TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa woman could spend up to 10 years in prison for asking a hitman to kill the spouse of her former lover and sending payment.
DeAnna Marie Stinson, 50, recently pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire in a plot that began in June 2021, according to the Department of Justice.
It was alleged Stinson created an account on the dark web for a service that advertised murder-for-hire services to its customers. She created an "order" to complete "a quick hit in southern Florida" against the spouse of her ex, authorities said.
The order reportedly included the person's name, address and picture, and four additional orders were sent between June and July. Stinson sent more than $12,000 in Bitcoin cryptocurrency as a sort of payment, according to the department.
Prosecutors said she, too, offered a "bonus" if the hit was completed by a certain time. When she didn't get a status update by the end of July, she asked that the site administers "reassign the job to someone who has a history of getting jobs done" because she "nee[ed] th[e] job done ASAP."
After receiving information about Stinson's activities, agents obtained records to her virtual currency account, the department said. One agent acting as an undercover hitman contacted Stinson and, in a recorded message, she reportedly said she wanted the person killed and agreed to send more money by Bitcoin so it couldn't be traced.
Authorities said an additional $350 was sent to the agent in September for the use of them to buy a gun to commit the crime. She was arrested not long thereafter.
The FBI spearheaded the investigation into the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.
