Woman Uses Craigslist To Hire Hitman To Poison Her Ex-Husband, Offers To Pay $5,000 For Murder

An Oklahoma woman was arrested after trying to use Craigslist to hire someone to travel to Israel and kill her ex-husband with ricin, according to NBC-affiliate KFOR Tuesday.

Danielle Layman, 37, placed an ad on Craigslist advertising a “10 day gig overseas for amateur, competitive pay.” A woman named Tinsley Keefe responded to the ad, and she and Layman met at a Ponca City, Oklahoma cafe on May 9. Layman posted under the alias “Samantha Dowry.”

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During their meeting, Layman said she was an Israeli intelligence agent and explained she was actually seeking someone to murder an Israeli taxi driver. She showed Keefe a PowerPoint presentation titled “Operation Insecticide.”

In the powerpoint, Layman said the “Mission Details” were for the person to travel to Tel Aviv, Israel and hire Layman’s ex-husband as a taxi driver. However, while explaining the plot, Layman claimed the target was an ISIS militant. Each morning, the person would give Layman’s ex-husband, identified as Shahar Abecassis, coffee laced with ricin. Ricin has been identified as a deadly substance and there is no known cure.

“Repeat every morning and monitor the driver’s health,” the “Mission Details” directed. “When your mark is hospitalized (or) eliminated — move to a different hotel or motel until your flight back home.”

The reward for successfully killing the target was listed as $4,000. An amount of $1,000 would be provided before the trip to Israel to account for expenses.

“I was scared from the beginning because right during the meeting, she said if you tell anybody, then we’re both going to be dead,” Keefe said. “She was like, ‘Well, American females, tourists, would be less likely to be suspected of doing stuff.’ She had codes and was teaching me how to do those.”

Keefe declined the position by lying and claiming to be pregnant. She reported the meeting to the FBI. When police searched Layman’s house on June 30, they found castor beans, a key component of ricin. They also found instructions on how to make ricin. She was arrested and charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire, according to court documents.

In a phone call to her ex-husband, she admitted that she ordered castor beans and was planning to turn them into ricin.

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Layman and her ex-husband were engaged in a custody battle, according to the court affidavit. After Layman visited Israel with her 13-year-old daughter in 2014, Abecassis visited a rabbinical court to file for visitation rights. The process also prohibited their daughter from leaving Israel. Layman started a GoFundMe page in order to raise money to allow her daughter back into the United States.

The Craigslist post read:

“For production overseas, looking for talent, 30-45 years old. Doesn’t have to be a professional actor. Required: Creative, outgoing and friendly, positive personality, boldness and bravery (some stunts may seem risky, although they are completely safe), Discrete (you must not disclose any information related to the plot to ANYONE under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, until after it premiers, except with explicit permission from production) valid passport not required but preferred: Experience in acting, Experience in performing in magic shows, Experience as a casino dealer, No need to pass a background check however, no one with drug related convictions or current drug use will be hired. Send resume and cover letter by email and we will contact you to set up interview.”

Layman faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.