Dark web hitman trial: Helen Hewlett guilty of murder plot

Helen Hewlett, 43, turned to a site on the dark web called Online Killers Market in her efforts to pay someone to murder Paul Belton, 50, with whom she had become “utterly fixated”.

A jury at Norwich Crown Court unanimously found her guilty of soliciting his murder following a 10-day trial. 

After three days of deliberation, they also found her guilty of stalking him over two and half years, a lesser charge after finding her not guilty of the more serious offence of stalking causing alarm or distress.

Factory staff trainer Paul Belton who Hewlett became infatuated with after being spurned a brief fling (Image: East Anglia News Service)

Hewlett, who was wearing a dark grey prison tracksuit, showed no emotion at the verdicts.

Judge Katharine Moore told her the offences were so serious she faced a lengthy jail term with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Detective Inspector Paul Morton, who led the investigation, said: "We are very pleased that, after careful consideration, the jury have reached a guilty verdict on both counts.

"This has been a very complex and technical trial with a huge amount of information to consider. This is a rare type of offence and it just shows the dark web is still not a safe place for criminals to hide."

Helen Hewlett and Paul Belton met at the Linda McCartney food factory in Fakenham (Image: Newsquest)

The court had heard that Hewlett had become infatuated with Mr Belton, 50, a married father, when they were both working together at the Linda McCartney vegetarian food factory in Fakenham.

After he spurned efforts for the relationship to continue Hewlett had “become obsessed with him” and had begun bombarding him with emails containing threats and explicit images of herself. 

When he moved to another Fakenham factory, Kinnerton Confectionery, she also got a job there in order to pursue a relationship.

Helen Hewlett being arrested at her King's Lynn home for soliciting murder (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

But when he didn’t respond to her advances she made false allegations of sexual harassment and posted messages on Facebook that he “needed shooting” and that she was “sick of people who treat you like s*** and think they can get away with it”.

She then turned to the dark web uploading Mr Belton’s details using the name Horses5 on to Online Killers Market, which purported to supply hitmen, with a post stating “Need someone killed in Norfolk - vital it looks like an accident”.

Hewlett, of the Hawthorns in King's Lynn, also used all her savings, loans and an overdraft to pay more than £17,000 in Bitcoin into a supposed Escrow deposit account on the website.

The order for a hitman Helen Hewlett placed on the dark web site Online Killers Market (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

She continued topping up the balance after being urged to pay more by someone using the name ‘Marksman’. 

After being arrested on August 12 last year following a tip-off to police, she was found to have searched news articles about fatalities in Norfolk to see if the killing had been carried out.

DI Morton said: “Mr Belton knew nothing of this until the police knocked on his door and told him that someone had been on the internet and tried to order a hitman to kill him.

“As you can imagine his reaction was one of shock and disbelief. He has been very brave.”

Detective Inspector Paul Morton who led the investigation (Image: Newsquest)

Hewlett told police she had posted on the site as a way to “vent” her frustrations and had believed she had not given the go-ahead for the killing.

But during the trial Marti Blair, prosecuting, told jurors her intentions had been for Mr Belton to be murdered even if police could not be sure if the site was a scam. 

“Even if it wasn’t proven that this was a real site, other people could have taken action themselves so we had to safeguard against that,” said DI Morton.