LAKE COUNTY -- There is undercover audio of a Beachwood woman and her father accused of hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband. The tapes were obtained Monday by WKYC.
Christine Metter, 41, and her father Al Zombory, 77, both of Beachwood, go on trial in January on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder. The trial is being held in Lake County because that is where the alleged conspiracy was launched.
In late May, Metter was on Facebook complaining about her ex-husband who she said had been abusive during their marriage. Metter's friend, Patrick Sabo of Lake County, joked that she should hire a hitman.
Authorities say Metter took the joke seriously and that she and Zombory met with Sabo at a Lake County restaurant and gave him $3,000 to find someone to do the job. Sabo, a former Army Ranger, said Metter assumed he might know someone because of his military background.
Sabo immediately went to Eastlake Police, who had one of their officers pose as a hitman to meet with Metter and Zombory.
On June 3, 2011, the group got together again, and the "hitman" announced to Metter and Zombory he had gone to Florida, and had gotten the job done.
"I shot him in the head like you guys wanted me to do," the undercover cop says on the audio tape. "Okay," Metter replies, as her father adds, "He's done."
"You understand?" the undercover officer insists, and Zombory replies, "Yeah, I understand you."
Earlier, the secretly recorded audio reveals the hitman demanding $100,000 of the ex-husband's $1.5 million life insurance policy.
"I want $100,000. When does this policy come due?" the phony hitman insists. "Well, after they find him, OK?" is Zombory's reply.
In order to convince the pair that the "hit" had been carried out, the undercover officer produces a photo-shopped picture of the ex-husband with blood and a bullet hole in his head. The ex, who lived outside Atlanta, had been warned of the plot and cooperated with authorities.
Immediately after being shown the photo, Metter and Zombory were arrested by Eastlake Police, who swooped in and ordered them to put their hands behind their back.
Authorities Monday also released to WKYC video tapes showing Metter being questioned by Eastlake Police immediately after her arrest. At one point she said "I have no idea" when asked if she knew why she was arrested.
Later, Metter asks the police officers, "Who's murdered? What happened?" During the interview she also asks, "I'll have to go to jail?"
Metter, the mother of four, goes on trial in Lake County on January 9. A conviction on a charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder carries up to 20 years in prison.
On Monday, a Lake County judge determined that Zombory was competent to stand trial. His lawyer had argued that his age and health made him unable to take part in his own defense. Zombory's trial is set for January 31.
