A 14-year-old girl was arrested in Louisiana on Valentine's Day after she allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill her ex-boyfriend, according to police.
Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) officers arrested the teenager on Monday on a solicitation of murder charge after she allegedly wanted her 14-year-old ex-boyfriend murdered, according to CBS affiliate WAFB.
Officers were first notified when an administrator of the satirical website "rentahitman.com" reached out to police to report the girl's alleged request.
The teenager was later taken to an East Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center where she was charged.
According to the legal assistance website Justia U.S. Law, a person found guilty of solicitation for murder in Louisiana "shall be imprisoned at hard labor [i.e.incarceration in state prison] for not less than five years nor more than 20 years."
Guido Fanelli, the CEO of Rent-A-Hitman said in a statement sent to WAFB: "I wish to thank the Baton Rouge Police Department for taking this matter seriously and sincerely hope that the intended victim receives any help and support they need to come out of this ok."
Newsweek has contacted Rent-A-Hitman and the BRPD for comment.
The satirical nature of Rent-A-Hitman can be found on its homepage, which displays fake trophies for the "2021 Trigger Warning Award" and "2021 Best In Class From the International Association of Retired Hitman."
The website does offer a warning to visitors stating their "privacy is not guaranteed and your information could be leaked to thousands of less than stellar sites, including law enforcement."
It further adds: "Rent-A-Hitman has seen it all and know just how to precisely handle your delicate situation in a timely manner while maintaining 100 percent compliance with HIPPA (Hitman Information Privacy and Protection Act of 1964). Guaranteed."
The fake act appears to have taken inspiration from the real-life Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.
It is not the first time the fake website has been accessed by people attempting to carry out hits on their former partners.
In 2021, a Michigan woman pleaded guilty to attempting to hire a hitman through "Rent-A-Hitman" to kill her ex-husband.
MLive.com reported that 52-year-old Wendy Lynn Wein filled out a service request form on the website in the spring of 2020.
She had hoped to meet with a person to address an issue with her ex-husband, appearing to be unaware the website is fake.
"The domain was created as a cyber-security test site," police said, adding that the website owner was concerned Wein was serious and could be attempting to kill the man," MLive.com reported.
