Crime & Safety

Gig Harbor Woman Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder

A 47-year-old Karen Lofgren was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Officials said she tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband.

Gig Harbor resident Karen Lofgren, 47, was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree and, in the alternative, Solicitation to Commit Murder in the First Degree on Friday, Feb. 24. According to Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist, Lofgren hired a “hit man” to kill her estranged husband. The “hit man” turned out to be a Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective working undercover.

On Jan. 23, 2012, Pierce County Sheriff’s detectives were contacted by a Federal Probation Officer who reported that he supervised an offender who claimed he had been asked by Lofgren to help her “get rid of” her husband. The informant said he knew Lofgren through his brother, who had worked with her in a nursing capacity at a local hospital.

Lofgren and her husband, who have two children in common, were going through a contentious divorce. She told the informant that her problems would all go away if her husband were gone. Lofgren offered the informant half of the one million dollar insurance policy on her husband if he arranged to have her husband killed.

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Starting on Feb. 17, detectives set up covert surveillance and recorded several conversations between Lofgren and the informant. He told her he had arranged for a “hit man” to come from out of state. The informant gave Lofgren several opportunities to change her mind, but she persisted. They discussed how the death should look and agreed on a “robbery gone bad” scenario.

On Feb. 21, an undercover detective, posing as the “hit man,” met with the defendant. She gave him diamond earrings valued at more than $5,000 as a down payment for the murder. Lofgren provided a photo of her husband, his physical description, and details of his daily schedule. She assured the detective she was serious about the plan and said she’d been thinking about it for three years. Two days later Lofgren was arrested.

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Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Information provided by Pierce County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.


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