UK Woman Sentenced for Attempting to Hire a Hitman
~2 min read | Published on 2023-05-09, tagged Murder-for-Hire, Sentenced using 373 words.
A Norfolk woman who used loans to pay for a hitman on the dark web to kill a man she had an affair with was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.
According to the Norfolk Police, 44-year-old Helen Hewlett, a mother of five, was sentenced at the Norwich Crown Court after a jury found her guilty of soliciting murder and stalking.
According to evidence presented during Hewlett's trial, Hewlett and her intended victim, Paul Belton, 50, had a single sexual encounter in her car at their workplace's parking lot. Belton reportedly regretted it and cut off ties, while Hewlett became obsessed and constantly contacted Belton looking to continue the relationship.
After being rejected, Hewlett decided to have Belton murdered and went to the dark web to look for a hitman. On July 4, 2022, Hewlett accessed a fraudulent dark web murder-for-hire site called "Online Killers Market". Using the username "horses5", she placed an order saying she wanted someone killed and the murder made to look like an accident.
Conversations between horses5 and the site’s admin between August 1, 2022, to August 11, 2022, revealed that Hewlett agreed to pay over $20,000 in Bitcoin for the hit to be carried out. She also supplied Mr Belton's picture, name, and home and work addresses.
Investigations revealed that the Bitcoin deposited into the site's escrow came from Hewlett's Coinbase account. Hewlett had deposited a total of $28,500 into her Coinbase account from her bank accounts in 35 transactions. The deposits included 15,000 in bank overdrafts and loans.
The police arrested Hewlett at her home on August 12, 2022, and seized a phone she had been using to access the dark web. Information recovered from the phone revealed that she had bookmarked three murder-for-hire sites.
In addition to the prison sentence, Hewlett received five years of supervised release.
Helen Hewlett
According to the Norfolk Police, 44-year-old Helen Hewlett, a mother of five, was sentenced at the Norwich Crown Court after a jury found her guilty of soliciting murder and stalking.
According to evidence presented during Hewlett's trial, Hewlett and her intended victim, Paul Belton, 50, had a single sexual encounter in her car at their workplace's parking lot. Belton reportedly regretted it and cut off ties, while Hewlett became obsessed and constantly contacted Belton looking to continue the relationship.
After being rejected, Hewlett decided to have Belton murdered and went to the dark web to look for a hitman. On July 4, 2022, Hewlett accessed a fraudulent dark web murder-for-hire site called "Online Killers Market". Using the username "horses5", she placed an order saying she wanted someone killed and the murder made to look like an accident.
Hewlett's order
Conversations between horses5 and the site’s admin between August 1, 2022, to August 11, 2022, revealed that Hewlett agreed to pay over $20,000 in Bitcoin for the hit to be carried out. She also supplied Mr Belton's picture, name, and home and work addresses.
Investigations revealed that the Bitcoin deposited into the site's escrow came from Hewlett's Coinbase account. Hewlett had deposited a total of $28,500 into her Coinbase account from her bank accounts in 35 transactions. The deposits included 15,000 in bank overdrafts and loans.
The police arrested Hewlett at her home on August 12, 2022, and seized a phone she had been using to access the dark web. Information recovered from the phone revealed that she had bookmarked three murder-for-hire sites.
Quote:DCI Michael Pereira
We built and gathered evidence for the case identifying a woman using crypto currency to arrange for someone to kill the intended victim. Cyber-crime investigators looked at her cryptocurrency activity and worked with private industry and regional colleagues to provide evidence of payment transactions between the woman and the ‘hit man’ on the dark web. This provided crucial evidence in the investigation leading to the successful conviction today.
In addition to the prison sentence, Hewlett received five years of supervised release.
