Norfolk woman denies dark net murder-for-hire plot

A woman has appeared in court accused of trying to pay a murder-for-hire attacker over the dark web to kill a man she is accused of stalking.

Prosecutors say Helen Hewlett, 43, attempted to persuade people logged on to an online “killers market” to carry out the murder on her behalf.

Hewlett, of the Hawthorns in King’s Lynn, is also accused of stalking the man she is said to have wanted dead over an 18 month period.

Appearing before Norwich Crown Court on Thursday (November 17) via videolink from Peterborough prison, she pleaded not guilty to soliciting murder and stalking between January 2021 and August 2022.

The court was told a trial due to begin on January 23 will hear evidence from several expert witnesses, including those specialising in the dark web and Bitcoin.

The so-called dark web or dark net, part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines, includes disturbing websites where people claim to offer killings in exchange for payment in untraceable cryptocurrency.