Michelle Murphy, a 58-year-old woman from Bedford, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for attempting to hire a hitman to kill her boyfriend’s lover. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton.
Murphy was charged in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in December of the same year to one count of murder-for-hire. The sentencing was carried out on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.
Court documents revealed that Murphy used the dark web to try to pay a hitman $10,510 in Bitcoin for the murder. Blockchain analysis showed that she converted cash into cryptocurrency using an ATM on multiple occasions. On July 27, 2023, she transferred around 0.358 BTC ($10,510) to a Bitcoin wallet, believing it belonged to the intended recipient of the murder-for-hire.
Upon confrontation by agents, Murphy confessed that she sought to eliminate her boyfriend's lover upon discovering their relationship.
During the sentencing hearing, it was noted by both prosecutors and defense attorneys that the hitman involved likely had no intention of carrying out the murder.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from Bedford, Euless, Grapevine, and Hurst Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht handled the prosecution of the case.
