Two brothers convicted of child support and alimony payments for contract killing of elementary school teacher

CNN
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An Alabama man and the brother he hired to kill his ex-wife to avoid paying child support and support were sentenced Wednesday, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jason Starr, 50, and his brother Darin Starr, 54, plotted to kill Jason’s ex-wife Sara Starr after a judge ordered Jason to pay her a “significant portion” of his income following their divorce, according to prosecutors. Sara Starr was shot and killed outside her home in 2017.

The jury found them guilty of racketeering murder, and prosecutors say they face life in prison.

“There is no perfect crime,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Wendell told CNN affiliate WTVY after the verdict. “You’ll get caught. They will be prosecuted.”

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Jason, whose net income was about $6,700 a month, was required to pay $2,550 a month in child support and child support to Sara, with whom he had four children, WTVY reported, citing court records.

Over a period of approximately two months beginning in September 2017, Jason Starr sent approximately $2,600 to his brother Darin, who lived in Texas. During the trial, the jury concluded that the money was “payment for the murder of his ex-wife,” the DOJ press release said.

On Thursday, Darin Starr’s attorneys, J. Carlton Taylor and Aimee Cobb Smith, told CNN via email that “we believe the verdict in this case was the result of emotion and speculation rather than evidence.” “

“Darin Starr intends to exhaust all remedies available at law to overturn his conviction,” his attorneys added.

CNN has reached out to Jason Starr’s lawyers for comment but has not yet heard back.

Sara Starr was a 38-year-old elementary school teacher and mother of two sets of twins at the time of her murder, WTVY reported. Court records show that she divorced Jason in July 2017 and that they shared custody of their children.

Cell phone records showed that Darin Starr traveled from Texas to Coffee County, Alabama, shortly before Thanksgiving in 2017 and was very close to his brother’s ex-wife’s home several times, according to the DOJ press release.

“At around midnight on November 27, 2017, Darin Starr’s phone was turned off. “Approximately seven hours later, Darin Starr shot and killed his brother’s ex-wife in her driveway as she walked to work,” the press release continued. “Darin Starr turned his phone back on around 8:00 a.m. while driving back to Texas on I-10.”

During the trial, her defense attorneys told jurors that investigators had not found a murder weapon or an eyewitness to the crime, WTVY reported.

According to the Justice Department, both men’s sentencing hearings will take place in the coming months.