While some child support cases are hashed out amicably, a recent case in the news highlights the drastic measures some attempt to take in order to skirt family law.

A 48-year-old former sheriff's deputy in Virginia Beach, Virginia recently pleaded guilty to charges that she was conspiring to have her ex-husband murdered by someone she hired. The woman had reached out to a man in Hampton during the month of April to find someone to kill her ex-husband because she did not want to continue paying for child support. Her plot fell apart when the hired hit man, whom she had contacted to finalize the deal through several phone calls, reported her to the police and had audio recordings of their conversations.

She had planned on paying the hit man $1,500 to have her ex murdered shortly after he dropped the former couple's children off with her for their summer vacation. She was also going to part with $400 so a handgun could be purchased. The plan was for the hit man to kill the father of their twin daughters on his way back to Virginia Beach after releasing the children into her custody. This was supposed to occur on July 1. Instead of her ex-husband's death occurring on this date, the woman was arrested in a neighboring state.

From July 1994 to July 1997, the 48-year-old was a sheriff's deputy at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center. She resumed this position in September 1998 and left again five years later.

The former deputy's guilty plea allows her to be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in a federal prison. Her sentencing will occur in April of next year.

Source: The Virginian-Pilot, "Ex-Va. Beach deputy pleads guilty to murder plot," Lauren King, Dec. 7, 2011