Police are attributing a Vancouver Island woman's alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting her estranged husband to a marriage "gone bad."
Suzanne Brendeland, 46, of Parksville is out on bail while she awaits trial for the unusual crime of counselling to commit an offence that has not been committed.
RCMP Sgt. Darrell Robertson told ctvbc.ca that Brendeland approached two male acquaintances in May and asked them if they knew anyone who would be willing to kill her 40-year-old husband Randy in return for cash. They both turned her away.
Robertson says that Brendeland's marriage had disintegrated, and investigators believe the motive behind the plot was purely emotional.
"It's an estranged relationship gone bad. Some split-ups are quite amicable and this one certainly wasn't," he said.
In happier times, the Brendelands owned a personal training business and private gym in North Vancouver, but sold it in 2009. They made court filings related to family law proceedings in July.
Robertson said that the investigation turned up no evidence of domestic abuse in the marriage. Investigators were tipped off to the alleged scheme last week when the husband became suspicious and called police.
Brendeland was arrested on Saturday and spent the weekend in jail before being released from custody on Monday.
The next court appearance for the mother-of-two is scheduled for Sept. 20.
