Sports Direct Worker Sentenced in Murder for Hire Case

The Sports Direct worker who tried to hire a hitman on the darkweb to kill her coworker has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Whitney Franks, 27, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for trying to hire a hitman on the darkweb. The court heard how Franks had posted on the darkweb in an attempt to have her coworker Ruut Ruutna killed for £1,000 in Bitcoin.

Previously: Sports Direct Employee Convicted of Soliciting Murder

Franks and Ruttna were both having sex with the same man, James Prest. Prest, a Sports Direct manager, had a significant other and two children.

BBC journalist Carl Miller found two posts on the darkweb and reported them to the police, who later linked the posts to Franks. In court, the prosecutor read part of one of the posts:

" ‘I’m looking for the murder of a woman. I have £1,000 and I am willing to pay more. This woman has caused a lot of problems for myself and others. Please can you help sort this out.’"

The posts included Ruutna’s address and Facebook profile.

The next day, Franks posted again under a different pseudonym. She included Ruutna’s name, address, Facebook details, and Twitter handle, writing: “Murder needed, please let me know if you can help with my budget in any way.”

After police investigators saw the message, they took Ruutna to a safe house and asked her about the posts. She told them she had a hunch that Franks had posted the messages. Police arrested Franks.

In court, Franks denied the solicitation of murder charge but admitted that she had posted the advertisement. She said she had developed an interest in darkweb murder-for-hire sites after watching true crime documentaries. She told the court that she had suspected the site was a scam but wanted to “prove it” to satisfy her curiosity.

Judge Dugdale said: “In this case there was no risk of any injury to Ruut Ruutna. Whitney Franks had come across a scam website, one that was going to take her money and do nothing in return for it. But she didn’t know that.”

Franks will serve 2/3 of her sentence before she can be released on license.

A jury previously convicted Franks of soliciting to murder.

Sports Direct worker jailed for trying to hire hitman to kill colleague in love triangle | www.mirror.co.uk, archive.is