An 18-year-old Florida man was arrested after police said they found he had pushed another 18-year-old to make plans to kill her 3-year-old son.
Gamaliel Soza was arrested Monday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful use of a communications device in connection to the case of Jazmin Paez, who allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill her toddler.
Police said Soza sent text messages to Paez pushing her to find a way to kill her son, according to Soza’s arrest warrant, which was obtained by HuffPost.
“The kid is the problem, I hope you see that all I ever wanted, was to free you and I told you about the kid, you won’t do anything,” Soza allegedly messaged Paez. “You do it and I’ll think about coming back.”
According to Soza’s arrest warrant, Paez allegedly told Soza that she had taken her son to the woods and left him there to be eaten by bears or drowned, to which Soza asked for photographic proof.
Paez was arrested and charged last month with first-degree solicitation of murder and third-degree unlawful use of a communications device when she allegedly attempted to hire a hitman to kill her child on the parody site RentAHitman.com.
According to Paez’s arrest warrant, the website’s administrator, Robert Innes, reported the teen’s inquiry to Miami police, saying it included specific details, such as an address and her son’s photograph, that made him believe it was an authentic attempt to hire a hit.
According to police, Paez’s inquiry to RentAHitman.com stated that she wanted “to get something done once and for all” and requested that her son be taken “far far far away and possibly killed” by July 20.
When police arrived at the address listed in Paez’s inquiry, the 3-year-old’s grandmother spoke to officers and said she was taking care of the boy for several months, according to the arrest warrant.
The grandmother told officers that Paez had been living with her father but called her son every day on FaceTime, the warrant said.
An officer posing as a hit man then communicated with Paez, and she allegedly agreed to pay $3,000 for him to kill her son.
According to court records, both Soza and Paez have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for a statement.
Paez’s father told local news outlet NBC6 last month that “his daughter is not a monster.”
“My daughter is a little girl who was born with health problems,” Paez’s father told NBC6. “She’s had 12 surgeries, she lost the ability to move her face. She’s been bullied in school, they called her ‘the monster.’”
According to court records, Soza was released on $15,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with the 3-year-old or anyone under 18 without supervision.
Innes told the outlet on Tuesday that he’s grateful that his website could play a role in preventing a crime.
“The fact that the website was able to prevent a violent crime and save a life is… that’s what makes it worthwhile to me. At least the child is going to be OK.”