“I Need an Alibi”: Oregon Woman Recorded Plotting Her Husband’s Murder Gets 5 Years in Prison

After a two-day Jackson County Circuit Court bench trial on November 4 and 5, 58-year-old Cheryl Ann King was found guilty of soliciting a hitman to murder her husband. She was sentenced to five years in prison.

During the bench trial — conducted without a jury, with a judge serving as the only fact-finder — Judge Pro Tem Paul Moser heard testimony from four witnesses, and the prosecutors introduced five digital recordings as evidence.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, and Deputy District Attorney Wade Austin Hilsher represented the State at the trial.

The evidence suggests that King hired someone to kill her husband while the two were going through divorce proceedings between January 1, 2021, and March 19, 2022. The person declined to participate and instead notified authorities and cooperated with investigators by wearing a court-approved recording device during multiple meetings with King.

During one of the meetings, King was recorded discussing the murder-for-hire plan, including “her need for an alibi, potential methods of carrying out the murder, and the payment after it was done.”

King was found guilty of Solicitation of Murder in the First Degree and, on November 12, was sentenced to 60 months in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections, the maximum penalty allowed under Oregon law for the charge.