Kristy Felkins is seen in an undated photo provided in a criminal complaint filed Sept. 14, 2020.
U.S. District Court
A Nevada woman accused of using the Darkweb and paying $5,000 in Bitcoin to have her ex-husband killed pleaded guilty Thursday in Sacramento federal court to a single count of murder for hire, a charge that could net her 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Kristy Lynn Felkins, 37, of Fallon, Nev., appeared before U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley and entered the plea as members of her family watched from the courtroom gallery.
“I plead guilty, your honor,” Felkins said after Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hemesath laid out the bare essentials of the plot.
According to Hemesath and court records, Felkins used the internet in 2016 to solicit a hired killer to go after her ex-husband in exchange for 12 Bitcoin, which were valued at about $5,000 at the time — and about $480,000 today, according to online currency exchange sites.
Felkins, who is not in custody and told the judge she is a “stay-at-home mom,” was ordered to return to court June 16 for sentencing in the case, which court records say began in February 2016 and involved an effort to kill the ex-husband at his Durham, N.C., home or while he was traveling in Chico.
Felkins was charged in September 2020 with using the online identity “KBGMKN” to place an order on a Darkweb site for the murder of her ex-husband, who is identified in court papers at “VICTIM-1,” court records say.
In March 2016, the online identity paid the 12 Bitcoin “for a hitman to kill VICTIM-1 and make it look like an accident,” the complaint says.
The account user also questioned site administrators, identified in court papers as “ADMIN,” about the safety of using the site, court records say.
“How do I know you are not FBI, they do have the capability to infect ones device and trace them back to their real IP,” KBGMKN wrote., according to the criminal complaint against Felkins. “Just being cautious.”
“We don’t force anyone using our services, we could not, and we do not want to,” someone on the site replied. according to court documents. “You can even buy some cheap laptop just for this job, or declare that your laptop has been stolen, paste some duct tape on your laptop camera if you are afraid of someone hacking into your laptop, use some public wifi, and if ever caught you can say someone stole your laptop and used it to order the murder of someone you know, to frame you and to do you harm.”
Site was a scam, Bitcoin lost
Prosecutors say the site was a scam that since has folded and that Felkins never recovered her Bitcoin investment.
At the time, however, Felkins was assured by someone on the site that her “order is sent” and that the slaying was scheduled for March 14, 2016, court records say.
“Ok, we are all set,” ADMIN wrote, according to the complaint. “The job will be done on Monday morning; please let us know if he goes to work with any other person in the car, that you don’t want hurt, you need to tell us. “Our man will wait him at the address of work, and when seeing him will shot him as soon as he gets down from the car; but if he is not alone bullets can hurt the other person as well.
“Our person will shot several times in chest and head and run; if there is someone important with him that does not need to be hurt please let us know, so the shooter is careful to hit only him.
“Take care.”
More money to make killing look like a mugging
The back-and-forth continued for another month, as the site administrator asked for more money to accommodate the request that the killing look like a mugging gone bad.
At one point, ADMIN advised that another $4,000 was needed to hire a sniper, but KBGMKN responded that she has “already borrow to the end of my limit” and requests that the hit man just wait until VICTIM-1 leaves the house to “shoot him in his car,” court records say.
ADMIN responded that he “will instruct the hit man to do it as you suggested.”
Instead, ADMIN wrote that the hit man was having trouble finding the intended victim and KBGMKN responded, “if you guys can’t do as promised then it’s time for me to stop wasting my time get a refund and figure out another solution,” court records say.
KGBMKN also explained the reason for the hit, writing the the intended victim “mentally, physically, sexually and emotionally abused me,” according to court documents.
“I ran, and then he took my children away from me. He now mentally abuses my children and threatens their physical well being. He is quite the snake and master manipulater (sic)…..”
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 11:27 AM.
Sam Stanton has worked for The Bee since 1991 and has covered a variety of issues, including politics, criminal justice and breaking news.
