Michigan woman who used Rent-A-Hitman in attempt to have ex-husband killed sentenced to prison
SOUTH ROCKWOOD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Michigan woman is headed to prison after using a website called "Rent-A-Hitman" to try to have her ex-husband killed.
Wendy Lynn Wein, 52, of South Rockwood, pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder and using a computer to commit a crime after reaching out to the bogus website for its services.
READ: Behind the bogus website a Michigan woman thought would have her ex-husband killed
Wein was sentenced to 7-20 years in prison on both counts. Those sentences will be served concurrently, and she will be credited for the 545 days she has been in jail.
Her plea deal conditions allowed for a minimum sentence of no more than nine years.
Before being told her sentence, Wein spoke in court. She said she takes full responsibility for what happened. She said she was struggling when she committed the crime after losing eight family members.
"I am not making excuses for myself. I simply wanted to let you know where my head was," she said.
Judge Daniel White said he took Wein's mental health into consideration when determining the sentence, however he also noted that he took into account that she sought out the hitman website.
Wendy Wein
Authorities said Wein used a pseudonym when trying to solicit the murder of her ex-husband on July 17, 2020. When she got to the end of her "service request," she entered her real information, though.
However, Wein didn't give her information to people who would come and kill her ex. Instead, she provided her details to Bob Innes, a California man who started the website as a class project in 2005.
After created the website, he left it alone for several years. When he returned, he saw numerous inquiries from people seeking hitmen and started informing police.
Wein believed she was communicating with Guido Fanelli when she reached out to the website. Really, she was talking to Innes, who called Michigan State Police.
An undercover detective met with Wein and posed as someone from Rent-A-Hitman.
During that meeting, Wein said she would pay $5,000 to have her ex-husband killed, and provided his home address, work address, and phone number. Later that day, she met with the detective to give them a $200 down payment.
Wein was arrested and charged after that meeting.