From left: Sisters Mitzy Gaye Smith, Judy Owen and Sandra Grimes face charges in a murder-for-hire conspiracy in Alabama. (Mug shots from Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office)
Three Alabama sisters are accused of trying to hire a woman to inject one of their sons-in-law with a lethal dose of heroin but did not care if he was stabbed or shot as long as the job was done.
Mitzy Gaye Smith, 54, Judy Owen, 61, and Sandra Grimes, 57, face federal charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, conspiracy to transfer a firearm to be used in a violent crime and use of interstate commerce facilities to commit murder for hire, according to court documents.
The plot came to light this month when a woman came forward to the FBI, saying her neighbor, Smith, and her sisters wanted the husband of Grimes’ daughter dead, court documents said.
The informant said Grimes told her that her son-in-law had assaulted Grimes’ daughter and their children and drugged her, forcing her to have sex with others, according to court documents.
Grimes allegedly drove with Owen to Louisiana to show their would-be killer the home of their intended target, passing by the location several times.
Grimes and Owen allegedly told the woman that their target was a drug user, and they wanted her to inject him with a lethal dose of heroin. They also allegedly said they did not care if she had to slit his throat “as long as she got the job done,” the documents said.
They told her they had already paid a man $10,000 for the murder, but he ran off with the money, court documents allege.
The woman agreed to the plan but demanded more money, court documents said. Owen gave her $350 in cash for the heroin after she had allegedly paid for the would-be killer’s sick dog’s $500 veterinarian bill in February, court documents said.
On a second trip to Louisiana, Owen allegedly wanted the woman to murder the intended target outside a courthouse where he and Grimes’ daughter had a hearing regarding child custody issues, court documents said. The alleged would-be killer refused the request, saying it was daylight and there were too many cameras, court documents said.
After that trip, Smith allegedly delivered to the woman a box with Christmas decorations. At the bottom of the box was a 9 mm Phoenix Arms handgun with an obliterated serial number and a magazine with three bullets, court documents said.
When she received the gun, “she then knew the sisters were serious about the scheme,” court documents said.
Using fake names, Grimes and the woman exchanged text messages about the scheme, court documents said. Grimes allegedly sent her $1,010 for the hit and reimbursement for a hotel stay, food and expenses in Louisiana via the Cash App, court documents said.
“U stab him in the heart at the door or shoot his a– in the heart or face,” Grimes texted the informant in one message this past March, court documents alleged.
Dom Soto, an attorney for Smith, told Mobile, Alabama’s NBC affiliate WPMI that he questions the FBI informant’s credibility, who he said was an admitted drug user with at least five felony convictions. Court documents said the informant is a felon prohibited from possessing a firearm.
“There’s three sisters that are being tied together by the allegations made by a person who carries a lot of baggage as far as prior criminal history,” he told the station.
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