SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — On Thursday, a Utah woman who was accused of murder-for-hire pleaded guilty to using the dark web in an attempt to carry out a 2023 crime, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
Krista Renae Stone, 23, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024, to one count of the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, according to court documents.
Between March 2023 and September 2023, documents said Stone used the dark web with the intent of using it to murder someone else.
“Stone further admitted she engaged with a website offering ‘hitman for hire’ type services and ‘ordered’ the killing of the victim,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the release.
When ordering the hitman, Stone included a “detailed description” of the victim — including where the victim was located, a photograph of the victim and “how she wanted the job done” — according to the press release.
In exchange for the murder, Stone agreed to pay and later admitted that she used $5,000 in Bitcoin to complete the order. According to Forbes, $5,000 in United States Dollars would be about 0.073776 in Bitcoin at the current exchange rate.
One Bitcoin is equivalent to more than $67,700, according to Forbes, whereas one USD is 0.000014755 Bitcoin. Each Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million individual units (similar to cents) called Satoshis, according to Forbes.
According to the Department of Justice, Stone’s sentencing is scheduled for July 15 in Salt Lake City. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case and Assistant United States Attorney Carol A. Dain is prosecuting the case.
No further information is available at this time.
Read More: Utah woman admits to ordering ‘hitman for hire’ using dark web, Bitcoin