TRENTON, N.J. — A Pennsylvania woman is accused of traveling to New Jersey to hire a hit man to kill her ex-husband’s current wife, as well as the woman’s 13-year-old daughter.
Marilyn Zhou, 56, of Chadds Ford, is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of money laundering. She remained jailed in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Mercer County prosecutors allege that their office’s special investigations unit learned earlier this month that a woman was looking for help with a murder-for-hire plot. Authorities set up a meeting between Zhou and an undercover officer posing as a hit man.
On the morning of Dec. 18, Zhou met with the officer in Trenton and told him she wanted to kill her ex-husband’s current wife, according to a news release. She gave the officer $21,000 in cash and promised him another $20,000 once the job was done.
Zhou provided him with color photos of the alleged target, disposable nitrile gloves and a towel for use during the killing.
“She also told the undercover officer that if the victim’s 13-year-old daughter was present at the time of the murder, she should also be murdered,” prosecutors said in the news release.
Moments after the meeting with the officer ended, Zhou was taken into custody.
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Members of the investigation team helped Pennsylvania state troopers search Zhou’s home later that night, the news release said. During the search, they found items Zhou had suggested the hit man use in the crime.
They also found and seized $18,000 in cash from her home.
Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to keep her jailed until trial.
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