Pennsylvania woman caught in murder-for-hire plot after hitman she hired turned out to be undercover cop

Marilyn Zhou asked the assassin to kill her ex-husband’s new wife and her 13–year-old daughter, for a price of $41,000

Zhou, 56, of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder 

A tip led to authorities setting up a meeting with Zhou and an undercover cop in Trenton, NJ, on Dec. 18

At the meeting Zhou paid $21,000 upfront to the cop and promised to deliver another $20,000 payment after the hit was done

She also provided info on the alleged targets, suggested materials the killer should use

Pennsylvania state police searching her home seized $18,000 in cash, as well as the items Zhou suggested the hit man use in the killings

A Pennsylvania woman was caught in a murder-for-hire sting after the hit man she thought she was hiring to kill her ex-husband’s new wife and the woman’s 13-year-old daughter, turned out to be an undercover police officer. 
Marilyn Zhou, 56, was arrested after she unknowingly met with the police officer in New Jersey to discuss details about the murder-for-hire scheme after authorities got a tip about her intentions. 
Police said she paid $21,000 upfront to the officer with a promise to pay a further another $20,000 payment after the contract had been executed.
Zhou reportedly ‘also told the undercover officer that if the victim’s 13-year-old daughter was present at the time of the murder, she should also be murdered,’ according to a press release issued by the office of the prosecutor in Mercer County, New Jersey.
Zhou has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of money laundering. 

The county prosecutor’s office special investigation unit set up a meeting between Zhou and the undercover officer posing as a hit man after receiving a tip about her intentions to ‘buy a hit’. 
During the meeting on December 18 in Trenton, Zhou reportedly gave the undercover cop two photos of the alleged target, along with disposable rubber gloves and a towel to use during the murder.  
Zhou was arrested when the meeting ended, according to the press release.   
Executing a search warrant against her home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, State Police found about $18,000 in cash as well as the items she suggested the hit man use during the killings, police said. 
Zhou remains in custody after the prosecutor’s office filed a motion to have her remain in custody ahead of her upcoming trial.