Daughter's attempt to murder parents with dark web hitman not 'motivated only by greed'

CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to an allegation of child sex abuse.

A woman who plotted to murder her parents using a hitman from the dark web had mental conditions that “causally contributed” to her actions, a court has found.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, tried hiring a hitman from the Sinaloa Cartel Marketplace, a dark web website, to murder her parents.

After initially pleading not guilty, she pled guilty to two counts of incitement to murder earlier this year, days before she was set to face a trial.

In sentencing the now-30-year-old woman in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday (5 December), Chief Justice Lucy McCallum found her offending was, in part, driven by her mental state.

“[I accept the] offender’s mental conditions of autism and depression causally contributed to her offending,” she said.

“Her moral culpability is reduced on that account.”

On 24 September 2020, the woman visited the dark web and posted that she was “Willing to pay $20,000AUD to have this done as soon as possible”. The message also had her parents’ full names and address.

Someone using the name ‘Juan’ responded to the message and requested payment.

While she did not pay the full amount and stopped responding, the woman would pay about $7500 in Bitcoin to the site.

Ultimately, a British production company would see someone was soliciting the murder of the woman’s parents while researching the topic and tipped off ACT Policing. In December 2020, officers searched the woman’s home before arresting her.

During court proceedings, the prosecution argued that she had been motivated “at least in part” by her inheritance.

Region has previously reported the woman stood to inherit a share of $8 million if her parents died.

Also, the woman had $2.36 in her bank accounts and had spent all of her superannuation and loan credit by 12 September 2020, according to the agreed facts.

In response to messages from ‘Juan’ asking her to finish making payments, the woman wrote that “after the deaths of these two individuals, I will receive an inheritance [and] will use this to pay the remaining'” cost.

She also wrote that she was “having trouble gaining access to the remaining funds while the targets are alive”.

Before posting on the dark web, the woman had stolen a total of $35,000 from her parents and their business bank accounts, with Chief Justice McCallum satisfied that payments for the scheme were “facilitated” by the theft.

However, in sentencing the woman, Chief Justice McCallum found she was not solely motivated by financial concerns.

The woman was suffering “complex psychological issues” at the time of the offending, which included a “significant event” from her childhood.

Following her arrest, the woman disclosed to a psychologist that a family member had allegedly sexually assaulted her when she was a child. Neither parent was accused of committing the sexual assault.

Chief Justice McCallum said that while she could not find on the alleged assault without sworn evidence about it, she accepted that the woman had experienced “some form of family trauma, which has produced the symptoms she is experiencing today”.

These mental health issues changed her behaviour from a “callous act, motivated only by greed” to that of a “traumatised person [who was] marred by childhood trauma”.

Chief Justice McCallum said the offending had “understandably, had a devasting impact” on the woman’s family.

In letters to the court, the woman said she had a “heavy sense of guilt” and was “deeply ashamed of the hurt” she had caused them.

Since her arrest and release from custody on bail, the woman’s mental health had improved, and she was now working two jobs and had friends. The woman was also receiving ongoing psychological support.

While it would be “counterproductive” to return the woman to custody, given her rehabilitative progress, Chief Justice McCallum said a sentence of imprisonment was necessary.

Chief Justice McCallum gave her a suspended sentence, which will finish in March 2029. The woman will also be subject to a good behaviour order until then.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732.

Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.