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‘Needed the job done ASAP.’ Tampa woman accused of ordering killer for ex-lover’s spouse

A Tampa woman wanted the person married to her former lover dead, so she ordered a request for a hitman on the dark web, federal investigators said. When it wasn’t fulfilled, she sent $12,000 in Bitcoin and later asked to “reassign the job to someone who has a history of getting jobs done.”

The Tampa accountant was arrested on charges for soliciting a violent crime and murder-for-hire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

DeAnna Marie Stinson, 50, created an account June 24 on a dark web website designed for murder-for-hire services. The next day she “added to cart” a killer and provided the name, address and photo of the person married to her former lover, investigators said. Within weeks, she placed four more orders and sent $12,000 in Bitcoin for a “quick hit in southern Florida.”

When her requests went unanswered, she persisted, according to prosecutors.

She repeatedly messaged the administrators of the website and hitmen for an update and offered a bonus if they killed the suspect by a specific date. On July 31, she expressed she “need[ed] th[e] job done ASAP” to administrators, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

When law enforcement agents realized Stinson’s unyielding requests for a killer, an agent disguised as a hitman contacted her. Over the phone, Stinson, once more, said she wanted the victim killed and agreed to send additional Bitcoin to prevent the transaction from being traced, investigators said. They said she sent $350 in Bitcoin Sept. 13 for the undercover agent to purchase a gun.

Stinson was taken to a Pinellas County jail after her Sept. 23 arrest, according to records. There was no information listed on bond. She could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.