Marine Charged with Murder-for-Hire Scheme

Movies sometimes focus around murder-for-hire schemes. When it happens in real life however, it’s just plain sad.

Samuel Alexander Wilson, a Camp Pendleton Marine from Ohio, was arrested for what prosecutors are describing as a murder-for-hire plot that ended in the shooting death of his 20-year-old wife.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune and online jail records, Wilson was arrested on April 26th in San Diego County, along with his co-defendant, Darin Brusiter II, for the murder of Asia Harris, who leaves behind two young sons.

Wilson and Brusiter each face two counts of aggravated murder, with felony murder, murder for hire and firearms specifications, one count of kidnapping and one count of insurance fraud. The shooter used a firearm equipped with a silencer, according to the indictment.

When Wilson was questioned by police, he stated that the gunman was a stranger whom he and his wife had asked for directions.

However, as CBS News reported, prosecutors are saying that this murder took place because Wilson wanted to cash in on his wife’s life insurance policy.

Ryan Miday, who is the spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, noted that Wilson is accused of recruiting Brusiter to kill his wife. He stated that Brusiter was dating Wilson’s cousin.

Miday also said that Wilson, who was on leave from Camp Pendleton, traveled to Cleveland a couple days before the slaying on April 10th. He and his wife left the cousin’s house later that night with Brusiter to get something to eat.

Wilson drove with his wife in the passenger seat and Brusiter in the back seat. Miday said the trio approached a stop sign, Brusiter fired a revolver at Harris, hitting her twice in her head. Her body was found later in the road outside the vehicle.

At roughly 10:20 that night after witnesses saw the body, they called the police. When they arrived, Wilson was already at the scene. That’s when he pulled out the excuse about asking a stranger for directions. You would think that two guys from the area would know it pretty well though.

Wilson said he and his wife had gotten lost and encountered a man who was to show them where to go. He got into the car and at some point pulled out a gun and fired.

After a while, Wilson told an insurance company that his wife was killed during a carjacking.

Miday and other Investigators from Cleveland discovered that Wilson’s story did not hold up, even though they declined to explain what led police to that conclusion.

The suspects have not yet been arraigned, but Brusiter had his court date set for May 13th. Wilson is expected to be extradited to Ohio, though it is unclear when that might happen. Jail records show that he is set to appear in court in San Diego on May 18th.

If they are convicted, each man could face the death penalty. While this is a gruesome tale, please note that these are merely accusations made against the defendant. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.