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Prosecutors want 'significant' prison time in Woodridge bitcoin murder for hire case

DuPage County prosecutors have not budged from their demands for a lengthy prison sentence should the former Loyola University Medical Center nurse accused of using the dark web to hire a hitman to kill her former lover's wife plead guilty.

Defense attorney Stephen Hall told Judge George Bakalis Monday that he has submitted a mitigation package and counter offer to prosecutors in an attempt to limit any time Tina Jones may face behind bars.

Hall declined to say what was included, but such packages typically contain information regarding the defendant's work and criminal history.

Earlier this spring, Hall said the state's offer included a "significant amount" of "straight prison time."

"Unfortunately nothing has changed in that regard," Hall said after court.

Jones, 32, formerly of the 700 block of River Road in Des Plaines, is charged with four counts of solicitation of murder for hire, two counts of solicitation of murder and attempted first-degree murder.

All the charges are Class X felonies, meaning Jones will not be eligible for probation if found guilty. She faces a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious offense.

Prosecutors allege Jones paid nearly $11,000 in bitcoin to the Cosa Nostra International Network in January 2018 to kill a Woodridge woman who works as a clinical social worker in Naperville.

The website, however, was deemed to be a scam. The CBS television program "48 Hours" discovered the contract between Jones and the website while researching another story and alerted Woodridge police, authorities said.

In her "kill order," officials said, Jones gave the hitman clear instructions to make sure her lover was unharmed and provided a schedule for when he would be at work and when his wife would be alone. Jones also said to make it look like an accident.

The victim's husband is an anesthesiologist who completed his residency at Loyola and is still based in Maywood.

Jones remains free on $250.000 bail and is living with her family in Georgia as the case continues. Her next court date was scheduled for Aug. 12 for her to either resolve the case via plea or set the case for trial.

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