The Psychology of Murder for Hire

"It's easier than getting a divorce." "I don't want the judgment of my family." "He has a $250,000 life insurance policy." "A divorce would break his heart." "I can't stand the thought of her getting custody of the kids."

There are lots of reasons people hire contract killers to kill someone they once cared about.

Who is the Mastermind Behind the Murder?

If you look at recent news, just about anybody; a former model, a former Food Network star, even a lead singer in a Christian rock band. In fact, while the cast of characters in a murder-for-hire plot consistently features three central characters (the person who hires the killer, the target, and the real or, in the case of the undercover officer posing as the genuine article, the believed-to-be-real assassin), these characters differ widely in terms of their social status, relationships to each other, and motive.

Murder-for-hire masterminds can be richer than sin or poorer than dirt. They can be husbands, wives, exes, in-laws, business partners or friends; so can their victims. What they do have in common is a relationship with their target; victims of murder for hire are not chosen randomly. And they are chosen for a specific reason.

The Personality Behind the Plot

A person who hires a contract killer may be desperate, greedy, psychopathic or drug-addicted but s/he is not insane. S/he clearly understands that the idea behind the intended action is wrong and could lead to some serious jail time. S/he is also not seriously mentally ill; it's not likely you'll hear a criminal defendant try to convince a jury that s/he was told by God to hire a specific contract killer to carry out a divine mission.

More likely, the person behind the plot is angry. He is angry at the thought of giving half his assets to a woman he can't stand. She is sick and tired of her husband's ex interfering in their lives and turning her stepdaughters against her. He is fed up with having to wait for his elderly mother to die so he can get the inheritance he deserves right now. What provides the impetus for action - what separates this person from some of us who might feel similarly in the same situation - is the sense of entitlement and lack of empathy underneath this person's facade. This is a person who believes s/he deserves to get what s/he wants no matter what the cost to others.

Why Murder for Hire Plots Fail

Fortunately for us caring, trusting and law abiding citizens, murder for hire homicides are relatively rare. While we don't have any U.S. statistics, research by the Australian Institute of Criminality estimated that approximately 2 to 4 percent of their murders are for hire. Almost 20% of the "successful contracts" - the target died - were motivated by a romantic relationship gone wrong; 16 percent were financially motivated.

Even more fortunately, most plots do not result in a death and even, when they do, the plotter rarely gets away with it. Here's why:

• Because few murder masterminds have a criminal background, they don't know where to find someone willing to kill for money and tend to look to acquaintances, neighbors or other inept or inexperienced individuals to do their dirty work.
• Most acquaintances or neighbors are not willing to do this dirty work and tend to call law enforcement to express their concern.
• The mastermind has already told every Tom, Dick and Harry that s/he wishes the target would drop dead and, as a result, immediately becomes the prime suspect when it happens.
• Most contract for hire plotters are under the mistaken belief that if someone else does the actual killing, they are somehow free from responsibility and/or won't get caught. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Bottom Line

Few acts seem as cold and calculating as the premeditated murder of a loved one. To put time and energy into a plot that can be as elaborate as a Shakespearean play requires a certain type of individual - and not one that most of us would want to bring home to mom.