Kelly Harper, Murder-for-Hire, Wisconsin 2021

A Columbus woman has been sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for her role in a murder-for-hire plot.

Kelly Harper, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley on January 12, 2021, after pleading guilty to using the Internet with the intent that the murder of a known individual be committed in exchange for bitcoin.

The charges against Harper stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and Sun Prairie Police Department.

According to court documents, a group of journalists informed a known victim that they were investigating murder-for-hire sites on the dark web and provided the victim with copies of chat messages between an unknown subject and the murder-for-hire website administrator.

The messages revealed that the unknown subject, later identified as Harper, had given the administrator detailed information about the victim, including a photograph, place of employment, and vehicle description, and had directed the administrator to kill the victim.

Agents from the FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office executed a search warrant at Harper’s residence and found screenshots from a murder-for-hire dark website, as well as one of the pictures Harper sent to the murder-for-hire website administrator.

Harper admitted to paying bitcoin to the murder-for-hire website administrator in order to have the victim killed.

The charge against Harper is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and Sun Prairie Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma prosecuting the case.

Kelly Harper, the defendant, is a 38-year-old resident of Columbus, Wisconsin.

Exact criminal charges: Using the Internet with the intent that the murder of a known individual be committed in exchange for bitcoin.

City and state: Madison, Wisconsin.

Exact date: January 12, 2021.

Sentence or outcome: 72 months in federal prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwi/pr/columbus-woman-sentenced-72-months-role-murder-hire-plot