Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

A man is arrested after meeting a woman who mistakenly thought he was the hitman (who was an undercover cop) she was there to hire to kill her husband. After all the prerequisites were met (greeting, ordering of drinks) she slipped him an envelope and left. The man had no prior knowledge of the prearranged meeting. Can he be found guilty of attempted murder?


Asked on 11/29/15, 6:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Beckham Attorney Edward B. Beckham

Do your own criminal law homework. But, still, I think it is important to emphasize that there are two different story lines.

(1) HIRING WOMAN: Her intent is to hire a hitman; the individual she passed the envelope off to was not who she though he was. She had intent and followed through; her mistake is not a defense.

(2) OBLIVIOUS DUDE: He is not a party to her intent. He is just some dude that finds himself "hit-on" by a woman while he is out. Oblivious to her reasoning, at the end of their spontaneous meeting (from his perspective), she gives him an envelope. There is no issue for this guy; in his reality what happened, happened and that is happened - there was nothing else to it for him. He is not somehow dragged into her criminal enterprise because of her mistake (though, again, her mistake is a valid defense for her). Oblivious dude is simply that: truly oblivious, which does not appear to be a crime in this make-believe scenario.

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Answered on 11/29/15, 9:53 pm


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