CAMDEN, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A New Jersey man admitted Thursday that he paid thousands of dollars in bitcoin to have a 14-year-old boy killed after he learned he was under investigation for exchanging sexually explicit content with the teen.
John Musbach, 31, pleaded guilty in federal court to murder-for-hire and faces up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey.
Prosecutors said Musbach exchanged sexually explicit photographs and videos over the internet with the then-13-year-old boy living in New York in the summer of 2015. The victim’s parents found out about the inappropriate contact and contacted the local police.
After identifying Musbach, who was then a resident of Atlantic County, New Jersey, New York law enforcement officers reached out to the county's prosecutor’s office.
In March 2016, Musbach was arrested on child pornography charges, and investigators executed a search warrant at his home, which was then located in Galloway, New Jersey.
Prosecutors said Musbach decided to have the victim killed so that the victim could not testify against him in the pending criminal case.
Musbach communicated with the administrator of a murder-for-hire website that operated on the dark web and purported to offer contract killings or other acts of violence in exchange for bitcoin payment on multiple occasions between May 7, 2016, and May 20, 2016, and arranged for a hit.
The 31-year-old asked whether a 14-year-old was too young to target, and after learning that his age was not an issue, he paid about 40 bitcoins for the hit, which was nearly $20,000 at the time.
Musbach repeatedly messaged the website’s administrator, following up on the hit and asking when it would occur.
When pressed for an additional $5,000 to secure the killing, Musbach attempted to cancel and requested a refund of his $20,000 deposit, prosecutors said. When he tried to cancel and get a refund, the administrator revealed the website was a scam and threatened to tell law enforcement.
Musbach faces a fine of up to $250,000 in addition to the prison time.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
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