Nev. woman sentenced for trying to hire hit man on the dark web to kill her ex-husband

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TCD) -- A 38-year-old Nevada woman will spend five years behind bars for sending bitcoin to a supposed hit man on the dark web in an attempt to have her ex-husband killed a month after their divorce in 2016.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced Kristy Lynn Felkins’ sentencing for the murder-for-hire plot on Thursday, July 20. A federal jury previously indicted Felkins in September 2020.

According to a criminal complaint, Felkins began communicating with a hit man on a website called Besa Mafia in February 2016 and regularly contacted the administrator until May 2016.

Besa Mafia, which is no longer in operation, reportedly offered various services, such as murder, kidnapping, and assault, in exchange for cryptocurrency. However, the website was a scam that never carried out the offered services.

In March 2016, Felkins reportedly sent 12 bitcoin, which was worth around $5,000 at the time, to have her ex-husband killed and to "make it look like an accident."

According to the criminal complaint, Felkins provided her ex-husband’s home address and car and other location details.

After receiving payment, the website’s administrator reportedly confirmed the job would be done and that the intended victim would be "shot several times in the chest and head."

Around March 12, 2016, the criminal complaint said Felkins reached out and asked the administrator if they could make it appear like a "mugging gone wrong," and the administrator asked for an additional $4,000. Felkins reportedly wrote back and asked to have the killing carried out as originally planned.

According to the complaint, the administrator kept pushing back the murder-for-hire date, and Felkins provided travel details, stating that her ex was in Chico, California. The website administrator claimed the hit man could not locate the intended victim, and Felkins grew "frustrated." The criminal complaint said she wrote back, "If you guys can’t do as promised, then it’s time for me to stop wasting my time."

In April 2016, Felkins reportedly said her ex would be in North Carolina, and she asked the administrator to send picture proof that the hit man was surveilling the victim. The administrator sent a photo, which Felkins believed to be from Google Street View, the criminal complaint said. For the next few days, the administrator reportedly continued to "string" Felkins along and failed to send the requested photos. Felkins eventually stopped communicating.

According to the criminal complaint, Felkins and her ex-husband got married in Butte County, California, in 2004, separated in November 2014, and divorced on Jan. 29, 2016, in North Carolina.

Prior to the attempted murder-for-hire plot, Felkins reportedly emailed a man she met on Craigslist and spoke to him about how her ex-husband "mentally abused her throughout their marriage" and physically abused her toward the end of their relationship. According to the criminal complaint, Felkins sent a similar message to the hit man website.

Felkins was never refunded the bitcoin she sent.

MORE:

• Nevada Woman Sentenced to 5 Years Prison for Hiring Hitman on Dark Web to Kill Her Ex-Husband — U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California
• Nevada Woman Indicted for Hiring Hitman on Darkweb to Kill Her Ex-Husband, 9/24/2020 — U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California
• Criminal Complaint, 9/14/2020 — U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California