Police said 25-year-old Elsy Rodriguez-Garcia, of Huntington Station, appeared in court Tuesday to face charges in the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
[Ads /]
She was apparently outraged that her ex-husband wanted a divorce, so she allegedly attempted to hire a hitman. They had separated in January.
Prosecutors said the mother of two was allegedly under the impression that the murders would bring the couple back together.
"The defendant told the co-conspirator that she wanted to have them disappear, so that her ex-husband would spend more time with her and their child. She believed the targets were visiting Ecuador and insisted that the murders be carried out in Ecuador because the chances of detection and prosecution would be less. She was surely mistaken," said Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini.
[Ads /]
Prosecutors said she had agreed to pay $6,000 after seeing photos doctored by police of her ex-husband's mother and daughter dead. In reality, they were never harmed.
"I think if we sit back and sort of let the evidence play itself out that we'll find that the crime that the DA's office is charging her with could never have been committed," said William Ferro, Garcia's defense attorney.
Ferro suggested his client was tricked by her ex-husband's own brother, who acted as a go-between.
"I believe that he duped her into this entire thing," Ferro said. "That's what the evidence will ultimately show - that she's not capable of committing a crime of this magnitude."
Garcia is charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy.
She's being held on $750,000 bail.
----------
* More Long Island news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube