WHEATLAND, WY — A 28-year-old Wyoming woman was arrested after allegedly asking a longtime friend to murder her husband during marital troubles, telling the friend “he can’t have my kids,” according to court documents.
Molly Hamby faces charges of solicitation of first-degree murder and solicitation of forgery after her husband discovered text messages on her phone discussing plans to make him “disappear.” The case emerged when the couple was attempting to reconcile their marriage and Hamby agreed to let her husband review her text messages as part of their efforts to work things out. What he found led him to contact Wheatland Police Chief Bradley Otte on March 22, launching an investigation that would result in Hamby’s arrest within days.
The alleged murder plot unfolded through text messages between Hamby and a male friend who works as a private investigator, according to court documents obtained by Cowboy State Daily. On March 20, the day before Hamby moved back into the family home, she texted her friend saying she had a “job” for him. When he asked about the nature of the work, Hamby wrote “Don’t want to text it” before directly asking “Can you make someone disappear.” The friend responded “I Can yes,” according to the affidavit. The pair arranged to meet in person at a local auto parts store, where police say they discussed the details of harming Hamby’s husband.
After their meeting, Hamby’s urgency became apparent in subsequent text messages reviewed by police. “And we need to get this done today if possible he has threaten to take kids away from me a few times,” she wrote at 12:49 p.m., followed by “he cant have my kids” at 12:59 p.m. The friend responded with “ok” at 1:02 p.m., according to the court documents. Police Chief Otte noted that Hamby and her husband had separated earlier in March, with Hamby temporarily moving out of their family home before agreeing to reconcile. The couple has three children together, and fear of losing custody appeared to be Hamby’s primary motivation for the alleged murder solicitation.
When police interviewed Hamby’s friend, he initially claimed she had only asked him to serve as a bodyguard for protection during her marital troubles. However, during follow-up interviews, the private investigator admitted that their in-person meeting included discussions about “making her husband disappear” and that he had told Hamby “he would help her hurt” her husband. The friend also revealed that Hamby had asked him to forge her husband’s signature on motorcycle title paperwork, though he told her he wasn’t skilled at forgery but could find someone who was. Court documents show the friend has not been charged in connection with the case.
During a voluntary interview with Chief Otte on March 22, Hamby initially maintained she had only sought “help and protection” from her friend. When confronted with the text messages, however, she admitted that her request to “make someone disappear” was referring to murdering her husband. Hamby also confirmed she had provided her friend with details about her husband’s location and whereabouts on March 20, the day she wanted the killing to occur. She told police she “did not want to know the details on how he was going to carry out the murder,” according to the affidavit.
Hamby explained her motive to investigators, saying she was “extremely mad” at her husband and feared he would take their three children if they divorced. She specifically mentioned that her husband “had made statements about taking her children if they got a divorce,” which drove her to consider the extreme measure. The investigation revealed that Hamby’s plan was to have her husband killed on March 20, but the plot was derailed when she agreed to let him review her phone messages the following day as part of their reconciliation efforts.
Hamby was arrested immediately following her interview and booked into the Platte County Jail. She made her initial court appearance on Thursday and was bound over to felony court. If convicted on the murder solicitation charge, she could face life in prison, while the forgery solicitation charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Court records do not indicate whether she has applied for representation from the public defender’s office, and no preliminary hearing date has been set.
