A Miami mother struck a plea bargain that allowed her to avoid jail time after she confessed that she tried to hire a hitman online to kill her 3-year-old son.
Jazmin Paez, 20, pleaded guilty to soliciting first-degree murder, unlawful use of a communications device, and tampering with evidence, according to WTVJ.
In return, prosecutors withheld adjudication, meaning she won’t be classified as a convicted felon on her criminal record.
Had she been convicted at trial, Paez could have faced up to 40 years in prison.
Instead, all she has to serve is two years of community control, 12 years of probation, and mandatory behavioral therapy that will end at the court’s discretion.
Court documents state that in July 2023, when Paez was 18, she surfed the web for a hitman and landed on rentahitman.com, a satirical website that doesn’t actually rent out hired guns.
Investigators say she typed in a request asking for someone to take her toddler’s life “before the end of the week.” Paez even reportedly added photos of her child and included the exact location where he could be found.
The website’s owner said he gets hundreds of similar solicitations and requests, but all in jest. However, when he saw Paez’s, he said hers stood out from the rest. He notified Miami-Dade police three times before authorities took his report seriously and put a detective on the case.
Authorities spoke with the boy’s grandmother, who confirmed his identity based on Paez’s request. Then, an investigator posing as a hitman contacted Paez and agreed to do the job for $3,000.
Police went to her home that same day and arrested her.
Paez’s father defended his daughter after her arrest, citing her mental health issues and physical disabilities.
“My daughter is not a monster,” the father told WTVJ. “My daughter is a little girl who was born with health problems. She has liquid retained in her neck. She’s had 12 surgeries, she lost the ability to move her face. She’s been bullied in school. They called her ‘the monster.’”
In court, Paez stated that she was also diagnosed with schizophrenia.
A dependency court ended her parental rights, and she isn’t allowed to contact her son until 2040.
Paez’s mother adopted the boy, and Paez currently lives with her father.
