A 21-year-old Michigan woman could face life in prison after she was caught on hidden camera hiring a hit man to kill her husband because, she claimed, it "was easier than divorcing him."
Julia Merfeld, of Muskegon, Mich., initially approached a co-worker and offered him $50,000 to kill her husband. The man said no and later tipped off cops, who sent an undercover state police detective to meet with Merfeld and pose as a hit man.
In two secretly recorded videos released this week, Merfeld is seen meeting with the fake hit man and discussing how she wants her husband killed ("Surprise me"), why she wants him dead ("I didn’t have to worry about the judgment of my family, I didn't have to worry about breaking his heart, all that stuff like this"), and when the hit should take place ("I was thinking sometime mid-May"). The videos were filmed April 9 and 10.
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Authorities say the motivation was her husband's $400,000 life insurance policy, of which Merfeld agreed to hand over
$50,000 to the hit man in $9,000 installments, according to mlive.com.
She was arrested shortly after the second video was filmed.
Merfeld pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder June 27 and could face life in prison. Her 27-year-old husband asked a judge that she get no jail time, though the minimum sentence is set at six years.
A sentencing date is scheduled for July 30.
Part one of the undercover videos:
Part two:
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