Woman who recruited a hit man on dark web to kill parents spared further jail time
The woman used the dark web to recruit a hit man to kill her parents. (Unsplash: Jay Wennington)
In short:
A 30-year-old Canberra woman has been spared further jail time after recruiting what she believed was a hit man to kill her parents on the dark web.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said alleged childhood abuse, mental health conditions and autism had contributed to the woman's offending but financial motivation was also apparent.
What's next?
The woman received a six-year term of imprisonment, but she's already served more than two years in jail and had the rest of her sentence suspended.
A Canberra woman who used the dark web to hire a hit man to kill her parents has avoided further jail time.
The 30-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting another to commit murder earlier this year, just before her trial was to begin.
She had already served more than two years in prison and had spent the last eighteen months on strict bail conditions in the community.
Now, a six-year jail term, with the remainder suspended, means she will remain on a good behaviour order until 2029.
In what the ACT's Chief Justice Lucy McCallum described as the territory's first case of incited murder against parents, the court heard the woman had offered $20,000 to a hit man, and had paid $7,500 towards that through a dark web site in what later transpired to be a hoax.
Prosecutors had argued her motivation was primarily financial, while a psychologist had told the court the woman had been sexually abused as a child, which had contributed to her offending.
In sentencing the woman, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said financial motivation had been apparent.
However, she agreed the "offences [could] not be seen through that lens alone" and her mental health conditions, autism and alleged childhood sexual abuse, could also have been seen to have contributed.
Woman visited dark web in 2020
The woman had paid the equivalent of $7,500 in bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, for the killing to be carried out. (Reuters: Benoit Tessier/Illustration)
Agreed facts state the woman began visiting the dark web in September of 2020, including a site which offered a variety of services including murder.
The court heard that at the time the woman was in an unstable financial position, including at one stage having just $2 to her name, and had stolen significant sums of money from her parents.
Later that month, the woman began using the site to find what she believed to be a hit man who could murder her parents.
She said she was "willing to pay $20,000 ... to have this done as soon as possible" and asked that it be made to look accidental.
She also posted identifying details about her parents, including their photos.
In total, she spent around $7,500 worth of bitcoin on the site.
Later that year, a British production company which was researching the dark web contacted the woman's parents, and subsequently ACT Policing, to warn them of the messages.
In December, the woman was arrested after police executed a search warrant on her home.
Mental health, childhood trauma explored
The ACT Supreme Court heard the 30-year-old Canberra woman's offending was motivated by alleged sexual abuse in her childhood. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Throughout the case, the woman's mental health conditions, autism and childhood trauma were brought up as factors which could have contributed to her offending.
A complaint of childhood sexual abuse, not by either of the intended victims, was heard by the court through the woman's psychologist earlier this year.
In sentencing the woman today, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said that complaint had left the court in a "difficult position" because no sworn evidence on the matter had been heard and the alleged perpetrator and other family members had not been questioned.
However, she said the psychologist believed it to be true, and it was reasonable she had "experienced some form of family trauma".
Chief Justice McCallum described the events as having had a "devastating impact on [the woman's] family".
A victim impact statement from the woman's father stated that he thinks about her everyday.
She said she hoped she would be able to reconnect with her parents, and would continue to remain on a pathway towards full rehabilitation.
Chief Justice McCallum said she had served 18 months with strict bail conditions during which time she had held down two jobs, studied and made positive social connections.
She had also been financially self-sufficient, and had purchased a car.
She was sentenced to a total of six years in prison, but the remainder of her term will be suspended.
The woman will serve a good behaviour order until 2029.
A breach of that could result in imprisonment.