Florida man planned to blame BLM for ex-girlfriend and her family’s deaths
Daniel Slater hired a hitman to carry out the crimes but was foiled when he turned out to be an FBI agent.
A 51-year-old Florida man planned to have his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend, her sister and her brother-in-law killed and then pin the murders on Black Lives Matter protesters.
Daniel Slater of Palm Beach hired a hitman to carry out the crimes but was foiled when the individual turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.
According to The Washington Post, the plot conspired between May and June 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and while protests following the Minneapolis murder of George Floyd were taking place across the country.
Slater pleaded guilty this week to murder-for-hire in a deal that meant two other murder-for-hire and three drug charges against him were dropped. He is expected to be sentenced to the maximum penalty for his crimes: 10 years in prison.
It was another woman’s death that started an investigation into Slater. A 26-year-old woman who was acquainted with the man was found dead in Miami’s Everglades National Park in February 2020. Court documents reveal that Slater wanted Brianne Slabaugh to kidnap and kill his ex-girlfriend, Brianna Kane, but Slabaugh died from an accidental drug overdose before completing the murders.
The investigation into her death led them to another person who knew of Slater’s plot and cooperated with the FBI. Reportedly, Slater is a drug dealer who attempted to have Kane kidnapped and wanted her teeth knocked out, nose broken and acid to be thrown in her face, according to the report.
The informant drove with Slater to his ex-girlfriend’s home, where he detailed the plot, down to the idea of spray painting “Black Lives Matter” on the house to pin the slayings on area activists.
“Slater pointed out a window in the home, explained how [the sister] and her [husband] sat in their living room at specific times, and told the [associate] to shoot the victims through the window during one of those times,” according to the complaint.
According to CBS Tampa, Slater, currently in the Broward County Jail, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 16.
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