An 83-year-old mother accused with her son in the murder-for-hire plot of her former daughter-in-law has pleaded not guilty.
Pauline Chase and her son Maurice Temple, 63, appeared at a bail hearing at Sullivan Superior Court Wednesday in relation to the plot to kill Temple’s ex-wife.
The mother-and-son duo from New Hampshire remain held on $1 million bail ordered by Judge Brian Tucker.
Both are charged with criminal solicitation of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempt to commit murder.
Pauline Chase, 83, (left) and her son Maurice Temple, 63, (right) who have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot involving her former daughter-in-law, have pleaded not guilty
Prosecutors have played recordings of the two defendants with a man, identified as Mark Horne, who was asked to kill the ex-wife. He eventually went to the police.
Tucker’s ruling Wednesday comes after Chase’s attorney raised several questions about her client’s competency, saying Chase is confused, forgetful, and disconnected from reality.
Tucker said: ‘I think the evidence that Mrs. Chase was fully invested in this endeavor is substantial.’
According to court documents obtained by Valley News, Maurice and his mother had ‘multiple conversations’ with a man, Horne, about killing a woman named Jean Temple, who is Temple’s ex-wife.
The mother-and-son duo from New Hampshire remain held on $1 million bail ordered by Judge Brian Tucker
Authorities said Maurice was in the room when Chase gave the man roughly $5,000 cash as a ‘down payment’ for killing Jean.
The mother-and-son duo are also accused of offering Horne additional incentives, including property, to carry out Jean’s murder, and Maurice repeatedly checking Horne to make sure he wasn’t recording their discussions, according to the Boston Globe.
WMUR reports that Maurice and Jean have been fighting over a debt he owes her, stemming from their divorce. In early July, Maurice was arrested and put in jail after he failed to make court-ordered payments to Jean.
The murder-for-hire discussions allegedly took place between June 20 and July 27.
The judge said about Chase (pictured here) ‘I think the evidence that Mrs. Chase was fully invested in this endeavor is substantial’