Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg has commended an officer and a staff member who foiled a murder conspiracy in Milton Keynes and brought the offender to justice.
Detective Constable Mandy Banfield and Police Staff Investigator Lindsey Devoy conducted a complex investigation into soliciting to commit murder, which resulted in Whitney Franks, then aged 26, of Bury Street, Newport Pagnell, receiving a lengthy custodial sentence.
On 9 September 2020, Thames Valley Police received a report from a BBC journalist claiming he had been working with a private investigator regarding contract violence within the dark web.
During his investigation, the journalist located information on a website used for ‘murder to hire’.
One case identified a targeted victim from Milton Keynes who was at high risk, with evidence of correspondence and payments exchanged online through Bitcoin for the intended murder of a victim.
Officers identified the victim, ensuring she was safeguard by arranging immediate temporary accommodation.
On debrief, the victim disclosed that she believed the suspect to be Franks, who was the third party in a love triangle.
This assertion was supported later by the fact dark web evidence indented the user to be Franks.
Staff investigator Devoy, who was allocated as the officer in the case (OIC), organised an early arrest strategy and conducted comprehensive suspect interviews alongside DC Banfield to secure key admissions, although a defence was raised regarding intent to harm.
PSI Devoy also tasked a search of Franks’ house to download the router and directed seizures of digital devices, which were later sent for digital forensic examinations, resulting in the recovery of key evidence.
Alongside digital and financial investigations and the use of an expert to present online digital evidence, PSI Devoy continued to secure witness statements to link the evidential online and financial material to Franks.
PSI Devoy went on to produce an outstanding case file, supported by DC Banfield, and Franks was charged in August 2021.
DC Banfield, on behalf of PSI Devoy, presented this case at court, supporting the prosecution counsel.
This case required a number of testing questions to be answered and without DC Banfield, the case would not have gone so smoothly.
Franks was found guilty of soliciting to commit murder by unanimous jury verdict following a trial at Reading Crown Court, which concluded on 22 July 2022.
She was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, which was halved to six years on appeal.
The investigation, however, demonstrated the importance of crime investigation into so-called ‘hidden harm’ offences and the case highlights how more complex local criminal investigations have become.
PSI Devoy and DC Banfield were commended for exhibiting exceptional performance in supporting the force values of providing excellent service to victims, objectivity, selflessness and taking pride in delivering a high quality service and keeping promises.
Speaking after receiving the award, DC Banfield said: "I’m really pleased that we managed to bring this dangerous offender to justice before she could do any more damage."
"I’m proud that we managed to secure a conviction for such a rarely tried offence."
