A Texas decided to fake his own death to prove that his wife hired a hit man to kill him. Maria Sosa spoke to a man she believed would carry out the heinous act against her husband, Ramon Sosa, in 2015. Unfortunately for her, the man immediately told Ramon what his wife had in mind and she ended up behind bars. However, the journey to justice was a complicated one.
- Maria thought she was getting a bargain. Per ABC 13, Maria paid the so-called hit man $500 and her husband’s wedding ring. A separate report claimed that she actually handed over $2,000 and promised Ramon’s truck. However, whatever she planned to pay for the murder hardly mattered. As it turns out, the hit man wasn’t a killer at all. He was actually an undercover police officer.
- Ramon and Maria Sosa were getting a divorce at the time of the “murder.” However, they were still living together as they worked out separate housing arrangements. Even after she tried to have him killed, Ramon had to continue living with her so that the authorities could continue their investigation to bring Maria to justice.
- Ramon Sosa recorded his wife to get evidence for the police. He and Gustavo, the man Maria hired for the job, teamed up to catch her in the act. After taping a full conversation, they handed it over to the Houston Police. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to bring Maria down.
- So, he took things one step further by faking his own death. Working with the FBI, Texas Rangers did a convincing makeup job on Ramon to make it look as though he’d been shot in the head. They then took a photo, which Ramon said chills him to look at to this day. “It was chilling. Utterly and indescribably chilling. That picture, to this day, reflects one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life,” he told The Sun. “The thought of me lying in a shallow grave in my underwear with a bullet hole through my temple is mind-boggling. All of this drama to prove to Lulu, my beloved, that I was dead. One will never be able to wrap their mind around that kind of madness!”
- Maria was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. She pleaded guilty in court to second-degree felony solicitation of capital murder, per The Courier of Montgomery County. Taking a plea deal meant she escaped a possible life sentence as her charges were decreased from first-degree to second-degree. She’s serving her sentence at the Coleman Work Facility. According to the Texas Department of Corrections, her projected release date is October 18, 2023.
- Ramon Sosa was devastated to learn that his ex-wife could be so cruel. It’s one thing to have an acrimonious divorce, but to try and have your spouse killed? That’s going too far. Ramon Sosa told the Courier that he’s glad Maria is behind bars and wanted to move on with his life. “I heard all the evidence. I couldn’t believe it. It was horrible. I couldn’t sleep thinking about all the things you said about how you wanted to kill me,” he said in his victim impact statement.
- She was denied parole in 2019. While she thought she could cut her sentence short, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice thought otherwise. They denied her request based on having “elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behavior, or conscious selection of victim’s vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others.” They believe she still “poses a continuing threat to public safety.” Pretty scary, considering she’s due to get out later this year.
LOOK: What would have been Ramon’s final resting place was actually part of a complex sting operation. Find out more, tonight at 10/9c. https://t.co/UDv9yYkZvx pic.twitter.com/Nch8sYGTrk
— 48 Hours (@48hours) September 5, 2020
