Richland couple arrested in murder-for-hire case

A Richland couple who tried to hire a hit man to kill the woman’s ex-husband were arrested Saturday during an undercover investigation, the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said.

The man and woman, who have not been identified, were booked into the Yakima County jail on suspicion of solicitation to commit murder.

A news release from sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Mike Russell said an unidentified person contacted the sheriff’s office Tuesday saying the man, 49, and woman, 33, wanted to hire someone to kill the woman’s ex-husband, who lives in Vancouver.

The sheriff’s office obtained text messages that backed up the informant’s story, then received a warrant from a judge allowing investigators to record phone calls involving the two suspects. Intercepted phone calls indicated the couple wanted to find “a hit man that would be willing to carry out the murder” of the ex-husband, who is 36, the news release said.

The couple met with an undercover officer posing as a hit man Saturday.

“During this recorded meeting the male and female repeatedly expressed the great desire for the killing of the victim in a way that neither he nor his remains would ever be found,” the news release said. “The male and female suspect gave documents including photographs and addresses of the intended victim as well as a map to the intended victims home and a diagram of the interior of his home with an assurance that a key and garage door opener to the home would also be provided.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Richland couple arrested in murder-for-hire case."