According to the U.S. Department of Justice a Mississippi woman has been sentenced for 10 years for her failed murder-for hire plot.
Jessica Leeann Sledge (40) was sentenced to 10 year in federal prison. She will also receive three years of supervised probation and a $1,000 fine.
Sledge had previously pleaded guilty, admitting that between September 2021-November 1, 2021 she used interstate Commerce facilities to order a murder for hire.
She used the “Whatsapp” application to arrange the murder of her ex-husband, Jerry, according to WLBT. The outlet reported that according to comments made during Sledge’s sentencing, the two have gotten divorced or are in the process of finalizing their divorce.
However, “hitman”According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sledge who was hired to murder was actually an FBI Special Agent. She met with the undercover agent in Brandon, Mississippi, on Nov. 1, 2021, to provide additional payment and information about her intended victim.
According to the Department of Justice, investigators concluded that she used dark web to hire hitman. She also made three Bitcoin payments to the hitman totaling $10,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, investigators stated that the intended victim was unharmed. Sledge was arrested and waived her rights, admitting to her part in the murder-forhire plot.
According to WLBT, Sledge’s attorney, John Colette, asked for leniency, stating that Sledge was a “first-time offender”With “zero likelihood of recidivism.”
Assistant U.S. attorney David Fulcher refuted Colette’s claims. Fulcher pointed to a transcript of Sledge’s conversation with Colette, which WLBT reported. According to the report, Sledge allegedly said to the agent that she wanted to murder another person.
Fulcher also reported that Sledge said to Fulcher that she was currently in a relationship with another man and that they had discussed marriage after the murder.
According to WLBT Carlton Reeves, a U.S. District Judge, stated that Sledge never expressed any fear or doubts about the murder in their conversations.
“What we have here is a methodical plan to kill her husband,”Reeves spoke according to WLBT. “All of that is very troubling to the court and the law itself.”
WLBT reported that Sledge would complete her sentence at the Federal Bureau of Prison’s women’s facility in Aliceville, Alabama.
Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case.