Norfolk woman to stand trial over 'murder-for-hire plot'

A woman accused of seeking someone online to kill a man she is said to have been stalking is to stand trial.

Helen Hewlett, 43, is said to have attempted to persuade people logged on to a so-called “killers market” on the dark web to carry out the murder on her behalf.

Prosecutors say she sought to pay some in cryptocurrency Bitcoin to carry out the murder-for-hire plot.

Appearing before Norwich Crown Court on Thursday via videolink from prison she was told she will stand trial next week after the completion of preparation work and identifying expert witnesses, including those specialising in the dark web and Bitcoin.

Hewlett, of the Hawthorns in King’s Lynn, has previously pleaded not guilty to soliciting murder between January 2021 and August 2022.

She also denies stalking over an 18 month period the man she is said to have wanted dead.

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.