Huntington Station Woman Sought Killing Of Ex-Husband's Mom: SCDA

HUNTINGTON STATION, NY — A Huntington Station woman pleaded guilty to hiring hit men to kill her ex-husband's mother, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini announced Friday.

Elsy Rodriguez-Garcia, 27, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of second-degree conspiracy, a class B felony. She is expected to be sentenced to two to six years in prison.

"This is a shocking and disturbing case," Sini said in a news release. "The defendant’s intentions were very clear that she wanted this person murdered, and she was ready and willing to pay for it. Thankfully law enforcement was notified and able to intervene before anyone got hurt, and today’s guilty plea ensures she is held accountable."

Rodriguez-Garcia in July 2019 contacted a co-conspirator via WhatsApp to orchestrate the killings of her ex-husband’s mother and daughter, Sini said. Rodriguez-Garcia did not plead guilty to conspiring to have killed her ex-husband's then-5-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, prosecutors said.

Rodriguez-Garcia hoped to win back her ex's attention and affection by getting rid of his mother and daughter, prosecutors alleged, according to a New York Post report.

Rodriguez-Garcia was originally charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, an A-1 felony, and two counts of second-degree conspiracy, a class B felony, Sini said.

She asked the co-conspirator to hire hit men to execute the killings in Ecuador, where she believed her ex-husband's then-57-year-old mother and daughter were visiting, authorities said. Rodriguez-Garcia provided photographs of one of the targets to the co-conspirator, as well as a description of the home where she believed they were staying, prosecutors said.

Rodriguez-Garcia agreed to pay for the killing, which she would wire to the hit men once she received the proof, authorities said.

Rodriguez-Garcia’s ex-husband became aware of the killing-for-hire plot and reported the threat to the Suffolk County Police Department’s Third Precinct, officials said. The district attorney's office and Suffolk police then conducted an investigation.

Rodriguez-Garcia's co-conspirator sent her a doctored photo supposedly showing her targets' deaths as "proof" the killings had been carried out, although the photo was created by the Suffolk County Police Department’s Identification Section, prosecutors said. The photo appeared to show a deceased woman and child in the Ecuador countryside, officials said.

Rodriguez-Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced April 15.