In a recent case that further highlights the unlikeliness of using the Darknet to find a hitman, a Knoxville woman has agreed to plead guilty to hiring a hitman to kill the wife of a man she met on Match.com. She used the now-defunct Darknet Marketplace website “Online Killer’s Market.” She paid close to $10,000 in Bitcoin.
A 47-year-old Knoxville woman agreed to plead guilty to hiring a hitman on the dark web to kill the wife of a man she met on Match.com. Melody Sasser, 47, an environmental compliance specialist attempted to hire the services of a hitman in a murder scheme to kill the wife of her hiking partner.
Sasser began using the now redundant dark website “Online Killer’s Market” in late fall last year. She allegedly acted under the alias “Cattree” and placed a hit on an Alabama resident by the name of Jennifer Wallace. Sasser funded her murder scheme through a series of escrow payments made in Bitcoin, close to $10,000.
The United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Tennessee noted in a press release that “In her communications with the site, Sasser provided photographs and location information of the victim.”
Sasser and her attorney, Jeff Whitt, signed a plea agreement on Monday with federal prosecutors, admitting to one count of murder for hire. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto signed off Sasser’s plea agreement on Tuesday.
What We Know About the Incident
Sasser and David Wallace matched on an online dating site in 2020. The two became close and frequently hiked together in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Wallace, an employee of the US Department of Energy, said that Sasser helped him to tackle the Appalachian Trail that year.
The relationship between the two began to decline after Wallace informed Sasser of his engagement with his then-fiancé, Jennifer. Sasser tracked the couple down to their residence in Prattville, Alabama. She then confronted the couple and said, “I hope you fall off a cliff and die.”
Law enforcement agents believe that Sasser’s intention to kill a woman identified as “J.W” began late last year. From December to April, Sasser became active on the Online Killers Market website under the alias “cattree.”
Homeland Security Investigations first became aware of the murder scheme when a foreign law enforcement agency notified them of the plot. The agency discovered a train of messages between a US user named “Cattree” and the dark web administrator.
Although she changed her name, she didn’t follow much OpSec along the way. Typical for these cases.
The first message Cattree sent to the administrators of the website was Jennifer Wallace’s full name and address in Prattville, Alabama. Cattree then made a series of escrow payments to the website on January 11, worth $9,750 in Bitcoin.
Alongside the transaction, Cattree included a description of how she intended the murder to be executed and information on Jennifer’s life. In a message, she said, “She recently moved in with her new husband; she works at home and in office in Birmingham.”
Federal authorities say it was important for Sasser that the murder to look like an accident. Sasser wrote under the criteria for the hitman contract that “this needs to appear to be random or an accident. Or plant drugs, don’t want a lengthy investigation,” according to documents filed in federal court.
Sasser frequently vented her frustration to the administrators that no hitman had taken the job. On March 22, Cattree sent a message saying “Waiting for 2 months and 11 days, and the work is not done. 2 weeks ago you said that. The work has been done and will be completed in a week. The work is still not completed. Does it need to be assigned to someone else? Will it be done? What is the delay, when will it be done.”
Administrators of the dark website responded by saying that a hitman declined the job offer because it “was too risky.” Cattree then began to post additional information from the Strava workout app, containing J.W.’s hiking routes and daily routines.
On April 27, HSI investigators contacted the Alabama Police Department to warn the couple of the murder contract. Alabama’s police officers began working with the couple to track down the suspect who put a murder contract on their lives.
Jennifer Wallace informed the police that they had received “unpleasant phone calls from a person utilizing an electronic device to disguise their voice.” She also informed the police that she and her husband use a fitness tracking app when they hike.
When questioned by officers about who they suspected was behind the hit, Jennifer identified Sasser as a possible suspect. Jennifer explained her husband’s previous encounters with the suspect and informed them that they used to hike together.
Authorities traced the payments made from Catree’s account and subpoenaed Coinhub. The company provided transactional data and personal information which identified Sasser as ‘Cattree’. Sasser purchased Bitcoin on four occasions through Coinhub ATMs in Knoxville. She then sent the Bitcoin to a digital wallet used by Online Killer’s Market. The phone number provided for the transaction was Sasser’s.
Police also identified Sasser’s 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe in close proximity to Jennifer’s office in Birmingham on November 9 and 14, 2022. Furthermore, police searched Sasser’s Knoxville residence and seized “a stack of U.S. currency”.
Underneath the currency, officers discovered a sticky note that listed a Bitcoin address. Police also found a picture of the victim and a piece of paper listing personal information which was conveyed to the website.
Convicted And In Jail
On 18 May, federal authorities arrested Sasser on an indictment order. Sasser remained in custody at Knox County Jail. If Sasser is convicted, she faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. She is currently detained in Knox County Jail. Her court records indicate that the matter is postponed until December 12. Her arrest was made possible through a combined effort from the U.S. Attorney Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and Alabama Police Department.
This case serves as a stark reminder that using the Darknet to find a hitman is a surefire way to be arrested. There have been very few, if any, documented cases of this actually working out for the person who hired the hitman. In most cases, the person is caught before the “hitman” can carry out the murder, or it’s just a Honey Pot. In this case, Sasser was caught after Homeland Security Investigations received a tip from a foreign law enforcement agency about the plot. Convenient isn’t it?