A Gainesville woman was arrested Friday after police say she tried to arrange a murder, which she previously tried to execute herself.
The Gainesville Police Department arrested 29-year-old Victoria Leigh Sargento-Graham on charges of attempted murder and attempted solicitation, according to the arrest report.
Though the identity and relationship of the victim are redacted in the report, an unnamed law enforcement official identified the victim as Sargento-Graham’s young son, as first reported by The Gainesville Sun.
Sargento-Graham called the witness at around 3:30 a.m. and asked him to come to her home. Once he arrived, Sargento-Graham asked him to kill for her, according to the report.
Sargento-Graham informed the witness of her plan to have him suffocate the victim later in the day, the report stated. The witness said he pretended to agree to this plot and contacted authorities upon leaving her home.
The next morning, the witness received another call from Sargento-Graham, the report stated. Their conversation was audio and video recorded on the body camera of a present law enforcement officer.
During the phone call, Sargento-Graham described a scenario in which her son would shoot himself with the witness’ gun, but decided against it out of fear that the witness would be arrested.
According to the report, Sargento-Graham described the world as being cruel and said suffocating the victim while he’s asleep would be the best option.
Once arrested and informed of her rights, Sargento-Graham claimed the witness was the mastermind behind the plot to suffocate the victim. She later admitted that the plan was hers.
Sargento-Graham’s bond is set at $500,000.
Contact Samia Lagmis at slagmis@alligator.org.
Victoria Leigh Sargento-Graham
