A 17-year-old Iowa girl has been arrested after trying to hire a hitman online.
In the early morning hours last Friday, Storm Lake Police Department officers were alerted of a disturbing inquiry made on the website Rent-A-Hitman.com, which contrary to its name, does not actually rent out hitmen. But this kid didn’t know that. According to a news release from the department, they used the site to make a request for the murder of a 7-year-old child!
WTF!
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The inquiry included details about the child like their name, their address, and where the poor, unsuspecting soul could be found. They really wanted this done! Luckily, the website founder turned the troubling request over to law enforcement. From there, an undercover officer posing as a hitman responded to the inquiry, identifying the suspect and confirming they wanted the small child murdered for real, according to the release.
Later that same day around 3:30 p.m., SLPD moved in and arrested a 17-year-old female suspect, eventually collecting even more incriminating evidence through her cell phone. Luckily, the 7-year-old and their family were unharmed, but according to the release, the family had no idea of the looming threat against their youngster. It’s unclear how exactly the 17-year-old and the 7-year-old were connected.
According to the Des Moines Register, the teen was charged with solicitation to commit murder, which is a felony. She is currently being held in the Cherokee YES Center in Cherokee, Iowa, and is due to appear in juvenile court. Her name, and the name of the young victim have not been released as both are minors. As of now, the investigation currently remains ongoing.
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Thank goodness they picked a FAKE site! See, Rent-A-Hitman is a parody site that initially started out as a way to advertise a group of college friends’ computer security company, but it never really took off. However, the domain remained live. Last year, website owner Bob Innes told People that when he checked the site’s inbox years later, he noticed SEVERAL hitmen-related requests — so he began turning over the dangerous solicitations to his local police department. He told the outlet at the time:
“There’s a lot of beneficial information that can be shared to tell adults and children that the internet is certainly not a safe place. There are bad people out there.”
Speechless.
This isn’t the first time a criminal has been caught using the site, as CBS reported back in April that a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman used the site to try and apply for a position as an ASSASSIN. Absolutely wild!
What are your thoughts, Perezcious readers? We’re just glad the poor child is safe.
[Image via KCCI 8 Des Moines]
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