Melody Sasser of Knoxville, Tennessee, accepted a plea deal for 100 months in prison after hiring an online hitman to kill the wife of a man she met on a dating website in 2023. Sasser paid nearly $10,000 in Bitcoin through the dark website ‘Online Killers Market’ to have the hit carried out. She registered under the username “cattree” and reached out to the website administrator to place her request. Her instructions were for the murder to appear random or accidental, or to plant drugs to avoid a lengthy investigation. The target, identified only by the initials JW, lived in Prattville, Alabama with her husband DW, whom Sasser claimed to have met on Match.com.
After two months passed with no progress on the hit, Sasser began leaving threatening voicemails on JW’s phone using an app to disguise her voice. She also used an exercise app called Strava to track the couple’s locations. When she noticed JW would be on a two-mile walk, she messaged the website administrator to inquire about the delay in completing the hit. The dark website Sasser used not only offered hitman services but also other criminal activities such as hacking, kidnapping, extortion, disfigurement by acid attack, and sexual violence. Law enforcement uncovered a journal at Sasser’s home listing multiple hitman websites, as well as a handwritten history of communications with the Online Killers Market and a stack of U.S. currency with a note detailing a Bitcoin address.
A federal grand jury indicted Sasser on June 7, 2023, for using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. In addition to her 100-month prison sentence, Sasser was ordered to pay over $5,000 in restitution. Details emerged about Sasser’s relationship with DW, whom she had apparently helped on a hike along the Appalachian Trail before he moved to Alabama and married JW. Despite no information on what motivated Sasser to target JW, her actions reveal a calculated and dangerous plot to harm someone she perceived as a rival in a romantic relationship.
The case raises questions about the use of dark web platforms for criminal activities and the need for increased awareness and monitoring of these sites by law enforcement. The extreme lengths to which Sasser went to carry out her plan, including tracking her victim’s movements and repeatedly contacting the hitman website for updates, demonstrate the dangerous potential of these online services. The targeting of JW, an innocent victim in this scheme, highlights the real consequences of such actions and the importance of swift and effective law enforcement intervention.
Ultimately, the justice system held Sasser accountable for her actions by securing a significant prison sentence and financial penalty. The case serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of online platforms that facilitate criminal behavior and the importance of vigilance in detecting and preventing such activities. By bringing Sasser to justice, law enforcement sends a powerful message that such crimes will not be tolerated, and perpetrators will be held accountable to the full extent of the law. Moving forward, efforts to combat the misuse of dark web platforms must be a priority to protect potential victims and prevent further harm in the future.
