Jealous British woman tries to hire dark web assassin to murder sporting goods company colleagues because they were all having an affair with the boss

A shelf stacker at Milton Keynes Sporting Goods had an affair with her manager and tried to hire a dark web hitman to kill a colleague - when she also started sleeping with their boss, according to a court.

Whitney Franks, 26, had been secretly dating her boss, married father James Perst, for more than a year after they met at the sports giant's Milton Keynes branch.

But when colleague Ruut Ruutna joined the outlet, she reportedly began to romp with Mr. Perst behind the back of his former mistress Franks.

The suspicious Franks "stalked" Perst - and learned that he was secretly seeing Ms. Ruutna at night.

This made her "extremely jealous" and she entered the dark web and tried to hire a dark web assassin for £1,000 using cryptocurrency.

She posted Ms. Ruutna's home address and Facebook profile on the dark web and asked, "I am looking for someone who can target a woman for murder. I have £1,000 and I'm willing to pay more.

On Monday, the court said a journalist found the post and tipped off police, not a contract killer.

Prosecutor Andrew Copeland told Reading Crown Court that Mr Perst replaced his lover when Franks moved to a separate branch of SportsDirect five miles away.

Why would she do that?" he said. The court said it was because jealousy was rampant and she wanted to take away this lover."

The prosecutor added: "Franks and Ruutna were colleagues who worked with Perst, who was the managing director of SportsDirect in Milton Keynes. "

"Not only were they colleagues at work, but they were also James Perst's love interests, both having romantic relationships with him at the same time."

"Both knew that James Perst had a married wife with two young children. They didn't care about that, but about each other. "

"They both knew that James Perst was not prepared to leave his long-term partner or their children."

The prosecutor continued, "Perst tried to hold them back from each other. When we first discovered the deception, we learned what a tangled web it wove."

The court was told that James Perst began working at a Milton Keynes branch in August 2014, a year before Whitney Franks.

By 2016, they were in love. in 2017, Ruut Ruutna joined. By 2018, Franks changed branches, and Ruutna and Perst began their relationship.

By 2020, Mr. Copeland said, "James Perst would often leave his home and go to Ruut Ruutna's after his partner and children had gone to bed.

"On August 17, 2020, Whitney Franks showed up at a Milton Keynes Sporting Goods branch, not for a work-related visit, but for a personal visit. "

"Perst was clearly upset, and she commented on his sneaky behavior during the evening."

"Neither lady was talking to each other or about each other - how did she know James Perst (Perst) would be hanging around Ruth Ruutna's (Ruutna) house at night."

"She must have followed him. Why would she do that? Out of jealousy."

On Sept. 1, 2018, Franks (Franks) sent another email to James Perst (Perst), asking to rekindle their romance.

Mr. Copeland said, "The email was of a more positive nature and referenced past sexual activity between the two and ended with a request to give her another chance. "

"In the email, she says 'I can give you the whole world, James, if you'll give me a chance, I think you can be the happiest person in your life. I really meant it."

But the next day, police were contacted by BBC journalist Carl Miller, who found her request to kill someone online.

"When people buy services on the dark web, it's usually for drugs or weapons, but here the reporter was looking at a site that was dealing with death," prosecutors said.

The court heard Franks set up a cryptocurrency account that allowed her to make anonymous purchases online and bought £282.57 worth of bitcoin on Aug. 20.

This was not an act of intoxication and the court implied she was deadly serious," the prosecutor said. Police went to Ms Ruutna's address and she wasn't there."

"The landlady took them to the sporting goods company where Ruutna worked. They took her to a quiet place and told her of the existence of this message. "

"She replied 'I have a hunch who it is,' and she gave the name Whitney Franks. "

"Out of concern for her safety, she was taken to a safe house. The investigation continues and Franks was arrested on Sept. 10, 2020."

"During the police interview, she admitted to looking at the website in general and a pop-up window appeared, which she clicked on and took her to the dark web."

"Her curiosity got the better of her, and she offered drugs, weapons and murder. "

"She couldn't believe that such a site existed and that it had to be a scam. She wanted to check if it was a scam."

Franks, of Two Mile Ash, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, denies one count of soliciting murder between Aug. 17 and Sept. 1, 2020.

The trial then continued.