Teen tried to hire hitman to kill 7-year-old, but the website was fake, Iowa cops say

A teenager is accused of trying to hire a hitman online to kill a 7-year-old, Iowa police told news outlets.

The 17-year-old Storm Lake girl visited rentahitman.com, which is a parody website, and tried to hire a professional killer to take on the job, Storm Lake police told KCAU.

She visited the website at least twice and shared information about the child, including their name and where they live, the outlet reported.

The webmaster for rentahitman.com reached out to police, and an investigation was launched, KTIV reported.

A police officer posing as a hitman contacted the teenager on Friday, June 2, police told the outlet. The teenager said she wanted the 7-year-old dead, and told where to find the child and when they would be home, the station reported.

Officers arrested the teen the same day on a charge of solicitation to commit murder, police told KCCI.

The child and their family were not harmed and were unaware that they were in any danger, the outlet reported.

Storm Lake police did not respond to a request for information from McClatchy News.

Storm Lake is roughly 160 miles northwest of downtown Des Moines.

This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Teen tried to hire hitman to kill 7-year-old, but the website was fake, Iowa cops say."