On Tuesday, a young Florida woman, Jazmin Paez, aged 18, found herself in police custody, accused of a chilling crime. She allegedly tried to hire a hitman to murder her 3-year-old son, using a satirical website, rentahitman.com, to make her request.
Court records indicate that Paez allegedly sent the website detailed instructions, including her son’s photographs and exact location. Miami-Dade police revealed that Paez filled out an online form on the site, expressing her wish for a hitman to “resolve an issue once and for all.” She allegedly asked for her son to be taken to a remote location, possibly to be killed, as soon as possible.
Paez allegedly used a false name when interacting with the website and chose “Put me in coach” as her code phrase, as stated in the arrest report. The website’s owner, Robert Innes, found Paez’s request unusually detailed and suspicious. Despite receiving hundreds of similar requests daily, Innes found this one particularly credible.
Innes highlighted the meticulous research into names and addresses and the confirmation of the intended victim’s residence as a significant warning sign. Despite initial skepticism from the Miami-Dade Police Department and being directed to CrimeStoppers, Innes continued his attempts to alert the authorities.
A detective was eventually assigned to the case. Investigators, pretending to be the hitman, contacted Paez, who allegedly agreed to pay them $3,000 to execute her son. Paez was subsequently arrested and now faces charges of soliciting murder and unlawful use of a communications device. She is currently held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bail set at $15,000.
The child is reported to be safe and is currently with relatives. The Florida Department of Children and Families has been notified of the situation.
Innes initially set up the rent-a-hitman website as a cybersecurity project, but it has inadvertently led to the arrest of several individuals who failed to recognize its satirical nature. Earlier this year, an Air National Guardsman was arrested for allegedly applying for a hitman job through the site.