CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) – A Culpeper County woman pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire plot that started after she saw a dark web ad about a hitman who could “kill any person you want as long as it is not a president or very important person that is guarded by the military.”
Annie Nicole Ritenour faces 36 to 87 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.
Ritenour, 27, set up an account with the website that put out the ad on the dark web, placing an order with the title “shoot and get away” in June 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
She included a photo of the intended target, a description of his vehicle, his license plate number, his work address and when he would be at work, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I am just looking for a simple quick job,” Ritenour wrote in the order, according to prosecutors. “The address of the person will be best place to make the target, as it is his workplace. He works 6am to 3 pm Monday through Friday.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ritenour made three Bitcoin payments totaling $3,200 to the site’s “escrow account.” Before the balance of the payment could be made, prosecutors said she was arrested.