FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACTAUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885

MAY , 2007

DELAWARE WOMAN SENTENCED IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE SCHEME

Met with “Hit-Man” at Maryland Rest Stop

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Lucille Thorn, age 50, of Wilmington, Delaware, today to six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for traveling in interstate commerce to commit a murder-for-hire, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Bennett also ordered that as a condition of her supervised release Thorn was to have no contact with the intended victim or the victim’s family.

According to the plea agreement, from November to December 5, 2006, Thorn solicited an individual to murder her stepmother. Unbeknownst to Thorn, that individual was a confidential informant. After several meetings with the confidential informant, Thorn met with an undercover agent posing as a “hit-man” at the Maryland House Rest Area on Interstate 95 in Harford County, Maryland on November 22, 2006. During this meeting, Thorn told the “hit-man” that she wanted to kill her stepmother. Thorn stated that she did not have money to pay for the murder in advance, but would pay the agent from proceeds of checks to be extorted from her stepmother before her death.

On November 29, 2006, Thorn traveled with the informant to her stepmother’s residence in Pennsylvania and took pictures of the residence with a disposable camera. The next day at the Maryland House rest area, Thorn provided the photos of her stepmother’s house to the “hit-man,” as well as a complete physical description of the intended victim and driving directions to the home. Thorn instructed the “hit-man” to force her stepmother to sign several checks totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars before she was murdered.

On December 5, 2006, Thorn was told that the murder of her stepmother had been accomplished. She met with the “hit-man” at the Maryland House rest area, who told her that her stepmother was dead and that the murder was made it look as if the victim had suffered a heart attack. Thorn was shown digital photos of her stepmother, who appeared in a death-like pose, and given several checks which the intended victim had signed. Thorn was then arrested.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Tonya Kelly Kowitz, who are prosecuting the case.