By: Richard L. Smith
A South Jersey woman is facing serious criminal charges after authorities say she attempted to hire someone to kill a Philadelphia police officer and his 19-year-old daughter in a disturbing murder-for-hire plot.
According to information released by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, 26-year-old Jaclyn Diiorio of Runnemede was arrested on April 4.
She has been charged with two counts of first-degree Attempted Murder, one count of first-degree Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and one count of third-degree Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.
Investigators say that on April 3, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit was alerted to the alleged murder-for-hire scheme.
Diiorio had reportedly reached out to a confidential informant and expressed her intent to have her ex-boyfriend — a 53-year-old officer with the Philadelphia Police Department — and his daughter killed.
Authorities say she offered the informant $12,000 to carry out the murders.
The following day, Diiorio met with the informant on the 1300 block of North Black Horse Pike in Gloucester Township and handed over $500 in cash as a down payment, according to officials.
After the transaction, she was immediately taken into custody by the Gloucester Township Police Department’s Special Response Team.
During her arrest, Diiorio was found in possession of a bottle containing suspected alprazolam pills, a controlled substance often prescribed for anxiety disorders.
She is currently being held at the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing scheduled for April 9, in Superior Court.
The investigation was led by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit in coordination with the Gloucester Township Police Department.
The U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force – Camden Division also provided assistance.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Detective Ryan Durham at (856) 225-5127 or submit tips anonymously to CAMDEN.TIPS.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.