Netherlands Man Tried to Hire a Hitman on the Darkweb

A 37-year-old man from The Netherlands admitted paying a hitman on the darkweb to kill his ex-wife. Twice.

Updated: Sentencing information added at the bottom of the article.

The first murder-for-hire site scammed him. Undeterred, he searched for and found another site offering murder-for-hire services. He hired a second hitman through the site. The second site, likely a part of the same network of fraudulent murder-for-hire sites as the first site, also failed to deliver on the deal.

“Fortunately for [the ex-wife], the man dealt with scammers who only helped him get rid of his money,” the Public Prosecution Service said in an announcement about the arrest.

Conversations with the scammer behind the second site did lead to his ultimate arrest, however. Law enforcement in the United Kingdom became aware of the identity of the defendant through an undisclosed method. Historically, these cases have all developed the same way: an individual who hacks murder-for-hire sites on the darkweb identifies customers and sends the suspect’s identity to law enforcement.

Authorities in the United Kingdom passed information about the suspect to law enforcement in the Netherlands. Dutch police subsequently arrested the man and placed his ex-wife and children in protective custody. After the arrest, the police learned that he had spent months attempting to hire a hitman on the darkweb.

The defendant admitted he had attempted to have his ex-wife killed. He claimed their stressful divorce had pushed him to the decision.

The Public Prosecution Service wants the defendant to spend ten years in prison for the attempted murder-for-hires.

The defendant was sentenced to eight years in prison for attempting to hire multiple hitmen to murder his wife.