Maryville woman tried to hire a hit man, prosecutors say

A Maryville, Mo., woman was in federal custody Tuesday, accused of trying to hire an undercover federal agent to kill another woman.

Kristina Marie Swinford, 32, allegedly offered to pay the agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with money from her student loans, according to federal court records.

Swinford purportedly believed the other woman, identified in court records only as “AM” or “Angela,” had gotten her fired from her job, was harassing her and was “evil.”

About two weeks later, a source told Maryville authorities that Swinford was shopping for a hit man, adding that she was not behaving normally, court records say. Officers arranged for Swinford to meet the agent.

They met Aug. 28 in a Bethany, Mo., Wal-Mart parking lot. The agent told Swinford that the hit would cost $20,000, with half being paid up front. Swinford agreed, court records say.

At follow-up meetings Sept. 3 and Sept. 10, Swinford told the agent that she had only $200 but might be able to raise $3,000 from her student loans and possibly more if a friend in Kansas City contributed.

The investigation took a turn Sept. 19 when Angela, who did not know of the ATF investigation, appeared at the Maryville Public Safety Department.

Angela told authorities that she had created a false Facebook account under the name of a real person. Swinford allegedly sent private messages to that account, suggesting she wanted that person to consider killing Angela.

“AM advised police that she was terrified and had no way of knowing if Swinford had spoken to anyone else about having her hurt or murdered,” court records said.

Maryville officers arrested Swinford that evening. She later admitted to officers that she had met with someone she believed to be an Iowa hit man and discussed Angela’s murder, court records say.

This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Maryville woman tried to hire a hit man, prosecutors say."