A Flushing, Queens, woman’s elaborate and chilling plot to hire a hitman through the dark web to eliminate her lover’s spouse and stepdaughter has been revealed, leading to her arrest and charges of murder-for-hire.
Yue Zhou, 35, found herself deeply entangled in an affair with her lover’s spouse and, between March 25 and April 4, 2019, sought to solidify her position in the relationship by ordering the murder of the spouse. Using the dark web alias “BIGTREE,” Zhou meticulously arranged the hit, going as far as making a $5,000 Bitcoin payment to a supposed hitman website.
Little did she know, the website was a scam.
Zhou’s desperation grew after the initial transaction. When the murder didn’t happen, she sent threatening messages to the website administrator, promising violent retribution. Her alarming behavior didn’t stop there. In December 2019, she directly threatened her lover’s adult daughter with messages of graphic violence. By February 2021, she had even attempted to hire a neighbor of the daughter to carry out the killing, offering $10,000 and sex in exchange.
The investigation revealed that Zhou had significant involvement in illicit sex work, working at spas across the country known for prostitution. Her movements were tracked, showing her presence in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she worked at a spa raided for prostitution-related offenses. She was arrested on June 5, 2024, in Virginia. Prior to that arrest, at multiple times in 2024, the defendant worked at a spa in Maryland that, based on information from local law enforcement, is also connected to illicit sex work, according to prosecutors.
Zhou now faces charges of murder-for-hire, and prosecutors are pushing for her detention, citing her as a flight risk and a danger to the community.
“The defendant concocted a scheme to obscure both her identity by using the dark web as well as her connection to the transaction by using a Bitcoin exchange service based in Ukraine in order to hire someone to murder [the spouse],” said United States Attorney Breon Peace in a letter submitted to the court.
With substantial evidence, including messages, cryptocurrency transactions, and witness testimonies, the case against Zhou is strong, according to prosecutors.
Peace emphasized the severity of her actions and the risk she poses if released.
“Based on her concerted and painstaking efforts to kill numerous people, the defendant would a clear danger to the community if released,” the letter said.
Zhou is set to be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York, where she will also face a detention hearing.
If convicted, Zhou faces a potential sentence of 121-151 months in prison.
Photo by Junior Teixeira.
