Just another day on the dark web.
Buying revenge services on the Dark Web is nothing new at the platform. We reported in the past about the undeniably dark trend of hiring people to fulfill someone’s desire to seek revenge. However, hiring a hitman through the Dark Web to murder someone is a relatively novel occurrence, and the FBI has confirmed the news.
Reports suggest that in mid-2018 someone using the alias Mastermind365 accessed the Dark Web site titled Camorra Hitmen and requested for kidnapping the 20-year old science fiction writer Alexis Stern. Just a week later, the person asked to murder Ms. Stern instead of kidnapping and paid £4,500 in bitcoin.
The 24-year old British accounts clerk Adrian Fry, who is the ex-boyfriend of Ms. Stern is being investigated for placing an order to murder her. Allegedly, the Bath, Somerset-based Mr. Fry paid to locate and kill his ex-girlfriend who lives in Big Lake, Minnesota.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security took over the case but couldn’t identify the person using the alias Mastermind365.
The case was revived again with the involvement of a British IT expert and white-hat hacker Chris Monteiro; who is apparently a pro at hunting down assassination services on the Dark Web.
Monteiro managed to gain access to some of the orders placed on Camorra Hitmen and the details were shared with Ms. Stern.
See: DarkWeb site collecting funds to assassinate Trump & Pence
When inquired regarding the possible suspect, Ms. Stern took the name of Mr. Fry. Her suspicion was based on three points of observation. Firstly, Mr. Fry wrote thank you as one word ‘thankyou’ and Mastermind365 also wrote it the same way.
Secondly, Mastermind365 wanted to buy a gun, which he didn’t need to if he was accessing the Dark Web in the US. Thirdly, the date of changing the request from kidnapping to murder in June 2018 is exactly the same on which Ms. Stern informed Mr. Fry that she was seeing someone else.
The news was published in the US-based Harper’s Magazine and Mr. Fry was stunned that Ms. Stern has named him as a probable suspect.
While speaking with MailOnline, Mr. Fry explained that the two met via common friends in 2015; they dated for two years and called it quits in 2017. Most of their time together they kept in touch through Skype and Mr. Fry visited Ms. Stern only thrice in two years. Mr. Fry stated that he was stunned to know that Ms. Stern has named him as the suspect.
“I’m traumatized and hurt that she would even think that it could be me. I would never think of killing anyone, I’ve never so much as harmed a fly. I don’t even have any significant savings and there’s no way I could afford to pay £4,500 to have somebody killed. This whole thing is just ridiculous” stated Mr. Fry.
He did admit that the couple parted on “bad terms” but he had never thought about killing her. He added that they parted ways because Ms. Stern didn’t want to relocate to the UK.
Apart from categorically denying his involvement in the murder conspiracy, Mr. Fry said that he had no idea about the Dark Web and has never accessed it.
“I don’t know anything about the dark web and I wouldn’t know how to access it. The only IT training I’ve received is for accounts systems” Mr. Fry told MailOnline.
Mr. Fry claims that he had forgotten about Ms. Stern and was surprised to see his name appearing in Harper’s article.
See: How a Woman’ Fitbit Fitness Tracker Helped Solve Her Murder Case
Whether Mr. Fry is involved in the plan to kill Ms. Stern or not, the actual point of concern is that the Dark Web marketplaces are allowing to offer services that put people’s lives in danger.
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