traffic stop turned hairy and one of the men decided to start using the shotgun they had. But that didn’t happen.

When O’Conner and Poston were pulled over and surrounded by a gaggle of barking S.C. cops with their guns drawn, they gave up without incident. Meanwhile, in front of a church somewhere in South Carolina, Litchfield was just about to attend Wednesday service. Before he could get through the doors, police arrested him in the parking lot.

Both men who were to carry out the deed both have criminal records, Poston’s worst offenses are involving DUI’s and bad checks. O’Conner, on the other hand, proves that looks can be decieving and has a lengthy criminal record and a history with confidential stings.

Litchfield has been charged with three counts each of soliciting to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder and is being held without bond in the Berkeley County detention center after waiving his right to a bond hearing. James O’Conner and Martin Wayne Poston are both charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder. Their bond was set at $1.5 million each.

David Cobb and Vincent Smothers

DETROIT — Vincent Smothers, 27, has confessed to the killing of a police officer’s wife. Rose Cobb, 47, wife of Sgt. David Cobb, was shot multiple times while she sat inside the couples minivan outside of a CVS on Dec 27th of last year. David Cobb had been inside the store at the time. Smothers has now said that the murder of Cobb had been a hit, and David Cobb was the one who paid him to do it.

Smothers described himself as a professional hitman and claims he was paid $1,500 by Cobb to murder Rose Cobb. Smothers had an arrest warrant on charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, assault with intent to murder and firearm offenses. He and an accomplice allegedly shot three people, killing two at an apartment complex last June. Smothers has served time before on concealed weapons charges. He has now confessed to the murders of nine other people.

His family states that Vincent changed after his 15-year-old sister, a promising athlete who had been offered volleyball scholarships, was shot to death in the family’s driveway by a neighbor while she played basketball. They say he lost it.

“That boy must have felt the world was nothing but murder and if someone could murder his baby sister like that … he may hate the world enough to murder people.”

David Cobb was arrested only hours after the arrest of Smothers. Police went to his home on Sunday morning and Cobb was arrested without incident. He is currently being held while waiting to be arraigned on felony charges. Family members and friends of David and Rose Cobb are shocked over the arrest.