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A woman who allegedly attempted to solicit the murders of her unsuspecting, “prominent Canberran” parents through the dark web is behind bars after UK-based journalists alerted police to the apparent plot. Police have charged the 26-year-old woman, who cannot be named, with six offences including two counts each of attempted murder and inciting “unknown persons” to commit murder. Detective Acting Sergeant Beth McMullen said on Tuesday that the journalists had been stumbled upon unsettling information while researching a series on the dark web. They emailed ACT Policing in October with allegations about “a person who had made a payment online and provided details as to how to target the victims”. “Police will allege that the woman agreed to pay an amount of $20,000 [for the murders] and that she made a payment of approximately $6000 towards that order [in September],” Detective Acting Sergeant McMullen said. “We obtained a lot of evidence that assisted us to arrest the woman yesterday. “A lot of that involved tracking her online activity and forensically examining her bank records.” Detective Acting Sergeant McMullen said the woman appeared to have been motivated by “financial gain”, and that the targets of the alleged killing plot had been unaware of any threat to their safety. “When police spoke to the victims, they were named as targets on the [dark web] site,” she said. “They were very shocked and understandably concerned about the information that police had obtained. “They co-operated with us fully, and we took a number of steps to ensure their safety.” Detective Acting Sergeant McMullen said police were still investigating the origins of the dark web site, and the identity of whoever had received the $6000 alleged down payment. She said, however, that the website appeared to have been “fraudulent” and that it seemed to have been taken offline. This, the detective said, had led police to believe there was no ongoing threat to the safety of the woman’s parents. “This is not a matter that has cropped up in the ACT previously, but we do have experience in investigating online crime, and certainly we have specialists in that realm,” she said. After police arrested the woman and seized computer equipment from a home in Fadden on Monday, the 26-year-old briefly appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. She was formally charged with attempting to murder her parents on September 24, and inciting “unknown persons” to commit murder on the same date. The 26-year-old was further charged with the theft of $15,000 from her parents’ home in O’Malley during an alleged burglary three days earlier. It is not clear whether she is alleged to have used this money to make the down payment for the planned murders of her parents. The woman did not enter pleas or apply for bail on Tuesday, but her Legal Aid lawyer Chris Brown told the court that the woman might seek bail in a fortnight. Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter formally refused bail, and granted prosecutor Anthony Williamson’s application to have the identities of the woman and her parents suppressed amid ongoing police investigations. Mr Williamson told the court the woman’s parents were “prominent Canberrans” and their identification in connection with this case would cause them “considerable humiliation”. The woman, who was marked as a prisoner at risk because of her history of mental health issues, is due back in court on December 22. Police have urged anyone with information about the matter to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously, quoting reference number 6658661.
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A woman who allegedly attempted to solicit the murders of her unsuspecting, “prominent Canberran” parents through the dark web is behind bars after UK-based journalists alerted police to the apparent plot.
Police have charged the 26-year-old woman, who cannot be named, with six offences including two counts each of attempted murder and inciting “unknown persons” to commit murder.
Detective Acting Sergeant Beth McMullen said on Tuesday that the journalists had been stumbled upon unsettling information while researching a series on the dark web.
They emailed ACT Policing in October with allegations about “a person who had made a payment online and provided details as to how to target the victims”.
“Police will allege that the woman agreed to pay an amount of $20,000 [for the murders] and that she made a payment of approximately $6000 towards that order [in September],” Detective Acting Sergeant McMullen said.
“We obtained a lot of evidence that assisted us to arrest the woman yesterday.
“A lot of that involved tracking her online activity and forensically examining her bank records.”
Detective Acting Sergeant McMullen said the woman appeared to have been motivated by “financial gain”, and that the targets of the alleged killing plot had been unaware of any threat to their safety.
“When police spoke to the victims, they were named as targets on the [dark web] site,” she said.
“They were very shocked and understandably concerned about the information that police had obtained.
“They co-operated with us fully, and we took a number of steps to ensure their safety.”
Detective Acting Sergeant Beth McMullen speaks to the media on Tuesday morning. Picture: Karleen Minney
Detective Acting Sergeant McMullen said police were still investigating the origins of the dark web site, and the identity of whoever had received the $6000 alleged down payment.
She said, however, that the website appeared to have been “fraudulent” and that it seemed to have been taken offline.
This, the detective said, had led police to believe there was no ongoing threat to the safety of the woman’s parents.
“This is not a matter that has cropped up in the ACT previously, but we do have experience in investigating online crime, and certainly we have specialists in that realm,” she said.
After police arrested the woman and seized computer equipment from a home in Fadden on Monday, the 26-year-old briefly appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.
She was formally charged with attempting to murder her parents on September 24, and inciting “unknown persons” to commit murder on the same date.
The 26-year-old was further charged with the theft of $15,000 from her parents’ home in O’Malley during an alleged burglary three days earlier.
It is not clear whether she is alleged to have used this money to make the down payment for the planned murders of her parents.
The woman did not enter pleas or apply for bail on Tuesday, but her Legal Aid lawyer Chris Brown told the court that the woman might seek bail in a fortnight.
Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter formally refused bail, and granted prosecutor Anthony Williamson’s application to have the identities of the woman and her parents suppressed amid ongoing police investigations.
Mr Williamson told the court the woman’s parents were “prominent Canberrans” and their identification in connection with this case would cause them “considerable humiliation”.
The woman, who was marked as a prisoner at risk because of her history of mental health issues, is due back in court on December 22.
Police have urged anyone with information about the matter to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.
Information can be provided anonymously, quoting reference number 6658661.
