00:00:01
Now, a special two-part [music] edition of 48 Hours. >> I really hadn't even heard of the dark
00:00:16
[music] web before. >> It's just scary. It's a [music] scary movie to me. >> This is terrifying. And it's as easy as
00:00:27
going to Amazon, a few clicks, and you could hire a hitman. >> You go to the website and you send an
00:00:40
email. Who you want dead, who you want hurt. They'll tell you how much money it's
00:00:47
going to cost, >> [music] >> and you pay for it. >> Well, the dark web is everywhere.
00:00:54
[music] It's all over the world. It's got no borders. >> I'm very familiar with the dark web and
00:01:11
all the cyber crime it contains. >> I discovered there's a lot of sick people out there.
00:01:21
There are people around the world in danger. And I had to do something about it.
00:01:31
>> On the dark web, everybody's anonymous. It's like a parallel internet, and sometimes we call it the internet's evil
00:01:37
twin because it is a place of absolute lawlessness. What makes it dangerous is that it can't
00:01:46
be policed. >> On the dark web, you can buy and sell drugs. >> Any drug you want.
00:01:53
>> You can buy weapons. >> Human trafficking. >> Pornography of the most depraved types.
00:02:01
>> And sometimes I've seen people trying to kill people. >> Hit men for hire advertise their
00:02:06
services on the dark web. >> Cosa Nostra is the proven legitimate deep web eBay of crime. We offer you
00:02:12
services to beat up, set fire, or kill customer targets. >> Hi, my name is Yura.
00:02:20
We have hundreds of gang members, criminals, and people who love to kill for money. They are anonymous. You are
00:02:27
anonymous. So, come and get rid of those nasty problems. >> This is deadly serious. This is talking
00:02:36
about the murder of a human being. >> You know, when you pay $10,000 to get someone killed, these are dangerous
00:02:45
people. >> These are messages from the user known as Dog Day God, one of the most
00:02:53
notorious users of the website. >> What's the first sentence [music] that Dog Day God writes?
00:03:01
>> I'm looking to hire you for a hit. >> 911, what's the address of the emergency?
00:03:07
>> I think my wife shot herself. There's blood all over. >> Took me about 6 minutes to get to the
00:03:17
house. >> It soon became clear that it was not a suicide. Someone had killed her.
00:03:26
She was a devoted wife, a loving mother, >> [music] >> who had many friends. >> I mean, my friend was taken
00:03:35
from me. It's like road rage 10 times, but through the internet. That's just too close to me.
00:03:47
It scares me to death. >> Tonight, we're going to take you on one of the strangest journeys ever on 48
00:03:55
Hours. It's a murder investigation that begins not far from here in small-town Minnesota and then takes us
00:04:04
to here in Texas, here in California, to here in Tennessee, to 4,000 mi away here
00:04:13
in London. 48 Hours explores the alarming world of murder-for-hire on the dark web and
00:04:21
follows the story wherever it leads to expose an international criminal organization and hunt for a murder
00:04:28
mastermind across the globe named Yura. >> How recently has Yura [music] threatened
00:04:37
your life? >> Well, he I think it was about a week ago. I'm going to take [music] this guy down.
00:04:44
>> I will be waiting for you on the deep web. >> [music] >> 48 Hours: Murder on the Dark Web,
00:05:08
reported by Peter Van Sant. >> [music] >> A hit man marketplace is like any other
00:05:23
auction site. It brings customers and vendors together. >> You're looking at a man who says he's
00:05:30
behind an international murder empire named Besa Mafia. He calls himself Yura. His real name is
00:05:41
unknown. >> Any hit man is welcome to sign up, but not all will be accepted. >> His website invites would-be killers to
00:05:51
send him hitman audition tapes. What you are about to see can't be verified because it was anonymously
00:06:00
posted online. Is this a real hit? >> If one searches online for I quote shot dead on street one will
00:06:10
find plenty of news about people being shot dead in the street by unknown people that should and leave the site.
00:06:17
Those are our hitmen. We will be waiting for you to come place your orders and get rid of your
00:06:30
problems. >> Yura's ominous brand of high-tech terror extends from an unknown location to the
00:06:37
smartphones, [music] tablets, and laptops of middle America. In fact, we discovered Yura and his hitman-for-hire
00:06:45
website while investigating the shooting death of Amy Allwine in the Minneapolis suburb of Cottage
00:06:53
Grove, Minnesota. Amy and her husband, Steven, both 43, seemed to live a quintessential American
00:07:02
life surrounded by friends, >> [music] >> family, and dogs. Lots of them. >> Yes, good boy.
00:07:10
Nice job. >> Amy ran a dog training business while Steven, [music] a freelance IT expert,
00:07:18
worked from their home. They were college sweethearts, married in 1996, [music] and eventually adopted
00:07:25
a young boy. Joseph is now 10. >> When she talked about her son, her face changed.
00:07:31
>> [laughter] >> From happy to happier, if that's possible. >> Always thinking of others, Amy was the
00:07:38
salt of the earth, says her friend, Jane Sharp. >> You could look in her eyes and just see
00:07:44
good. >> Faith was important, too, says Washington County Prosecutor, Jamie Cryser.
00:07:51
>> They were members of the United Church of God, as were all of their family members.
00:07:56
>> Steven, a respected elder in the church, delivered sermons, >> [music] >> counseled couples, and even made videos
00:08:03
with Amy demonstrating dance moves that complied with their conservative religious beliefs.
00:08:11
But sometime, somewhere, warm-hearted Amy Allwine had made an enemy. In the spring of 2016, long before we
00:08:21
began our investigation, the FBI learned about a murder-for-hire site called Besa
00:08:27
Mafia, people paying for other people to be killed, and began looking into it. Pouring over that treasure trove of dark
00:08:36
web data, FBI agents were startled to learn that dozens of people had ordered contract killings all over the world.
00:08:45
But one in particular stood out. Someone using the chilling screen name, Dog Day
00:08:52
God, had ordered the assassination of a woman in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Her name?
00:08:59
Amy Allwine. >> It was a case where the FBI had approached us about some concerns
00:09:06
regarding Amy and and threats on the internet. >> Cottage Grove Police Captain, Randy
00:09:11
McAllister. >> Dog Day God says, "I need this [ __ ] [music] dead, so please help me." There
00:09:19
was an urgency. >> Right. >> Dog Day God is sort of chomping at the bit for this to happen.
00:09:24
>> Dog Day God said, "Amy has ruined my life and [music] stolen my business." >> Eileen Ormsby, an Australian writer and
00:09:32
CBS News Consultant, learned about the Allwine case while researching a book about the dangers of the dark web.
00:09:40
>> So here we have hacking services, stolen PayPal's and credit cards. The dark web
00:09:45
is the name that we give to the group of websites that can't be accessed using Google or any of your normal search
00:09:52
engines. >> [music] >> You need to download special software and then it opens up this new world to
00:09:57
you. The technology behind it was actually developed by the US military to hide military secrets. So
00:10:08
that sort of security obviously offers criminals great security as well. >> The killing of Amy Allwine had been
00:10:16
ordered on that hitman website Besa Mafia. >> Yura is the owner of Besa Mafia and
00:10:24
subsequent websites [music] that are the most profitable group of murder for hire sites that have ever
00:10:29
existed. [music] >> Ever existed? >> Ever existed. >> Ormsby's research led her to a
00:10:34
like-minded colleague half a world away in London. Chris Monteiro, IT specialist
00:10:40
by day, white hat hacker by night, had also found Besa Mafia. >> If you pass the barrier of having paid
00:10:48
money to get someone killed, you are mentally committed to doing that. >> Chris didn't want us or our footage to
00:10:55
reveal the location of his apartment. >> The people who had used this website are
00:11:01
in many cases dangerous people. >> Cuz these are people who genuinely want to have someone else murdered.
00:11:06
>> Yes. And in many cases are paying significant amount of money for this. >> Dog day God spent a lot of money to have
00:11:13
Amy Allwine murdered. >> Dog day God wanted her dead badly enough to pay Yura and the Besa Mafia site more
00:11:21
than $12,000 in the digital currency Bitcoin. >> Bitcoin is an online currency. >> Even financial transactions are made
00:11:30
anonymously on the dark web, says prosecutor Kryzer. >> Bitcoin is untraceable because when you
00:11:38
use Bitcoin, it is done through what is called a wallet. >> And so, once I get a Bitcoin wallet, I
00:11:45
can use that to pay for these services on the dark web. >> That is correct. >> Even murder?
00:11:50
>> That's right. >> With the hit against Amy bought and paid for, [music] the FBI had to tell her and Steven the
00:11:58
frightening news. >> I believe it was May 31st of 2016. I was called >> Cottage Grove detective Terry Raymond
00:12:05
rode along with the FBI that day. >> Well, we brought her into an interview room. You had to ask the the question,
00:12:13
Amy, do you know anyone in your life who would want you dead? >> Right. >> And she didn't.
00:12:19
She was completely shocked and had no clue who it could possibly be. >> Raymond says at the time the FBI never
00:12:27
mentioned [music] anything to him or the Allwines about Yura, Base a Mafia, or Dog Day God.
00:12:34
But they told her there was a murder for hire plot against her on the dark web. >> It was the FBI's investigation.
00:12:42
They have people that are familiar with the dark web. Other than an extra patrol
00:12:46
thing, it's not something we would get involved in. >> The authorities advised Amy and her
00:12:51
husband to beef up their home security and then left. >> They installed a video surveillance
00:12:57
system and they purchased a a pistol. So, they had taken steps. >> And Amy Allwine from that point on lived
00:13:06
with this knowledge that someone wanted her dead. >> Then, 2 months later, in July 2016,
00:13:14
Amy got another death threat. This time sent directly to her. >> Amy, I still blame you for my life falling
00:13:23
[snorts] apart. Here is what is going to happen. I will come after everything else
00:13:28
that you love. >> Suddenly, the [music] threat to kill hung over Amy's entire family, including
00:13:35
her son Joseph, then 8 years old. >> Here is how you can save your family. Commit suicide.
00:13:42
So, why not do it now and save them? Now, how seriously do you take this threat?
00:13:51
>> You have to investigate [music] it as much as you can. Uh the problem is the email was sent
00:13:57
from was anonymized, so it was untraceable. >> And so, the house is up here on the
00:14:02
left. [music] >> But, someone did want Amy Allwine dead. And soon enough, she would be.
00:14:09
>> 911, what's the address to the emergency? Dispatch 4315. >> I'm en route 4315.
00:14:34
>> I'm en route to 110th Street. >> Sergeant Gwen Martin was just starting the night shift on November 13th, 2016,
00:14:41
>> 911, what's the address to the emergency? >> when a 911 call came in that made many
00:14:47
on the Cottage Grove Police Department drop what they were doing. >> The caller was
00:14:53
telling them that a female had shot herself. >> I think my wife shot herself. There's
00:14:58
blood all over. >> We're getting the squad cars, and we start going to the scene. The
00:15:04
adrenaline is pumping, the heart's beating fast. >> As an 18-year veteran patrol cop and
00:15:10
experienced paramedic, Martin says she was trained to be ready for anything. But, nothing had prepared her for a
00:15:17
message she received from dispatch about halfway through her 6-minute drive to the scene.
00:15:23
>> I knew it was Amy. >> Martin had grown fond of Amy Allwine after teaching her in an 8-week course
00:15:30
for citizens to learn about law enforcement [music] and emergency services. They'd last seen each other
00:15:36
just [music] 2 weeks earlier at graduation. >> My my heart stopped. No, this isn't possible. Amy
00:15:46
wasn't suicidal. Amy was happy. She had a husband. She had a son. What possibly could be going on?
00:15:56
>> As Martin rounded a final curve on the pitch-black country road, the tail lights of first responders at the scene
00:16:04
appeared in her windshield. >> And that's the house there. >> Yep, that's the house there.
00:16:11
>> She says she entered the house still hoping that the female might be someone other than Amy.
00:16:17
>> And what did you see? >> I saw Amy lying on the floor, a pool of blood, a blank look on her face.
00:16:25
Obviously dead. >> Amy Allwine was sprawled on the bedroom floor. Her eyes were open, her pants
00:16:33
partially unzipped. >> And I started crying. My mind is spinning. I was whirling
00:16:41
um with disbelief, with shock. >> Martin called [music] Captain Randy McAlister at his home. He rushed to the
00:16:48
scene, passing the Allwine's son, Joseph, outside the house. The boy was being comforted by his father, Steven.
00:16:56
>> Did you happen to notice or did any of the officers describe his demeanor? >> At that point, um
00:17:03
no. He appeared calm to me. >> McAlister says he expected to find a suicide. >> [music]
00:17:10
>> But once in the house, his nose detected something strange. A pumpkin was roasting in the kitchen.
00:17:18
>> So, the notion would be that Amy Allwine put a pumpkin in the roaster, put it in the oven,
00:17:25
and then shot herself. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> So, that was really odd. >> It doesn't look like a suicide.
00:17:33
>> Amy's gunshot wound was easy to miss at first, a single bullet hole inside her
00:17:39
right ear. The Allwines' pistol was lying in [music] the crook of her left arm, which was perplexing because Amy
00:17:47
was right-handed. >> How did her hand end up under the bed and the gun end up on her left arm?
00:17:53
>> Then, McAllister studied the bloody scene around Amy. >> I noticed what we called satellite blood
00:18:01
drips that were actually outside of the blood pool. >> At some point, Amy's head was suspended
00:18:08
above those drops. >> Meaning, prosecutor Jamie Cryzer says that someone may have moved her body to
00:18:15
this spot. And when the crime scene team did a Luminol test, looking for invisible blood stains,
00:18:22
>> it's lit up like a Christmas tree. >> Bloody footprints, too faint to be seen
00:18:27
with the naked eye, suddenly appeared everywhere. >> They went back and forth to the mud
00:18:34
room, but they also went into the bathroom on the main floor, and they went into the son's bedroom.
00:18:42
>> There were no immediate suspects. Amy's son was just a kid. Her husband, Steven,
00:18:48
had helped beef up security at the house after the FBI's warning. Even bought a gun.
00:18:55
He agreed to be questioned down at the police station. >> We were a normal family. There's nothing
00:19:02
Nothing we need. Nothing strange. >> The thing that stood out for everybody, I think, is his demeanor.
00:19:08
>> Came back up for lunch. >> Even though Steven Allwine had made that 911 call, McAllister says Allwine was
00:19:16
oddly calm for someone who had just found his wife shot to death. Even when he started crying at one
00:19:23
point, >> It was so weird and seeing him do that. Because Because it was with both
00:19:31
I guess I don't even know what she was going through. I don't know what >> It just seemed kind of fake to me.
00:19:40
>> Allwine told police he'd spent the morning working in his basement. He says when he came up for lunch, Amy wasn't
00:19:47
feeling well. >> She was coming down with something. >> Allwine said he'd given their son to
00:19:53
Amy's parents for the afternoon. >> He left the house at roughly 5:30 p.m. to go pick his son up from the
00:20:00
grandparents' house. >> From there, Allwine says he took his son for dinner and then drove home.
00:20:08
>> And the son apparently went right to the master bedroom to look for his mom and found her on the floor.
00:20:16
>> 911, what's the address of the emergency? >> When when people call 911, they're usually calling for help.
00:20:23
>> I need help. I need an ambulance. I I need the police. >> They're in utter shock, despair. I need
00:20:29
help. And his first line wasn't asking for help. >> I think my wife shot herself. There's
00:20:36
blood all over. >> It was more of a statement. >> As the 911 call went on, Stephen
00:20:43
Allwine's distraught young son, who discovered his mother's body, had questions.
00:20:49
>> Why did she >> I I don't know. I don't know, Bud. Come here. >> He then asked,
00:20:55
>> Are we going to remarry? >> I don't know, Bud. >> Mhm. I'm so sad. >> Did you hear
00:21:06
what I heard? what seemed like a chuckle? >> Yeah. >> There was nothing funny in that room in
00:21:11
that scene. >> Nothing funny at all. >> Although Steven Allwine's behavior seemed fishy in the 911 call and police
00:21:20
interviews, McAllister said there was no apparent motive for him to kill his wife. And there was no definitive
00:21:28
evidence linking him to the death scene. >> At that point in your mind is this a
00:21:36
murder case? >> I'm thinking it's a murder case. I just don't know who done it. >> Amy Allwine's husband, Steven, called
00:21:59
911. I have it here. >> I don't even want to hear her son, um >> The poor little boy.
00:22:09
>> Jane Sharp is furious that authorities who knew about the dark web hitman threat against her friend Amy Allwine
00:22:17
didn't [music] do more to protect her. >> I think they failed her. They failed her.
00:22:22
>> So at when you arrive at the residence, there's not a sense of the husband might
00:22:27
be someone we should really keep our eye on. >> No, we didn't discuss any of that.
00:22:32
>> Terry Raymann and Randy McAllister from the Cottage Grove police say this was
00:22:37
the FBI's case. The feds took the lead that day. Local police say they did [music]
00:22:43
everything they could for Amy, warned her to take security precautions, and increased patrols in her area.
00:22:50
>> You can't park a car indefinitely outside of somebody's house unless you have more specific information.
00:22:56
>> We wanted to ask the FBI about the Allwine case, but the bureau declined our request for an interview.
00:23:04
Since 2015, Chris Monteiro had been sounding the alarm about dark web murder-for-hire sites. He'd been writing
00:23:12
online articles to argue that many hitman sites were phony. In 2016, he says he noticed someone had
00:23:20
edited one of his posts about Besa Mafia, insisting it was real. >> This is Yura doing this?
00:23:27
>> Yes. >> And so, he's basically saying, "This guy's not right. Don't listen to him."
00:23:31
>> Yeah. You can have people killed. >> Yeah. >> An online argument ensued. The sniping
00:23:37
continued for months until Chris says he received a chilling video from Yura in his inbox.
00:23:44
>> And in this video is someone holding up a piece of paper with my domain name.
00:23:49
And there's a big flame, and a car's being torched. It was very uh very surreal. At this point, I didn't
00:23:55
know what to do. >> Chris called a lawyer the next day. In the following weeks, as the threats from
00:24:02
Yura continued, he sought help and support from his online community, including author Eileen Ormsby in
00:24:10
Australia. >> Did you interpret this as a threat upon Chris's life? >> Yes, we both did.
00:24:16
>> Chris also saw it as a declaration of war. >> I was going to take this guy down.
00:24:22
>> That was easier said than done. Yura's sites were encrypted, and he regularly
00:24:27
changed their names. >> To customers, law enforcement can't easily close our site because the IP is
00:24:35
hidden. Hosting is hidden. >> Then, Chris developed a special computer code to hack into the Besa Mafia site.
00:24:44
>> So, you're able to see all the communication that's gone between customers and Yura himself and his
00:24:50
responses. What are you discovering? >> I discovered there's a lot of sick people out there, and many cases being
00:24:56
very graphic about how they want the person to suffer. I would like this person to be shot and
00:25:04
killed. I have very strong motives to kill my daughter. Do you know where I can hire someone to
00:25:11
rape another person? Do you pour acid on my target? If so, how much does it cost?
00:25:17
>> Did you come across someone who used the handle dogdaygod? [music] >> Yes, I did.
00:25:24
>> The target in this kill order was Amy Allwine. Chris found scores of messages
00:25:29
between dogdaygod and Yura discussing how, where, and when the hit would take place.
00:25:36
>> What did dogdaygod want done? >> The target killed whilst they were on a particular given date.
00:25:43
>> Dogdaygod writes, "I am looking to hire you for a hit." Yura writes back, "We
00:25:49
can plan the hit when you are traveling outside the city for a day or two. This makes everyone know you could not be the
00:25:56
murderer." Dogdaygod again, "The target will be traveling out of town to Moline, Illinois. What is the
00:26:04
price in Bitcoin for a hit and ideally making it look like an accident?" "Normal killing by gunshot is $5,000,"
00:26:13
Yura responds. "Killing to make it look like accident is $5,000 plus max 4,000."
00:26:21
>> It's all organized. It's all ready to go. Yura is offering everything here except airline miles, it seems, for this
00:26:28
hit. >> Dogdaygod has a a very intimate knowledge of Amy's whereabouts, her movements, and what she's going to be
00:26:35
doing at any one time. >> And Ormsby says dogdaygod's messages with Yura, which began about 9 months
00:26:42
before [music] Amy Allwine died, make clear that as time passed, dogdaygod had grown impatient about having the hit
00:26:51
carried out. March 20th, 2016. "I want her gone. I need her gone." Chris says he was so concerned about the
00:27:02
hitman's sights, he contacted the FBI. >> I spoke to an agent then and explained
00:27:07
the situation. >> He admits he didn't get into specifics about any plot in particular and says
00:27:14
the conversation went nowhere. He eventually gave up trying. >> This would take over my life even more than it has.
00:27:23
>> But Chris's life was turned upside down in January 2017 when he learned about
00:27:30
Amy Allwine's death. >> I was so upset when I found out and this is exactly what I tried to stop.
00:27:39
It's really bit difficult. >> Very painful for you. >> Back in Minnesota, police had been
00:27:45
investigating Amy's death since the day her body was discovered. They'd made an unusual find in the basement where
00:27:53
Steven had an office. >> He had a lot of very advanced electrical and computer equipment.
00:27:59
>> I heard there was as many as 66 [music] electronic devices down there. I mean,
00:28:04
did it look like mission control? >> Yeah. >> It was a lot even for an IT professional
00:28:10
like Steven Allwine and investigators unearthed startling cyber evidence in his email.
00:28:17
>> Steven Allwine had been going on a website called Ashley Madison. It is a website for married people
00:28:27
seeking extramarital affairs. >> A hack of a controversial social networking website
00:28:33
>> Ashley Madison, whose client list was leaked in 2015, publicly shaming some of
00:28:38
the most rich and powerful adulterers in America. >> How do you think she would have taken
00:28:44
that news? >> She'd have crushed. >> Jamie Chryser says Steven Allwine's position in [music] the church would
00:28:54
have been in jeopardy if he divorced Amy. >> Steven Allwine had dated at least three women through different
00:29:02
[music] internet forums. Those relationships ranged from a date to a prolonged sexual relationship.
00:29:10
[music] >> This is one of those women and read for yourself, their texts could never be
00:29:17
heard in church. >> That goes to motive in that Steven Allwine did not want to be married
00:29:23
anymore. >> The incriminating evidence against Steven Allwine was growing. They discovered Allwine had been shopping on
00:29:31
the dark web for an anti-nausea drug called scopolamine. >> Taking a large amount of scopolamine
00:29:40
would render you helpless, essentially. >> Had he pulled the trigger himself or hired a hitman from Yura's website?
00:29:52
Yura claimed Amy's shooting was arranged on Besa Mafia in this video diary he sent us.
00:29:59
>> The Besa Mafia hitman visited the Allwine residence and shot his wife using her gun and then left the location
00:30:06
in a hurry. >> Either way, Amy's autopsy showed an enormous amount of scopolamine in her
00:30:13
system. >> In in high enough amounts it can kill you. >> In spite of the scopolamine in her
00:30:18
system, in spite of the messages to the hitman's site, Randy McAlister was lacking absolute proof that Steven
00:30:26
Allwine was involved in Amy's death. Could someone else have used Allwine's computers?
00:30:33
>> I really didn't latch on to Steven Allwine as the suspect until December 12th.
00:30:40
>> December 12th, 2017. That's the day McAllister got a call from another investigator who had just
00:30:47
made another crucial discovery. >> Stephen moved from being the grieving spouse of Amy
00:30:54
to the suspect in her murder. >> I've worked on many murders in my career. This one [music]
00:31:15
far and wide the most complex, trying uh case I have ever worked on as a prosecutor. [music]
00:31:23
>> On December 12th, 2016, authorities in the Allwine investigation caught their
00:31:29
biggest break of all. >> Is there a smoking gun in this case, in your opinion? >> There is a smoking gun in this case.
00:31:37
>> Prosecutor Jamie Cryzer says the smoking gun was a 34-character code in a message
00:31:43
from Dog Day God paying for Amy's murder in Bitcoin. That digital currency that people on the dark web often use to buy
00:31:52
and sell anonymously. The problem for Steven Allwine was that the code was on his computer.
00:32:01
Cryzer says it could not have been a coincidence. >> So, in the end, who is Dog Day God?
00:32:09
>> Dog Day God is Steven Allwine. >> The man who swore to God that he would love, honor, and cherish Amy Allwine is
00:32:18
[music] now suspected of sending her to an early grave. >> We know he tried to hire a hit man to kill her.
00:32:29
We know he tried to poison her. He tried to get her to kill herself with these emails. That didn't work.
00:32:39
>> Prosecutors say after waiting for 9 months, Steven Alwine was so frustrated that the hit hadn't happened
00:32:47
that he shot his wife to death himself using that nausea drug to render her helpless and the gun he'd bought for
00:32:55
their personal protection. >> Hi there. I'm Michelle French 48 Hours. >> Steven Alwine was arrested on January
00:33:02
17th, 2017 on murder charges. >> [music] >> He hired defense attorney Kevin Devore.
00:33:10
>> Let's get right to it. Did Steven Alwine murder his wife, Amy? >> No. >> If he didn't, who did?
00:33:21
>> Well, there were threats that were being made directly to Amy Alwine on the internet.
00:33:27
>> Devore claims authorities had tunnel vision from the start focusing on Steven
00:33:32
Alwine and [music] ignoring other possibilities. >> Now, investigators say, "Nice try with
00:33:38
that, but Steven wrote all those emails. It was Steven who sought to hire a hit man."
00:33:47
>> That's what they say, but they didn't provide us with any proof that he sent those emails.
00:33:51
>> There was a 34-digit code, the same code that was found on Steven Alwine's laptop and on a cell
00:34:00
phone. Cuz how do you explain that? >> Well, that's what that was the best evidence the state had in their case and
00:34:08
uh >> And the truth is you can't explain it. >> I can't explain it, but there is another
00:34:12
possibility of how it got on there. >> Incriminating evidence was uploaded to Steven Alwine's computer from a device
00:34:19
called S. Alwine iPhone. But Devore will ask jurors to believe the phone wasn't Steven's.
00:34:28
In any case, Devore says there's evidence a woman wrote messages like this one. I don't know how a
00:34:36
like you got to my husband. >> There were other women involved in Amy's life, uh friends of hers and other
00:34:45
colleagues that had full access to her internet, to her home. >> Andy says it was a woman after all, or
00:34:52
at least someone claiming to be, who tried to get Amy to commit suicide just months before authorities found her
00:35:00
dead. >> It appeared that it was another female that was angry with Amy for uh allegedly
00:35:07
having an affair with this woman's husband. >> Police found no evidence Amy Allwine was
00:35:14
having an affair with anyone. [music] >> It sounds like you're making up an excuse for your client.
00:35:21
>> Well, let me tell you, as a criminal defense attorney, my job is to defend my
00:35:25
client to show that he's not guilty. >> Allwine's arrest rocked the United Church of God, where he had been held in
00:35:33
such high esteem. Officials issued a statement expressing their profound shock and sadness.
00:35:42
>> As Steven Allwine's murder trial approached in January 2018, authorities were winding down their investigation.
00:35:51
But 48 Hours was launching one of its own. We wanted to learn more about the shadowy figure behind the Besa Mafia
00:36:00
site. >> So, I ventured into a very strange place for the first time in my life, the dark
00:36:06
web. >> Yura had by this time closed down Besa Mafia and opened a new hitman site
00:36:14
called Cosa Nostra, another reference to the mob and organized crime. [music] Again, these websites can't be verified.
00:36:24
>> This is the Cosa Nostra website on the dark web. You can see the pictures of somebody
00:36:30
who's clearly been shot. A man with a gun, eyes hidden, like he's a hit man, cars that have been burned.
00:36:36
>> We wanted to talk to Yura ourselves, so we wrote to him on the dark web. Amazingly, he responded almost right
00:36:44
away. "Hi, I am Yura." he wrote. "I got your earlier message." And even more amazingly, agreed to an
00:36:52
interview with an important condition. He said it had to be in London. >> So, we've flown from New York to London,
00:37:02
rented this studio. You can see the lights behind me for the big interview, and we even brought in a master of
00:37:08
disguise who's going to camouflage Yura's face. Now, all we need is him. >> Could be someone in one of the
00:37:16
>> Eileen Ormsby, who we brought to London from Australia, joined us as we waited.
00:37:22
>> What do you know about Yura? Where does he live, do you think? >> I don't know where Yura lives, but I I
00:37:28
suspect he's not too far away from us right now. >> On our second day, we got a message on
00:37:34
the dark web. >> What What did he say? >> I don't think he's coming. >> Yura told us that he was convinced that
00:37:43
we were being followed by British intelligence. So, we offered to meet him in a public place where he could surveil
00:37:49
us and see that we were alone. We even offered to talk in a moving taxi, making our way through London.
00:37:58
But Yura was convinced that if he showed up, so too would the authorities. >> I do have several millions to live a
00:38:06
nice life and start several businesses. Why should I risk being arrested and end
00:38:10
up in jail? >> Chris Montero says he knows just how risky contact with Yura can be. He
00:38:19
experienced it firsthand in his own home. >> February 4th, 2017. You're here in your flat in London.
00:38:28
What happens? >> Well, I'm just in the living room having some soup and I hear some noises from
00:38:32
the door. I'm thinking, "What's going on?" So, I come out and I go here to listen.
00:38:37
>> He says he'd spent months monitoring Yura when Yura cunningly turned the tables on him.
00:38:45
>> Yura wasn't happy with me. He decided what he would do, he would try and confuse the matters of who ran the
00:38:52
website. >> Not long before he discovered that Yura was trying to frame him, claiming Chris
00:38:59
ran the hitman sites. >> And before I know it, there's battering ram knocking down the door. There's
00:39:04
armed police bursting in. They push me up against the wall here and saying, "Hands in the air. You're under arrest
00:39:09
for for incitement to murder." And I'm like, "What?" >> He says he was amazed when cops
00:39:17
confiscated his computers and locked him up. British authorities dropped the charges [music] and later refused our
00:39:24
request for an interview about Chris Montero. >> What a nightmare. >> It wasn't It wasn't fun. I do not
00:39:31
recommend. >> Knowing what Yura had done to Chris, we weren't surprised that he backed out of
00:39:36
an interview with us during our four days here in London. But we didn't walk away empty-handed. Yura did give us some
00:39:44
information that took our investigation into a whole new direction. The man who apparently cornered the
00:39:53
market in contract killings sent us a video diary. >> I am doing this video diary entry to
00:40:01
give you official statements about the site. >> And insisted he actually wanted to save
00:40:07
lives. To prove it, he began giving us the names of the murder targets from his sites.
00:40:14
>> to get his office first. >> We wanted to touch base with you. >> Normally, as journalists, we report the
00:40:21
news and then do our best to get out of the way. But, this was different. We found ourselves in the middle of an
00:40:27
apparent live marketplace for murder. And there was only one thing we could do. Our team contacted authorities. We
00:40:36
blurred our staff's faces for security reasons. >> We have a tip on a murder-for-hire plot.
00:40:43
>> knows where the target works, knows where the target lives. >> And after we called authorities, we
00:40:50
began approaching targets like this woman ourselves. >> Now, I know that someone has a target on my back.
00:40:59
They were trying to murder me. >> Good boy. That was a good try. There you >> What do this dog trainer in Minnesota,
00:41:23
>> I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. >> this Hollywood actress, >> You had no idea this was going on.
00:41:30
>> idea. >> this hacker in London, >> This person's very, very serious about having Lori killed.
00:41:36
>> this single mom in Tennessee, >> Why someone trying to murder me? >> and this shadowy figure in an
00:41:43
undisclosed location have in common? >> A hitman goes and shoots the target from
00:41:49
close range. >> Murder-for-hire plots on the dark web. From the American [music] heartland to
00:41:57
countries across the globe. >> He's being charged with something that could get him hanged.
00:42:02
>> The tips that you have given 48 Hours now total 33 in nine countries. >> Uh, So, a lot to take in, really.
00:42:12
>> And 48 Hours helped expose them. >> Because they just received a tip for a murder for hire in Iran.
00:42:19
>> Against a citizen of Taiwan. >> murder for hire plot unraveled. Last week, police received a tip about the
00:42:25
murder for hire plot from the CBS news program 48 Hours. >> Uh Ms. Jones, can I talk to you?
00:42:32
>> If it wasn't for 48 Hours, there would have been a funeral. >> Back at the airport, heading to
00:42:38
California, where we're told an arrest is imminent. Do you understand the terror that you
00:42:44
have caused with this murder for hire plot? >> Coming up next. >> This special two-part edition of 48
00:42:53
Hours will continue. >> [music] [music] [music] >> 48 Hours continues. >> On the dark web, everybody's anonymous.
00:43:43
So, you don't know who you're dealing with. >> There are people throughout this country, throughout this world,
00:43:50
who are wanting other people [music] dead. >> Hit men for hire advertise services on
00:43:56
the dark web. >> So many people don't know about the dark web, how [music] dangerous it is.
00:44:05
>> I've never heard of it until this happened to Amy. >> To friends and family, they seemed like
00:44:12
an all-American, church-going, caring, loving couple. >> Until one day, the FBI discovered that
00:44:27
somebody had paid for a hitman to murder this woman. This hit had been taken out on the dark
00:44:34
web. >> Around 7:00, a 911 call came in dispatch. >> 911, what's the address of the
00:44:41
emergency? >> I think my wife shot herself. There's blood all over. >> She had a gunshot wound to her head.
00:44:50
It soon became clear [music] that it was not a suicide. Someone had killed her. >> Hi, my name is Yura.
00:45:02
We have hundreds of gang members, criminals, and people who love to kill for money.
00:45:12
>> Yura is the owner of the most profitable group of murder-for-hire sites that have
00:45:17
ever existed. >> You'd like to see Yura tracked down. >> Yeah, I think he needs to be put away.
00:45:25
It's [music] hit home to me. You know, now I've lost a friend. >> This is exactly what I tried to stop.
00:45:35
The only person who could see this information [music] and potentially stop it was myself.
00:45:39
>> And you're looking at this as a potential life [music] or death situation. >> Absolutely.
00:45:48
>> Lori is in San Luis Obispo in California. This person is very, very serious about
00:45:54
having Lori killed. >> Our source has some important information about a murder-for-hire plot
00:46:01
in your county. >> We will definitely work immediately on locating her today. >> We have to consider that that particular
00:46:08
victim's life is in danger. >> We did a search of her apartment and could not find her, which was alarming.
00:46:20
>> [screaming] >> I never thought the dark web would [music] be this dark. From the moment I found out I was I've
00:46:34
been looking over my shoulder. It is traumatizing. To this day I still have night terrors.
00:46:42
>> You know, when you pay $10,000 to get someone killed, these are dangerous people.
00:46:49
>> I don't think anyone had any idea of where this case was going to go. >> The tips that you have given 48 Hours
00:46:58
now total 33 in nine countries. >> So so lots taken really. >> I work with CBS News. It's a murder for
00:47:08
hire tip that I have. >> It's against a citizen of Taiwan. >> Police received a tip about the murder
00:47:12
for hire plot from the CBS News program 48 Hours. >> Uh Ms. Jones, can I talk to you?
00:47:21
>> We're heading now to California where we have been told an arrest in this case is
00:47:26
imminent. >> Do you understand the terror that you have caused? Why did you do it?
00:47:32
>> The dark [music] web is the place of absolute lawlessness, the internet's evil twin.
00:47:38
>> You can submit your orders to kill the people you hate. I will be waiting for you on the deep
00:47:46
web. >> [music] [music] >> 48 Hours, Click for a Killer, reported by Peter Van Sant. [music]
00:48:21
>> Some days Jane Sharp mourns the loss of her friend, Amy Allwine, by blowing off steam at the gym.
00:48:29
Prosecutors believe Amy's husband shot her in cold blood after his attempt to hire a hitman [music]
00:48:36
failed. >> If you had an opportunity to be alone in a room with Steven Allwine, what would
00:48:44
you like to say or do? >> I'm not sure that would be a good idea. I probably kickbox his ass.
00:48:52
I mean, I would. >> This person seems pretty serious. >> There's a lot of US-based hits, but it's
00:48:59
all over the world as well. I'm >> As prosecutors prepare to try their case against Steven Allwine,
00:49:05
48 Hours began its investigation into the criminal mastermind known as Yura. We blurred our team's faces for security
00:49:14
reasons. >> Hi, it's me, Yura, again. >> Yura had built a dark web empire advertising assassinations for hire, as
00:49:23
described in this video diary he sent us. >> The hitman usually goes to the target's
00:49:29
address, such as home or workplace, and waits for them inside a stolen or rental
00:49:35
car. >> Nothing about Yura, including his diary, can be verified. >> This is his website now. He actually
00:49:45
just rebranded it. >> As reporters, our job is to cover the news. simple, what you can do. in a
00:49:51
shocking turn of events, Yura began sending us the names of targets, turning on his own customers.
00:50:00
It defied logic. We turned that information over to authorities. >> I got you. >> [laughter]
00:50:14
>> One unlikely target, Sydney Minor. >> I got you, officer. >> She's a 22-year-old single mom living in
00:50:22
Clarksville, Tennessee. >> You read it down? What do you say? It's very traumatizing to know that I
00:50:29
could have been that next person. >> Clarksville police summoned Sydney to the station last April after a 48-hour
00:50:40
tip authorities to the plot against her. >> We sat in a little room, and then he's
00:50:46
like, "Someone's trying to murder you." My instant reaction, I just start crying. I was like, "Why?"
00:50:58
>> Someone using the alias Blackjack 85 had messaged Yura's website in early February 2018.
00:51:06
>> You can access it to submit your orders to kill the people you hate. >> Providing Sydney's name, home address,
00:51:13
and other details. >> Target works at Woody's restaurant on Madison Street. >> Sydney is hearing this information for
00:51:22
the first time. >> We'll be moving in a week's time and harder to find. Should be done as soon as possible.
00:51:34
That means kill you. >> Sydney was questioned by a detective. >> And that's when he asked me, "Who do you
00:51:47
think would want to kill you?" And that's when I gave him the four names. >> Sydney names her ex-husband and her
00:51:55
mother's ex-fiancé. Both men were cleared right away. >> And then that left Brandon and Alexis.
00:52:05
>> Brandon States and Alexis Shelton had gone to the same high school as Sydney.
00:52:10
They'd gone on to marry and have a daughter. >> The detective must have asked you, "So,
00:52:16
why would you give me the name Brandon?" What did you tell him? >> Told him that I was pregnant with his
00:52:20
daughter. >> When are you due? >> I'm due September 20th of 2018. It is a girl. >> It's a girl?
00:52:31
>> Mhm. >> You excited? >> Yes, I'm very excited. >> Brandon and Sydney had lost touch after
00:52:38
high school. >> [music] >> During the next four years, Sydney got married, had a son, and divorced.
00:52:46
By September of 2017, she started dating again. >> So, I was actually on a dating site and
00:52:54
he popped up. He ended up messaging me. He's like, "Hey, you look really familiar." And I
00:52:58
was like, "You do, too." >> They started chatting. [music] >> He told me he was a father, that he had
00:53:03
a daughter, and he told me that he had recently gone through a divorce. So, I was like, "Well, I can kind of relate
00:53:09
cuz I was doing the same thing." >> The pair began dating. Brandon was a newly minted Army specialist stationed
00:53:16
at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He made the exhausting 8-hour trip back and forth to Clarksville to see Sydney
00:53:24
on some weekends. >> Did you imagine a future with Brandon? >> Yeah, I was starting to.
00:53:32
>> But in January 2018, when Sydney told Brandon she was pregnant, >> he was not happy.
00:53:39
He wanted me to get an abortion. He gave $400. >> She says he also gave her some
00:53:45
disturbing news. >> He's married. >> Brandon and Alexis were not divorced. >> And [music] he wants to get back with
00:53:53
his wife. I was heartbroken. Finding out that guy I care about is married is not fun.
00:54:06
>> Sydney didn't know it yet, but Brandon was about to allegedly start a new online relationship with a man named
00:54:14
Yuri. >> Hi. Welcome again to the Basin Mafia Diary. >> Having decided against the abortion,
00:54:23
Sydney says she sent back Brandon's $400 and demanded he sort out his personal life before an upcoming deployment in
00:54:32
Korea. >> And I kept asking him, "Have you told Alexis yet?" And he said, "No. I need more time." I said, "Okay.
00:54:39
So, here's the ultimatum. Either you tell her or I'm going to tell her." >> [music]
00:54:46
>> But after a few weeks of waiting, >> I messaged Alexis on Facebook. "I'm pregnant with his child. He told me
00:54:53
he wasn't married, so when I found [music] this >> She says Alexis hinted that this wasn't
00:54:57
the first time she'd had trouble with Brandon. >> She's like, "Good luck in the future.
00:55:01
[music] If the kid is anything like their dad, you'll have your hands full." >> Sydney told Brandon she'd go to military
00:55:07
[music] court if he refused to pay child support. >> He's like, "You're making the wrong
00:55:12
choice here. So much for not fighting." I said, "Oh, well. I think I'm I'm making the best choice here." And he
00:55:17
[music] said, "You'll see." >> You'll see. We'll see like, we'll see who has [music] the last word here.
00:55:24
>> Mhm. Exactly. >> Sydney didn't know that Yuri soon would agree to arrange a hit on her.
00:55:34
And we would soon learn she wasn't the only one. >> I don't like how you can't see around
00:55:57
every corner and then all the bushes. >> In April 2018, Sydney Minor began living
00:56:07
life as a target in a murder for hire plot. >> It's scary. You will never look at life the same
00:56:16
again. >> But just hours after notifying Sydney, Clarksville, Tennessee police informed
00:56:23
the army about 48 hours tip. And the next day in Korea >> Hurry up! >> The detective calls me
00:56:32
and lets me know Brandon has been arrested. He confessed. >> Brandon States [music] was charged with
00:56:40
several military violations, including an attempt of premeditated murder. >> I start crying. [music]
00:56:48
I was streaming tears. Look at her shoes on the glass eye, silly. >> Do you worry sometimes is is there still
00:56:59
a hit man out there that has not done the murder for hire yet? >> Every day. Every day.
00:57:07
Brandon's in custody, [music] but there's no person with a gun in custody. >> Like Amy Allwine, Sydney had been warned
00:57:17
ahead of time. [music] For Amy, it was too little, too late. >> This puppy. >> Sydney feared her ordeal wasn't over.
00:57:26
She says she asked the detective if Brandon's wife, Alexis, was part of the plot.
00:57:31
>> He said we've taken precautions. We don't believe she's a part of it. >> A law enforcement source told 48 Hours,
00:57:38
quote, "There is no evidence at this time [music] that Mrs. Alexis States was involved."
00:57:47
In London, [music] white hat hacker Chris Monteiro had been monitoring Yura's websites as they rebranded and
00:57:54
changed names. >> You're sure this is the Yura that you've been pursuing [music] all this time?
00:57:59
>> Oh, absolutely. >> Chris told us that Blackjack 85 seemed to grow impatient when the hit he'd paid
00:58:06
for didn't happen. The messages are hard for Sydney to hear. >> Yura says to him, "Unfortunately, these
00:58:13
basic hit men sometimes fail as they are low quality for low price. If you could
00:58:18
afford a difference of $5,000, I can assign an expert hit man." >> There's a pattern here similar to the
00:58:29
Allwine case. Yura can't seem to get the job done. Raising Chris Monteiro's suspicions of
00:58:36
whether Yura is really providing hit men. What's more, it struck him that Yura is
00:58:43
always asking for more [music] money. >> But the truth is that most hit men sites
00:58:47
are real. >> This must all be overwhelming. >> Yeah. >> And if this Yura fellow can be found,
00:58:55
what would you like to see happen to him? >> The same fate he's been putting on everyone else.
00:59:01
>> The death penalty? >> Yeah. >> Yura was finished with Sydney, but not with 48 Hours. He tipped us to
00:59:10
yet another plot. >> Last week, police received a tip about the murder for hire plot from the CBS
00:59:16
News program 48 Hours. >> This time, the person who allegedly hired [music] the hit man is a woman
00:59:24
living near Chicago. >> Kenia Jones was allegedly in a wild love triangle accused of trying to pay
00:59:30
thousands in Bitcoin to have her lover's wife murdered. >> Meet 31-year-old registered nurse Tina
00:59:36
Jones. From the outside, Tina and her husband Toby seemed to lead a fairy-tale life, at least according to social
00:59:45
media. >> [cheering] >> But less than two years into her marriage, investigators [music] believe
00:59:52
Tina's eye began to wander and settled on a colleague seen here in his school days.
00:59:58
>> We understand the allegation that she met an anesthesiologist at the hospital and
01:00:04
that they had a relationship. >> Justin Kmitch has been covering [music] the story for the Daily Herald. Tina's
01:00:10
alleged boyfriend was also married to this woman. Authorities believe [music] Tina wanted her dead.
01:00:19
>> The hitman was told to make it look like an accident. Um and that the husband was
01:00:22
not to be harmed in any way in the commission of this crime. >> Acting on [music] our tip, which
01:00:28
originally came from Yura, authorities arrested Tina Jones on April 17th [music] and charged her with six
01:00:35
felonies including attempted murder. Chris Montero says authorities hadn't heeded his warnings about Yura. When he
01:00:44
saw them listening to us, he gave 48 Hours new target information from Yura's sites.
01:00:50
>> 48 Hours, how are you? >> Our team notified authorities from [music] India, >> and we have uncovered potential
01:00:57
murder-for-hire plot. >> Iran, >> please give me a call back as soon as possible.
01:01:02
>> Taiwan, >> and I'm looking to reach anyone within Police Department [music] of Taipei,
01:01:07
>> and Singapore, where in May police armed with our information arrested [music]
01:01:13
this man, Alan Vincent. Vincent was later charged with criminal conspiracy [music]
01:01:19
to murder the boyfriend of a female colleague. >> Hello, I'm Michelle A. Pay Teng from
01:01:24
Today here. >> Wong Pay Teng covered the case for an online newspaper [music] in Singapore
01:01:29
called Today. She says if Vincent is convicted, the notoriously strict Singapore courts may throw the book at
01:01:37
him. >> He's being charged with something that that could get him hanged. >> We've been working this story for
01:01:46
several months now and a tinge of suspicion has crept into our minds. Chris Monteiro has had access to Yura's
01:01:53
database. He knows everything about Yura. And it's time we ask him an important question. With your breadth of knowledge
01:02:00
about Yura, your your backdoor access to what he does, people have wanted me to ask you this
01:02:07
question. Are you >> [laughter] >> Yura? >> I am not Yura. >> [snorts] >> So far, tips made by 48 Hours
01:02:20
>> We should go ahead and make [music] these calls. >> have led to three arrests. Brandon
01:02:24
States in the Tennessee case, Tina Jones in Illinois, and Alan Vincent in Singapore.
01:02:31
>> I think it's amazing. >> But the most shocking arrest was yet to come in a case [music] right out of
01:02:38
Hollywood. >> I never did it for the money. I did it cuz [music] I had a lot of time
01:02:43
on my hands. Now I've got plans to make more plans. >> In Chris Monteiro's forays into the
01:03:05
darkest corners of the dark web, he has seen illegal arms, drugs, and murder-for-hire sites.
01:03:12
>> [music] >> Chris, it's good to see you again. I wanted to touch base with you.
01:03:17
>> After the Tennessee and Illinois arrests last spring, he told us about another
01:03:22
American >> [music] >> targeted for murder on Yura's anonymous website. >> I keep my identity private. I hide my
01:03:30
face, my hands, everything that could help with recognition. >> They've submitted a photo of a woman
01:03:36
called Lori. >> We're not using her last name or showing her face. >> In San Luis Obispo in California, the
01:03:47
person is very, very serious about having Lori killed. >> Seemingly so serious, we immediately
01:03:54
contacted law enforcement. >> We're going to call out to California, a man named [music] Dan Dow. He is the
01:04:00
District Attorney of San Luis Obispo [music] County. This is Peter Van Sant. I just got off
01:04:12
the Skype with a internet expert in London. He has some important information about a murder-for-hire plot
01:04:20
in your county. >> Okay. Certainly very interested in hearing what you have. >> The target is a woman by the name of
01:04:28
Lori. The person says that Lori is evil and wants this kill made. [music] What has been ordered is a hit that
01:04:37
looks like an accident because [music] the customer in this case feels that he or she would become very quickly a
01:04:44
suspect. >> We will definitely make sure that she is protected as possible. >> It's pretty unique to get a a tip from
01:04:50
the media. >> I want to let you guys get on, do your business. >> Dow's team starts its investigation
01:04:57
right away. >> I have an email from Peter Van Sant, background information from the tip that
01:05:02
he just gave us. >> The first order of business, find Lori and make sure she is safe.
01:05:08
>> Our first goal is to locate her. >> Dow immediately alerts San Luis Obispo police, including the supervisor of
01:05:16
detectives, Lieutenant John Bledsoe. >> We don't know whether she's alive at this point.
01:05:23
>> As with the other targets on Yura's hitman sites, Lori [music] is described in detail. She is a blonde, middle-aged
01:05:31
woman who drives a silver Mercedes with a black convertible top. >> We have to [music] consider that that
01:05:38
particular victim's life is in danger. >> Actually, I'm getting a text right now
01:05:42
from one of our detectives. It shows she does live in San Luis. >> The next day, Detective Suzie Walsh
01:05:49
leads colleagues to Lori's home. But there's a problem. >> We did a search of her apartment and
01:05:56
could not find her, which was alarming. >> You're worried has somebody taken her
01:06:01
somewhere, somebody shot her perhaps. [music] >> Right. >> To find Lori, Detective Walsh develops a
01:06:06
ruse to use with her son. >> That someone had simply reported her missing and we needed to find her.
01:06:12
>> Lori's son does find her. >> And I told Lori, no less [music] dramatic than this, but I need you to
01:06:17
come to the police department right away. I don't want you to make any stops. She was very alarmed and she
01:06:22
said, "I will go straight to you." And she did. >> Detective Walsh brings Lori into the
01:06:28
interrogation room. Their conversation [music] is recorded. >> This is so bizarre.
01:06:36
>> [music] >> And I said, "Is there someone that would want you dead?" And that was just an
01:06:40
absolute shock to her. And she cried, she got up, she paced. >> Just minutes later, Lori has an answer.
01:06:46
>> I have a stepson. That's the person that I know. Beau? B E A U Brigham? >> That's when Beau Brigham came to light.
01:06:57
>> In addition to her son from a previous relationship, Lori also has two stepsons, Brandon and Beau, from her
01:07:05
1999 marriage to Jeff Brigham, a successful restaurant and bar owner. >> Lori had co-raised Brandon [music] and
01:07:14
Beau since they were approximately 10 years old. So, she had a very long-standing familial relationship with
01:07:19
them. >> Brandon eventually went into marketing. Beau took his shot at Hollywood [music]
01:07:27
stardom. >> I never did it for the money. I did it cuz [singing] I had a lot of time on my hands.
01:07:33
>> That's him lip-syncing in a music video he co-produced. >> The music video that I saw is compelling
01:07:40
to watch. >> Did you find it impressive? >> It was very impressive. He had a company called Beauflix, where
01:07:47
he did videography and photography in San Francisco. >> Beau Brigham was also into extreme
01:07:54
sports, living life on the edge. >> [music] >> Their lives seemed picture-perfect.
01:08:03
Then, tragedy [music] struck. >> In 2011, Jeff Brigham dies unexpectedly from a massive heart attack. And [music]
01:08:11
Lori really, truly didn't have any knowledge of how to run the businesses. Now, that started a place of contention.
01:08:18
>> Eventually, Lori lost one of the bars. Beau and Brandon successfully sued their
01:08:23
stepmother in 2013 [music] and won a significant judgment. >> Lori becomes in debt to them in excess
01:08:30
of a million dollars. >> Does she have the money to pay them? >> No. >> But she still had assets.
01:08:36
>> If Lori dies, who benefits? >> Beau and Brandon. >> Both stood to gain an inheritance, but
01:08:47
police quickly eliminate Brandon Brigham as a suspect. Detective Anthony Peluso says Beau
01:08:54
became their focus. But to prove him guilty, >> Hi, this is you again. >> they somehow have to prove he is the one
01:09:03
who sent the kill order on his stepmother to Yura's hitman website. >> The email chain provided by Chris
01:09:10
Montero, we I think collectively had no clue what the dark web was when we initially got this case.
01:09:16
>> And just like in the Allwine case, the digital currency [music] Bitcoin is critical to proving a crime was
01:09:23
committed. >> This is a message that was sent to Yura. I have money. I would not put in an
01:09:30
order if I wasn't serious. I'm trying to get these damn [music] Bitcoins in. >> Investigators discovered Bo made a tiny
01:09:39
down payment for the hit on Laurie, sending Yura less than $5. >> Obviously, $5 is not enough money to pay
01:09:47
for a murder. >> Correct. However, it is enough to show that he has had intentions to continue
01:09:53
with this thing. He wanted to make sure that this hitman that's on the dark web actually got the $5 before he gave him
01:10:00
the full $10,000 that was required. >> Then, detectives discover [music] something about the Bitcoin used to pay
01:10:07
for the hit in this case. It had been bought on a website [music] where users had to register with a photo
01:10:14
ID. >> In this case, Bo Brigham uploaded a picture of his California driver's license. We call that
01:10:21
>> [snorts] >> a smoking gun, do we not? So, yes. >> Two months after the San Luis Obispo
01:10:28
police got their tip from Chris Montero and 48 Hours, >> we needed to find out where Bo was.
01:10:38
>> Cops finally have Laurie's suspected tormentor in their sights. >> Woo! >> Creative,
01:11:02
handsome, charismatic, Beau Brigham had it all. This video he co-produced [music] and starred in was seen all over
01:11:10
the world. >> With more than 2 million views online, Brigham now has new people desperately
01:11:20
wanting to see him, to find him. People with a badge who consider this talented artist a danger to society.
01:11:28
>> He had a clear intent to have Laurie murdered. >> Once Laurie is located and safely in
01:11:34
hiding, San Luis Obispo, California detectives, Susie Walsh and Anthony Peluso, focus on finding her stepson.
01:11:44
>> We found that his phone was pinging down in Palm Desert. That's when we made the decision to
01:11:49
actually go down. >> Palm Desert is near the wealthy playground of Palm Springs, California.
01:11:58
Investigators learn Brigham's biological mother, Alexis, lives there. She is a former Hollywood actress who had a bit
01:12:06
role in the 1997 courtroom drama, The Rainmaker. But when police get to her last known
01:12:14
address, nobody's there. >> Do you literally just start working the streets back and forth like a grid?
01:12:20
>> So, that's the intention. >> was the plan. Beau drives a Mercedes Sprinter van. It's pretty easy to spot.
01:12:29
>> After several hours of driving around, the detectives find the van at a Starbucks parking lot.
01:12:36
Beau Brigham's mother, Alexis, drives away. The detectives follow her to this house and approach her in the driveway.
01:12:44
>> The look on her face was, "Oh my gosh, what is this?" She allowed us to go inside the house.
01:12:50
>> They're surprised to find Beau Brigham in bed, who complained he was suffering
01:12:55
from many illnesses, including [music] cancer. >> He would try to divert from the actual
01:13:00
conversation to how sick he is, and I'm dying. I'll be dead tomorrow. I can barely breathe. You know, I'll die in 2
01:13:07
days. >> In 2015, Bo set up this GoFundMe page, where he raised more than $40,000
01:13:14
to allegedly pay for medical treatment. Detectives say they didn't see proof of any official diagnosis.
01:13:22
>> From what we've talked to him and Alexis, he hasn't been diagnosed with anything.
01:13:27
>> He has not. Could he be acting? >> Yes. >> Peluso then confronts Bo with this dark
01:13:34
[music] web kill order, telling Yura, "Look, I need this effing person dead." >> He finally said, "You're right.
01:13:43
Okay, I did it. I sent those." >> But detectives want more than just an admission.
01:13:50
>> There needs to be evidence to support that. >> They seized computers and an iPhone from
01:13:55
the house. So, this is the Central Coast Cyber Forensic Laboratory in San Luis Obispo.
01:14:04
And the man behind me is John Layer. He is a computer forensic specialist, and he will be looking for the evidence.
01:14:12
>> We'll be a fly on the wall, if you don't mind. >> Sounds good. >> For us, it is now a waiting game.
01:14:23
>> Have you ever had a case like this, a dark web case? >> No. This is really an emerging
01:14:28
technology, and I think we're really trying to play catch up in terms of law enforcement.
01:14:32
>> Two days pass, then a whisper. >> I got something here. >> You were saying? >> This is Bo's iPhone.
01:14:40
And one of the first applications that it lists here is something called Tor Browser Pro.
01:14:47
>> Tor is a browser that can access the dark web. >> And so this is evidence. >> Oh, absolutely. We made the decision to
01:14:54
charge Mr. Bow Brigham with solicitation of murder. >> 9:00 a.m. on August 19th in Palm Desert.
01:15:03
>> San Luis Obispo police have just arrived. We're heading now over to the arrest
01:15:09
site. And they're heading for Bow's [music] residence. Just knocked on the door.
01:15:19
Bow Brigham's wake-up call. And in they go. >> This began months ago when we got a tip
01:15:27
from Chris Montero in London about a murder-for-hire plot in San Luis Obispo. >> Bow is now coming out.
01:15:38
>> Bow Brigham is handcuffed. >> We know that you wanted your stepmother murdered, but we don't know why. Why did
01:15:47
you do it? >> I don't I'm just a little I'm tired. I I should be on a ventilator. I'm about
01:15:55
to pass out. I'm dying of dehydration. I'm sick. What the [ __ ] is that? >> Do you understand, Bow, the terror that
01:16:05
you have caused? >> Do you understand my son is very sick? >> We'll get you checked out, man.
01:16:12
You also hired a hitman to take someone's life. >> not. I'm brain dead. I'm in very serious
01:16:18
situation. >> The whole scene is too much for Bow's biological mother, Alexis. >> He never ever wanted anything to happen
01:16:28
to her at all. He was just angry. >> Who admits she knew about Bow hiring a hitman on the dark web.
01:16:36
>> And then I was thinking, "Well, what do we do? Do we contact the police? Do we,
01:16:41
you know, contact Lori?" >> Did you do that? Did you contact Lori? >> No, I was overwhelmed. I didn't know
01:16:47
what to do. >> About a month after Bo's kill order, Alexis [music] tried convincing him to
01:16:53
ask Yura for a refund. >> I told him get it out so they know you're not wanting anything done.
01:17:02
>> Okay, we're going to get going. >> Bo was taken to a nearby hospital. Doctors examine [music] him.
01:17:12
>> They asked him acute symptoms, what are you dealing with today? And when he couldn't name any, basically they ran
01:17:16
his vitals and discharged him. >> Now, Bo Brigham is headed for county jail. Six weeks later, we obtained this letter
01:17:29
from his defense team. Bo Brigham's doctor states, "Mr. Brigham is extremely ill." But he never mentions
01:17:36
cancer or ALS. And just 5 days ago, Bo Brigham agreed to an interview [music] with 48 Hours
01:17:45
in jail, where I asked again, >> "Why did you seek to hire a hitman on a dark website to kill [music] your
01:17:53
stepmother?" >> I didn't. I'm actually terminally ill. >> Investigators believe that you're faking
01:18:00
this. >> That's outrageous. They're insane. >> Bo's anger with his stepmother stems
01:18:07
from his [music] belief that she hasn't supported him during his health problems.
01:18:12
>> She left her own son to die for 4 years. Who does that? >> So, does she deserve a death sentence
01:18:17
for that? >> Absolutely not. >> On April 19th, 2018, Bo, you wrote, "Look, I need this effing person dead."
01:18:24
And you knew exactly what you were doing. >> remember any of this. By the way. >> You gave specifics about your
01:18:30
stepmother. "Look for silver Mercedes with a black convertible top. You gave specific instructions, do
01:18:38
not go through with the job unless it can be done as an extreme clear accident because it will be very easily
01:18:44
traceable. >> is only one way to get anyone's attention and to do something stupid on
01:18:50
site was the only way. I've been emailing Lori to come see me for 4 years now. >> So, you admit you went on the site.
01:18:57
>> I can't remember doing it. I can't remember doing >> over >> I don't remember exactly.
01:19:01
>> and over again. >> I didn't I don't remember writing that. >> Despite Bo's memory issues, despite that
01:19:08
he admitted to both the police and his own mother that he did this, >> No one would do something like this. No
01:19:16
one, especially my son, if he was of sound mind. >> Bo's attorney plans to take this case to
01:19:24
court. >> Mr. Van Sant, the people's case is in a lot of trouble. Be patient. Come to
01:19:29
court. >> We will be waiting for you to come place your orders. >> Chris Monteiro in London says Bo
01:19:35
Brigham's arrest assures him that his work has made a difference. >> I wasn't sure what I was doing really
01:19:42
mattered. Now I can see that it's so important that this information is acted on.
01:19:48
>> Chris hopes the authorities will also find and arrest Yura, who he says is concealing something explosive.
01:19:57
>> They are claiming that all hitman sites are fake. >> Chris Monteiro says through all the
01:20:21
years investigating Yura, >> He assumed Alpha was a real hitman to hire marketplace.
01:20:26
>> through all the murder plots, >> You will never look at life the same again, I promise.
01:20:32
>> All the lives threatened, [music] including his own. >> That was a bit of a shock. It really
01:20:37
was. >> He and Eileen Ormsby reached an explosive conclusion that Yura's murder-for-hire operation is all a big
01:20:47
scam. >> Nobody is being killed. >> What? >> Nobody is being killed. >> It's a scam site, you know, it's
01:20:54
designed to take people's money. >> Always pay with Bitcoin through escrow. >> Turns out Yura is a con man and not some
01:21:02
hitman commander. According to our investigation, he never arranged for a single actual hit.
01:21:09
>> We have hundreds of people who love to kill for money. >> But Yura still insists his websites are
01:21:15
real. >> The hitman don't get paid until the job is done. >> Either way, the most dangerous thing
01:21:21
about him may be his customers. Some so driven to kill that if Yura doesn't get the job done, they might do it
01:21:28
themselves. Like prosecutors allege about Steven Allwine. Just ask Amy's friend, [music]
01:21:36
Jane Sharp. >> College Grove lost a awesome citizen. >> As Steven's trial begins, the state
01:21:48
argues he paid Yura to have Amy murdered. But when Yura didn't deliver, Allwine drugged her and shot her to death
01:21:56
himself. Prosecutor Jamie Kryzer says he wanted out of his marriage, but divorce was
01:22:03
discouraged in his fundamentalist church. >> Marriage was considered a covenant, and
01:22:09
that covenant was not to be broken. >> Defense attorney Kevin Devore countered that authorities never looked beyond
01:22:16
Steven Allwine and that there were other [music] people who may have wanted Amy dead. He says those people could have
01:22:22
left clues at the crime scene, but first responders bungled the investigation. >> They had no fingerprints, no DNA, no
01:22:30
eyewitnesses, they had no confessions. They had very little uh you know, the traditional evidence.
01:22:38
>> After an 8-day trial where Allwine never took the stand, the jury took just 6
01:22:44
hours before convicting him of first-degree murder. Steven Allwine was sentenced to life in
01:22:51
prison without [music] the possibility of parole. >> When it was read guilty, um
01:23:00
he just kind of fell. Um he put his hands in his face and he began to cry. >> He finally shows emotion.
01:23:10
>> Finally. >> The death of Amy Allwine is hard for Chris Montero, too, but for different
01:23:17
[music] reasons. >> It was totally preventable from a law enforcement institution point of view.
01:23:23
>> Today, as we sit here, after all the trauma that you've been through, no one's touched Yura. He's still
01:23:29
operating. >> Yeah. >> Chris Montero says Yura knows there will always be people who believe his sites
01:23:37
are authentic, people who expect him to deliver death when they click for a killer.
01:23:43
So, he remains in business somewhere out there on the dark web. >> Now, an update on our 48-hours dark web
01:23:57
murder-for-hire investigation. In California, Bo Brigham was convicted of soliciting the murder of his
01:24:06
stepmother, Laurie. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison. >> Yeah, I don't even remember actually
01:24:11
doing it and it's not something I wanted. Laurie knows I love her. I mean, it's a really
01:24:16
situation to be honest. >> In Singapore, [music] Alan Vincent pleaded guilty to intentionally abetting
01:24:27
murder and was sentenced to 5 years. In the Tennessee case, Brandon States pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated
01:24:38
murder. He was sentenced through the military court to 15 years. And in the Illinois case, Tina Jones
01:24:47
[music] pleaded guilty to one count of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 12 [music] years behind
01:24:54
bars. >> 48 Hours. To miss it would be a crime. >> Were you at all prepared for what
01:25:03
happened in this case? >> [music] [music] [music] [music]