KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville woman accused of trying to hire a hitman on the dark web to knock off a perceived romantic rival will remain in custody for the moment.
Federal prosecutor Anne-Marie Svolto said Wednesday afternoon in a hearing in Knoxville that the government preferred that Melody Sasser stay in custody because of the seriousness of the charge.
Defense attorney Jeff Whitt waived his client's right to a detention hearing. So, for the time being at least, Sasser will continue as an inmate in the Laurel County, Ky., jail pending trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Poplin ordered Wednesday that Sasser continue to be held for the near future.
Sasser faces a potential 10-year prison sentence if convicted of the murder-for-hire charge, according to Svolto.
Poplin set an Aug. 15 trial date for Sasser Defendants rarely stand trial on a first-trial setting.
Wearing ankle chains, Sasser smiled at Whitt as she entered the courtroom before her hearing Wednesday. She responded briefly when Poplin checked to ensure she understood the government's allegations against her.
Federal agents allege Sasser was ready to spend nearly $10,000 to kill an Alabama woman who had married a man she was infatuated with. She'd met the man on match.com and hiked with him in the Knoxville area before he met his future wife and ended up living in Alabama, federal authorities allege.
According to the government, Sasser used a dark web site called Online Killers Market to shop for a killer. In placing her order, Sasser went by the online name "cattree," documents state.
The site purported to offer services of violence that included kidnapping, disfigurement by acid attack and and sexual violence.
Just how often anyone carried out the requests remains to be seen. Sasser got excuses over several months earlier this year when she tried to get someone to kill the target, records state.
According to the court documents, cattree and the site administrator messaged back and forth several times after she initially placed the order to kill the woman on Jan. 11. They said the most recent message was on April 3, and most messages discussed the status of the "job" and payment for it.
A "foreign law enforcement agency" alerted federal agents about the alleged murder plot April 27.
