Tina Jones, 31, of Des Plaines, Illinois, a Keralite nurse tried to hire a hit man via the “dark web” to kill the wife of a man with whom she had an affair, DuPage County prosecutors announced.
Jones appeared in court Wednesday before Judge George Bakalis.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin and Woodridge Chief of Police Brian Cunningham announced that bond has been set for $250,000 with 10% to apply. In all, Jones has been charged with one count of Solicitation of Murder for Hire, a Class X Felony.
Jones turned herself in to authorities Tuesday.
Jones’ next court appearance is scheduled for May 15, for arraignment before Judge George Bakalis. If convicted, she faces a minimum sentence of twenty years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Jones should surrender her passport and should not have any contact with the victim or her family.
On April 12, Woodridge Police Department received a tip that a woman in Woodridge was the subject of an alleged murder for hire plot. It is alleged that in January this year, Jones paid the dark-web company more than $10,000 via bitcoin to have the woman murdered.
“The charge brought against Mrs. Jones this morning is extremely serious,” Berlin said. “Any attempt, or perceived attempt, to bring physical harm to another individual will be met by the full force and effect of the law.”
Cunningham said. “In recent years, law enforcement has seen a dramatic increase in the use of the dark web as it relates to criminal activity.”
Woodridge police said they received a tip that a local woman had been targeted in a murder-for-hire plot, Chicago Tribune reported. The tip came from the CBS news program “48 Hours,” which had been investigating internet companies offering contract killings, according to Paul Darrah, the spokesman for the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
An investigation led to Jones, who is alleged to have made a $10,000 payment to have the woman murdered, authorities said.
Jones, who works as a nurse at a west suburban hospital, went to Woodridge police for an interview Tuesday and was subsequently arrested, Darrah said.
Jones had contacted an internet entity calling itself the Cosa Nostra International Network, which Darrah said is apparently a scam.