Man accused of hiring hitman to kill ex-wife, mother-in-law

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (KUTV) — A man was arrested after he allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife and her mother, possibly in front of their children.

An affidavit states Orane James Spence, 33, made arrangements for his ex-wife to drop off their kids at his house, which is where the crime was to take place.

Spence was arrested on suspicion of criminal solicitation — adult murder, child kidnapping, a first-degree felony.

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On Saturday, detectives with the Unified Police Department were notified by FBI agents about a murder-for-hire scheme.

Spence was allegedly in contact with an identified but confidential source about making arrangements to kill his recently divorced wife and her mother.

The affidavit states that Spence initially contacted the source on Tuesday, April 22, via WhatsApp. The conversation was recorded.

The two spoke in the Jamaican dialect Patois, however, an FBI agent who spoke the language was able to listen in.

Spence told the source he wanted the murder to "look like a drug deal or robbery gone wrong." He mentioned planting drugs in his ex-wife's vehicle "to play into the narrative," the affidavit states. He also wanted to use a silencer or a small-caliber weapon.

Spence reportedly agreed to pay $6,000 up-front and $4,000 after the crime was committed.

"The original $6,000 was to be a cash transfer once the source arrived in the state, and would take place a few hours before the murder," the affidavit states.

The remaining $4,000 would be given once the source had a chance to flee.

FBI agents requested exigent information from WhatsApp about the account Spence was using and received an IP address registered to Spence's name.

At first, Spence only wanted to kill his ex-wife, the affidavit states. He decided he also wanted his ex-mother-in-law killed in a later phone call with the source, for an extra couple of thousand dollars.

Spence told the source that his ex-wife would be dropping off their children on Sunday evening so he could see them. He also claimed he "had something to give her," the affidavit states.

Officers with the Unified Police Department took Spence into custody at his home. Just a few minutes before, however, Spence went back inside and destroyed the phone the conversations took place on.

"It is unknown if the children are also in danger, but they would be present at the meet where the ex-wife would be killed," the affidavit states.

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