A man from Howard County has been arrested and charged with trying to pay an undercover officer $15,000 to murder his wife.
A Laurel, Maryland, man is facing an attempted first-degree murder charge after police say he offered an undercover detective posing as a hit man $15,000 to kill his wife.
Howard County police say they received a tip that 36-year-old Aafaq Manejwala was looking for someone who was willing to kill his wife. Manejwala and the detective met three times in March to discuss the murder.
"We were fortunate in this case because we received a tip. We got information from that this man from Laurel had been looking for someone who would be willing to kill his wife for money," said Sherry Llewellyn, a spokeswoman for Howard County police.
Police said Manejwala wanted it to look like a botched home invasion robbery. He showed the fake hit man a picture of his wife and took him to their townhome in a gated community on Polished Pebble Way, police said.
"As soon as he began to offer money and information that made it very evident that he was serious about this homicide we began pursuing it that way. So, now there'll be additional investigation, but we don't know the motive at this point," Llewellyn said.
Manejwala paid a portion of the $15,000 Tuesday, and told the detective he would make another payment Friday. Police say he was taken into custody and charged at that time.
Manejwala has been charged with solicitation of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. He is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.
