Woman charged with trying to pay to have ex-husband killed

A Manatee County woman has been charged with trying to pay someone $5,000 to kill her ex-husband, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives Thursday arrested Rachael Natalie Leahy, 34, of south Manatee County and charged her with solicitation of murder.

According to a news release, the investigation began on Aug. 22 when the sheriff’s office received information that Leahy wanted her 59-year-old ex-husband dead.

In a subsequent undercover operation, deputies said Leahy hired a sheriff’s detective to kill her ex-husband. The agreed price was $5,000, and she had already paid $2,500, the sheriff’s office said.

The investigation revealed she wanted her ex-husband killed so she could have custody of their children, the sheriff’s office said.

According to Leahy’s Facebook profile, she studied marketing at the University of South Florida and went to a Christian school. Her page is filled with photo albums with her children dating back to 2010. The oldest album titled “I can’t believe you’re all mine!” features professional photos of two girls and a baby boy.

A piece of the past between Leahy and her ex-husband is outlined through several injunctions filed against each other over the past several years.

On Oct. 5, 2012, Leahy’s ex-husband petitioned for an injunction on behalf of three minors against her. Less than three weeks later, the temporary injunction was dismissed, according to Sarasota County court records. There are two other listed domestic violence-related cases in which Leahy’s ex-husband filed petitions against her.

On Dec. 30, 2011, Leahy filed a petition for injunction against her ex-husband. That case appears in Sarasota court records as closed.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Woman charged with trying to pay to have ex-husband killed."