TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Gretchen Buselli (a/k/a “Gretchen Yarbrough”), 47, of Tallahassee, Florida, was arrested Thursday on a charge of Use of Interstate Commerce Facility in the Commission of Murder-for-Hire.
The complaint alleges that between on or about June 17, 2021, and on or about September 16, 2021, in the Northern District of Florida, Buselli plotted to hire a hitmen to kill her ex-husband.
Buselli had told a friend that her ex was abusing their 5-year-old daughter and “the best solution — the only way to protect her daughter — is to get rid of her ex-husband for good,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
WCTV reported: Court documents say Buselli tried to convince a friend to kill her ex-husband, but because he lived out of state, Buselli wound up agreeing to pay a hit man named “Paul” $25,000 for the hit. “Paul” was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Arrest papers say the two used burner phones to communicate and discussed at length how to carry out the murder and decided it would be better to make it look like a missing persons case than a robbery.
Arrest papers unsealed by a federal judge Friday say Buselli arranged to make an initial payment of $5,000 at an agreed upon drop spot, and pay the rest when the job was complete.
Arrest papers say that spot was Tallahassee’s Cascades Park Ampitheater, Row F, Seat 113. FBI agents surveilling the spot say Buselli showed up in a floppy hat and sunglasses and left a small black bag in that seat. FBI agents said there was $5,000 cash inside.
Court documents go on to say Buselli then discarded the hat, sunglasses and the clothes she was wearing in two different locations after leaving the park – one in a shopping center trash can and the other in a donation box.
Buselli was ordered temporarily detained until a preliminary and detention hearing on September 22, 2021, at 1:30 pm, at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee. If convicted, she faces up to ten years’ imprisonment.
This arrest resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tallahassee Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Mountin and Lazaro Fields.
