A Merrill woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill a Wausau attorney to whom she is engaged is being held on a $250,000 cash bond.
Jessica Anne Strom, 33, appeared Monday in Marathon County Circuit Court on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide, a felony that carries a maximum 60-year prison term.
Police were tipped off Wednesday to the murder-for-hire plot by a confidential informant who told them that Strom asked him to kill her fiance and fly to Door County to dispose of the victim’s body, according to a criminal complaint. The informant is a licensed pilot who met Strom several years ago while the two were taking criminal justice courses, according to the complaint.
After contacting police, the informant met with Strom on Thursday evening at a cafe in downtown Wausau, where Strom detailed a plan for the informant to make a bogus appointment at the intended victim’s law office, “blow his brains out and walk out,” according to court documents.
Strom offered sex and $1,000 as payment for the hit, according to the police report.
Strom provided the informant with a diagram of the law office and told the informant he should buy a gun “off the street” and buy a silencer “for extra credit,” according to the complaint.
