Washington woman accused of ordering hit on husband
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. - Prosecutors say a 57-year-old Washington woman accused of attempting to recruit two men to kill her husband in 2008 has been charged with solicitation of murder.
Prosecutors say Heidi Smith's 68-year-old husband, Gary Smith, died last year under suspicious circumstances.
Asked by a judge Wednesday whether she understood the accusations, Heidi Smith replied, "Yes, but I didn't do it," the Kitsap Sun reports. Bail was set at $1 million.
Police launched a year-long investigation after the couple's daughter questioned the circumstances of her father's death. Gary Smith had serious health problems but an autopsy showed he died from a drug overdose.
Detectives say Heidi Smith told people her husband was worth more dead than alive and that he had a $1 million life insurance policy.
Investigators say that seven years ago Smith worked at a Department of Corrections work release facility. She's accused of trying to recruit men under her supervision.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Smith talked about wanting her husband taken care of after the two got out, claiming she asked them where they could get a gun and talked about poisoning and baseball bats, reports CBS affiliate KIRO.
One of the inmates refused to take part and went to police reporting the alleged murder for hire, according to the station.
Court documents say she acknowledged talking to a man at the facility about killing her husband but said it was a joke.