Three sisters are going to federal prison for their involvement in a murder-for-hire plot.
Sandra Grimes was sentenced to 70 months in prison after admitting she plotted to kill her son-in-law during a custody battle with his daughter.
Her two sisters, Judy Owen and Mitzy Smith, were also sentenced for their roles in assisting Grimes with the murder.
Their plan was foiled when the woman they hired to carry out the murder contacted the FBI.
According to the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, the three women approached Rebecca Murphy in February 2024 and asked her to kill Raul Mina, the husband of Grimes’ daughter Irma Nicole Bauer.
At the time, Murphy claimed Owen assisted her in paying a medical bill for her sick dog. Owen then “stated that because she paid the bill, Murphy had to kill Mina,” according to the affidavit.
Murphy claims she drove 200 miles with Owen and Grimes to Louisiana just to pass by Mina’s house before returning to Alabama, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the women told Murphy during this trip that their first attempt to hire a hitman failed when the man they paid $10,000 ran off with the money.
According to the affidavit, Murphy was told that she needed to inject Mina with a fatal dose of heroin in order for him to appear to have died of an accidental overdose.
According to the affidavit, the women gave Murphy the money she needed to buy the heroin to kill Mina, and she returned to Louisiana a week later with Owen.
Murphy eventually backed out after learning Grimes wanted her to murder Mina outside the courthouse, in broad daylight, following a custody hearing, and the women returned to Alabama.
Murphy reported receiving an unregistered gun a few days later.
Murphy then returned to Louisiana for the third time, accompanied by her girlfriend Jessica Montgomery. Because Murphy is a felon and cannot own a firearm, Montgomery was tasked with purchasing bullets for the gun, according to the affidavit.
Murphy continued to collect money from the sisters while delaying the murder, and her relationship with them became increasingly hostile, according to the affidavit.
Murphy refused to carry out the murder or return their money, so the four women stopped speaking.
Murphy told FBI agents about the plot a few months later, and the three sisters, Murphy, and Murphy’s girlfriend were all charged as a result.
Grimes reached an agreement with prosecutors in October, pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire and transfer of a firearm to be used in a felony.
Owen and Smith decided to go to trial, and in January, both women were found guilty on multiple charges. Owen will now serve 120 months in prison, whereas Smith was sentenced to time served.
Murphy and her girlfriend, Jessica Montgomery, were both sentenced to five years in prison earlier this year. Montgomery was sentenced for buying ammunition for a known felon, and Murphy for her role in the plot.