A Miami mother is facing charges after police said she went onto a parody website to request a hitman to kill her toddler son.
According to arrest documents, 18-year-old Jazmin Paez went on rentahitman.com and requested a hitman to kill her 3-year-old before the end of the week.
The website owner, Robert Innes, told NBC6 Miami he receives hundreds of similar solicitations a day. However, this request was very specific. Paez allegedly sent pictures of the boy and the exact location of where the child was going to be.
Innes said the website was once for a cybersecurity company, but over the years he’s received random requests for services. In April, a Air National Guardsman was arrested for allegedly using the website to apply to be a hitman.
Many of the requests are people seeking fake services, but Paez’s request looked too real, Innes said.
"The ability to research names and addresses and verify the intended target lived in a particular address. That to me is a red flag. If that information is corroborated, to me that is something that needs to be looked at and that’s why I referred it, “ said Innes.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
Innes said he called the Miami-Dade Police Department three times to try and report the incident to their non-emergency number, but police kept referring him to CrimeStoppers.
Innes initially said on Wednesday that he contacted CrimeStoppers USA - not affiliated with Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers - who he said warned they would send a cease-and-desist letter to him.
On Thursday, Inness corrected his statement and said he never contacted CrimeStoppers USA or Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers on this case. He said he only called the Miami-Dade Police non-emergency number and on the third try that’s when a detective was assigned.
As for the threat of a cease-and-desist letter Innes clarified it was CrimeStoppers USA who emailed him the cease-and-desist warning earlier this year about other crimes he’s reported in the past.
In response, CrimeStoppers USA Chair Chris Cameron told NBC6 “After repeatedly telling Robert we were not interested in sponsoring his site, we asked him to not contact us about that again. We work with the community to help solve crime therefore rentahitman does not meet our values and mission as they try to entice the bad guys to reach out to them."
Innes said he is thankful his report was eventually taken seriously and appreciated what Miami-Dade Police did.
Paez was arrested Tuesday on charges of soliciting murder and unlawful use of a communications device. She was given a $15,000 bond and ordered to stay away from the child.
Family members told NBC6 the toddler is safe and with relatives. The Florida Department of Children and Families was notified, according to records.
