Lady pleads responsible to homicide, says desperation over youngster custody drove her to it crime

Kelly Harper was distraught, she said, because no one would listen to her allegations of child molestation against a man she’s accused of trying to kill him, so she went to a murky corner of the internet called the dark web to find someone to find one that does the work.

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Harper, 38, of Columbus, pleaded guilty Thursday as expected, according to an agreement she signed earlier this month. As part of the pact, she agreed to a six-year federal prison sentence on murder charges.

Court documents claimed Harper tried to hire someone to kill an individual not identified in the documents in December. They also point out that she paid another dark website for murder in October, but Assistant US Attorney Chad Elgersma said Thursday the earlier solicitation turned out to be a fraud.

Wearing an orange Sauk County prison uniform with ankle cuffs, Harper spoke softly as she told U.S. District Judge William Conley that she was going through a custody battle with the person, identified only in court and in case documents as a “known victim,” KW. ” She claimed he had been mentally and physically abusing her children “for years”.

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Harper’s divorce record was sealed by Dane County District Judge Jacob Frost after Harper’s arrest. But before it was sealed, Harper’s ex-husband filed a letter stating he was the intended target of the hit-and-run.

harpers

DANE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Harper told Conley that when she tried to report the abuse, “nobody would listen.”

“It was my divine right as a mother to protect my children,” Harper said.

Finding herself “desperate” and “in a dark place,” she went on the dark web “and tried to hire someone to kill KV,” she said.

When Conley approached her shortly afterward, she replied, “I plead guilty, Your Honor.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Conley must sentence Harper to six years in prison if he accepts the agreement. If he doesn’t, Harper is free to withdraw her guilty plea.

Conley ordered an attendance report to provide him with background information that would help in deciding a verdict. Sentencing was set for September 30.

Portions of Harper’s divorce file, obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal before it was sealed, discuss allegations of abuse by Harper, noting that many were investigated and not substantiated or referred to prosecutors who declined to press charges.

At one point in March 2020, according to a report in the divorce record, a judge told the former couple he would end Harper’s custody if she continued to make false allegations of child abuse against her ex-husband. He also warned both parents to stop the “ugly talk” about each other to their children. “It stops now,” said then-district judge Richard Niess.

In court on Thursday, Elgersma said the investigation into the 2020 assassination contract began after a group of “international journalists” investigating assassination websites on the dark web discovered a chat between a website administrator and “Malik8,” later known as Harper was identified, had been encountered, discussing a possible deal.

The site admin was to be paid in bitcoin, and a screenshot of Harper’s $5,633 bitcoin wallet was sent. An initial payment of $1,438 was also made, Elgersma said.

Malik8 told the admin in the chat “the target must be killed,” and provided information about the target’s name, place of work, phone number, and other information. Malik8 had stated that she was reluctant to send the money until the target was killed, as she had been scammed the previous October.

The journalists contacted the intended victim along with the Sun Prairie Police Department and the FBI. Harper’s home was searched Feb. 5, where investigators found a picture from an MS-13 murder-for-hire site, Elgersma said.

Fort Atkinson woman charged with grandmother’s murder and arson of her home tops recent notable crime news

Fort Atkinson woman charged with arson and manslaughter in grandmother’s death, discovered after fire

A Fort Atkinson woman told police she killed her 72-year-old grandmother and alleges the elder said she wanted to die by covering her nose and mouth with duct tape, according to court documents.

Then, five days later, Elizabeth M. Durkee told police she set fire to her grandmother’s bedding, which set the house on fire, according to a criminal complaint

8-year-old boy dies in rollover accident on I-39/90 in Dane County; Driver faces OWI

An 8-year-old boy died after a single vehicle rollover on Interstate 39-90 near Highway 51, the Wisconsin State Patrol said.

Four other children in the accident, including a 3-year-old, were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. A Honda minivan crashed into I-39/90 near Stoughton, lost control and rolled over several times

Wisconsin State Patrol

Update: A man dragged from the Yahara River by ‘heroic’ bystanders may make a full recovery, authorities say

A man was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries after bystanders pulled him from the Yahara River, the Monona Fire Department reported.

Monona Fire Chief Jeremy McMullen later said the man was recovering better than expected and there was hope he would make a full recovery.

EMILY HAMER, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES

Alleged shooter in Beloit murder case arrested; 3 charges in dispute over car sale

Beloit Police have arrested a third man in connection with a June 7 murder.

Journee R. Weathers Jr., 19, of Beloit, surrendered to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and is being held on $250,000 in cash bail, according to court records.

Beloit Police Department

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