Police: Woodlands-area business owner tried to have husband killed

THE WOODLANDS, TX (KTRK) -- Investigators say a Spring woman smiled when she thought her husband was dead. Now she's in jail, accused of paying a hitman to have him killed.

Maria Sosa is charged with solicitation of capital murder.

Authorities got a tip that she was trying to hire someone to kill her husband. They set up a meeting with an undercover officer posing as a hit man.

Investigators say she handed over $500 and a men's wedding ring as a down payment. She also agreed to give him $2,000 and her husband's truck after he was dead.

"We're still working this case. We believe there might have been other people she's reached out to murder her husband. If that happened, than we sure would like to hear from you," said Kelly Blackburn with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Investigators even had her husband pose for a picture, acting like he had been murdered. When the undercover officer showed it to her at a second meeting, she smiled and shook his hand. She was arrested shortly after.

"It's been very contentious. She's been very hard to deal with. She's disregarded the law. She's disregarded the Court," said Jim Jones, who represents a Ramon Sosa in their divorce. "However, this came as a complete surprise-shocking. I'm just glad they (law enforcement) acted as swiftly as they did to prevent this," he continued.

Sosa's divorce attorney said he's "very surprised."

"She has been a very good client. She was very cooperative. The outlook of her case was very good so I do not understand," Julio Joglar said. "This is one of the most contentious divorces I've been involved in a long time. She expressed some concerns for her safety.

"I'm relieved to know Mr. Sosa is safe and was not harmed."

Read more on the Woodlands Villager, one of our Houston Community Newspaper partners