Prisoner’s plot to kill ex-wife from jails fails

A prisoner jailed for child porn possession has had his sentence extended after being found guilty of trying to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife and tell her ‘f … you, you b …’ before she died.

Hakea Prison where a prisoner tried to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife. Picture: Ernie McLintock

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A prisoner who tried to hire a hitman to murder his former wife from inside prison and “wanted it to look like an accident” was today jailed for more than six years over the crime.

Gavin Lloyd Napier, 45, was on remand at the Hakea Prison in Western Australia in early 2018 when he told the so-called contract killer — who was actually an undercover policeman — that he wanted his ex-wife killed and told “f … you, you b …” before she died.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Derrick sentenced Napier to six years and four months jail after he pleaded guilty to procuring another to commit murder.

Napier — who was in jail at the time for possessing child exploitation material — spent months planning the killing, which began when he told his cellmate that he was “pissed off” with his former wife, believing she owed him $50,000 and blamed her for his charges.

A month later, the cellmate overheard Napier telling another prisoner that he “wanted her life insurance back” and wanted his wife — who he had left six years earlier after coming out as homosexual — “sorted” so he would receive a payout.

Hakea Prison in Canning Vale, West Australia. Picture: Ernie McLintock

The cellmate told Napier that he “might know someone”, but then asked him for his ex-wife’s name, vehicle and workplace, writing it down on a Post-it note so that he could tell police.

After doing just that, the cellmate became an informant, with Napier telling him that he could use his car as a down payment and pay the rest from the life insurance payout “once the job is complete”.

The cellmate told Napier he would need a photograph of his ex-wife — so he handed over a picture from their wedding.

In March 2018, detectives told the cellmate to tell Napier that a contract killer named “Billy” from over east would visit him at the prison and to not “mess him around”.

When Napier met Billy in May, he told him where his wife lived and worked and that he “wanted it done the best way possible and wanted it to look like an accident”.

Before he killed the woman, Napier wanted Billy to tell her “f … you, you b …”.

He also wanted it to look like a “clean accident” so that “no questions could be asked”.

Napier then involved his niece and parents — which Justice Derrick found was an aggravating factor in his crime — asking them to hand over photographs of his ex and sign over his car to Billy.

The inmate was being secretly recorded by police.

During a meeting with his relatives at the prison, which was being secretly recorded, his mother asked: “He’s a contractor is he?” to which Napier replied: “White collar, blue collar, someone else does the job. That’s all you need to know.”

His niece asked: “Are they going to kill her?” to which Napier replied: “Shh.”

Justice Derrick described his crime as “inherently serious”, saying it involved a “significant level of persistence” and his motive was “purely financial”.

“You wanted to have (her) murdered because you believed she owed you money,” he said.

He said Napier’s wish for a final message to his wife before she was killed demonstrated he “wanted to cause her additional anguish in the moments before her death”.

The judge said while Napier continued to avoid full responsibility for his conduct, he was remorseful.

He said the case had some similarities to Albany man Brian Attwell’s attempt to hire a contract killer to murder his estranged daughter-in-law.

Attwell, who died in prison in 2017, was jailed for 8 ½ years in 2014 after he was found guilty after trial of the same charge.

Napier, who is still serving an almost four term for the child exploitation material, must serve four years and four months behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.

Originally published as Prisoner’s plot to kill ex-wife from jails fails