An Oklahoma woman has been charged with hiring someone to killer her estranged husband, but she and her supporters say the man set her up.
John Velas told police days before he was found shot to death in a Lawton city park that was told about the plot by a man who said Susen Hunter tried to hire him, according to KWTV.
According to court documents, Hunter solicited a man on several occasions in July to kill Velas, offering to pay him $10,000, a house in Lawton, and to pay off his truck loan, KSWO reported.
The man also told police that someone from Hunter’s family threatened him with a gun when he turned down the offers.
Velas and Hunter were going through an “lengthy divorce,” complicated by multiple properties that they own, police said according to KWTV.
Police responded to Elmer Thomas Park early on September 4 when someone reported shots fired in the area and found Velas dead,.
“Our victim did indicate that someone tried to approach him. A hired hand for the properties, saying hey, I believe your wife wants you dead,” said Lawton Police Sgt. Chris Blessing.
Hunter was arrested and charged with solicitation for first-degree murder.
But Hunter told the television station that she didn’t do it, that she was the victim of domestic abuse, and that Velas set up cameras at their home to records her every movement.
“Count them cameras, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,” she said. “There are twelve cameras aimed at me and my house.”
Court documents reveal that Velas violated multiple restraining orders, KSWO said.
Hunter also told KWTV that the man who told Velas she tried to hire him was a disgruntled tenant on a property she managed. The owner of that property, Michael Montgomery, said that Hunter hired him to provide security because Velas frequently followed her and took pictures of guests and their vehicles.
“It’s either a coincidence or it was something he setup to frame her,” said Montgomery.
While police have arrested Hunter for solicitation, they have not said if they have a suspect for the murder.
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[Featured image: Susen Hunter/Comanche County Jail]
