Georgia Woman Sentenced for Murder-for-Hire Plot

NORFOLK, VA—Enid Albertha Collins, 48, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for her role in a murder-for-hire plot targeting her ex-husband.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Collins previously pled guilty on December 6, 2011.

According to court documents, Collins and her ex-husband, who lives in Virginia Beach, have twin 16-year-old daughters. Collins’ ex-husband has primary physical custody, and Collins had been ordered to pay child support. In April 2011, Collins attempted to find someone to kill her ex-husband. Collins contacted a Hampton man who in turn contacted local authorities and became a cooperating witness.

Collins returned to Georgia and began conducting a series of phone calls to the cooperating witness to finalize the arrangement. Recorded phone conversations revealed that Collins wanted her ex-husband killed after he delivered the daughters to her for their summer vacation at a pre-arranged location in Concord, North Carolina. She specifically instructed that her ex-husband was to be murdered while he traveled back to Virginia Beach from Concord, North Carolina on July 1, 2011. Collins agreed to pay $1,500 for the services and to send $400 for the purchase of a handgun to be used in the killing. Collins was arrested by the FBI on July 1, 2011, at the Cracker Barrel in Concord, North Carolina.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Virginia Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.