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Hernando Today

Woman Accused Of Hiring Hit Men

Francois

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: February 26, 2009

Updated: 02/26/2009 01:19 pm

Bond was denied on Thursday for a woman accused of hiring hit men to kill her husband.

Jacqucia Francois was arrested in December on charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree murder after detectives determined that the circumstances behind a "home invasion" were deeper than they initially appeared.

The case began Nov. 18, when three armed men broke into Francois' home on Nightwalker Road. They ransacked the house and held Francois' 13-year-old son at gunpoint before escaping to Orlando.

Detectives eventually discovered that Francois had hired the assassins to kill her husband so she could collect on his life insurance. Francois had the perfect alibi because she would be working the night shift at Wal-Mart during the break-in.

The plot collapsed when Francois' husband, Fenol, left for work early to fill his car with gas.

In Circuit Court on Thursday, Francois' attorneys argued that their client never admitted to the conspiracy during interviews with investigators. Furthermore, her arrest is based on the statements of two co-conspirators who never actually heard the negotiations and a third suspect who has changed his story three times. They asked for a bond no higher than $75,000.

Circuit Judge Jack Springstead sided with the prosecution, though, and said that Francois presented both a flight risk and a danger to her husband. He denied her any bond.

For more on this story and further court news, read Friday's edition of Hernando Today.

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