Woman Accused of Paying $24,000 for Hitman to Kill Former Lover Who Rejected Her

A woman in the United Kingdom is on trial for paying a hitman $24,000 to murder a former lover who rejected her romantic advances. Helen Hewlett, 43, allegedly stalked and harassed former work colleague Paul Belton and was "utterly fixated" with him for years, culminating in her conspiring to have him killed. She also reportedly went out of her way to accuse him of wrongdoing in a reported attempt to damage his reputation and ruin his life. Here's how she got caught.

Hewlett and Belton met while working at the Linda McCartney vegetarian frozen food factory in Fakenham, Norfolk. Belton and Hewlett reportedly had a flirtation, which led to "intimate touching and kissing" in a car. 

Belton "immediately regretted" this behavior and made it clear he wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with Hewlett. He ended up quitting his job and moving to work at a different factory—but Hewlett followed him and got a job at the same place.

Belton reportedly had to block all communication with Hewlett, which included sexually explicit emails and abusive messages. Hewlett also made false accusations of sexual harassment and homophobic comments against Belton, lodging these complaints with factory bosses. 

Hewlett's behavior took an even darker turn when she allegedly used all her savings to buy Bitcoin so she could hire someone to kill Belton. She reportedly put an order into a Dark Web site called "Online Killers Market," looking for a hitman. Hewlett transferred $24,000 into an online account as well as full details on Belton, including his work and home address, picture, and full name.

According to prosecutor Marti Blair KC Hewlett told the hitman: "It's vital it looks like an accident." Hewlett was caught after someone tipped off the police as to her actions. They discovered she had been doing online searches for fatal accidents to see if Belton had been killed as planned. The trial continues.