Canberra woman accused of plotting on dark web to kill parents has bail revoked

The 27-year-old appeared on Wednesday afternoon in the ACT Magistrates Court, having been arrested that morning by police officers who had spoken to her about a stolen car.

Legal Aid duty lawyer Solitaire Zahnleiter said the woman, whose name is prohibited from publication, had not been charged in relation to that vehicle.

But Ms Zahnleiter said the defendant admitted the officers had found her in possession of two mobile phones, which was one more than her bail conditions allowed her to have.

Prosecutor Keegan Lee applied to have the 27-year-old's bail revoked, saying the woman had allegedly used "an internet-enabled device" to organise a "hit" on her parents in 2020.

He said the prosecution had not opposed her most recent release on bail, just five weeks ago, so long as the condition limiting her phone use was in place to "protect the community [and] reduce the likelihood of reoffending by this defendant".

Mr Lee argued Wednesday's breach of this condition was "blatant", adding that the woman had "clearly lied" to police about who owned the second phone when they initially asked.

The court also heard the woman had previously breached bail twice by being out in contravention of a curfew condition, with the second of those occasions resulting in her spending a lengthy period in custody.

Ms Zahnleiter submitted, nevertheless, that the 27-year-old was "a good candidate for bail", adding that there was no suggestion of anything "sinister" on the second phone.

The Legal Aid lawyer said the defendant, who had no previous criminal history, had spent about nine months behind bars on remand since her December 2020 arrest.

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She told the court the woman was not able to access appropriate support services in the Alexander Maconochie Centre, and a further remand in custody would result in the "significant deterioration" of the 27-year-old's mental health.

Ms Zahnleiter ultimately invited magistrate Robert Cook to give the woman a warning and allow her to continue on bail.

Mr Cook declined to do so, saying the woman had been "well aware" of her bail obligations and had "rejected" previous warnings by breaching conditions.

"Here, she has done it again," he said.

The magistrate said the woman's bail conditions had been designed to address risks associated with her alleged attempts to have her parents murdered, which were "serious matters not to be trifled with".

He accordingly granted Mr Lee's application to revoke bail, remanding the woman in custody until at least December 14.

The woman, who has pleaded not guilty to charges that include two counts each of attempted murder and inciting murder, is due to appear in court again that day.

The Canberra Times has previously revealed police allege the woman agreed last year to pay a dark web scammer calling themselves "Juan" $20,000 for her parents to be killed.

She is accused of connecting with this person on a website called "The Sinaloa Cartel Marketplace", and asking for the deaths to look as they though were accidental.

The woman stood to inherit more than $2.5 million from her parents if they both died.

A UK-based journalist, who was working on a podcast about "contract violence websites", is said to have alerted police after coming across information suggesting the woman had made a payment associated with planned contract killings.

Detectives who subsequently investigated the matter allege the woman gave "Juan" more than $6000 worth of Bitcoin before ceasing to respond to the scam artist's questions about whether she was going to pay the rest of the agreed fee.

The woman's parents were ultimately unharmed.

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