SHOCKING:Man 'offered co-worker $15,000 to kill his estranged wife as their divorce was too expensive'

A man has been arrested after allegedly offering a colleague $15,000 to kill his estranged wife because their divorce was too expensive and he wanted to be 'free'.

Stephen Perry, 27, allegedly appealed to Adrian Howard at their workplace in Carmel, Indiana because the co-worker was black, explaining: 'You're black. I know ya'll know people.'
Perry and his wife, Allison Mayer, had accrued $200,000 worth of debts following college and living expenses, and were battling in their lengthy and expensive divorce.

'Plot': Stephen Perry allegedly asked a co-worker to kill his estranged wife, Allison Mayer, right

Wanting to escape the situation, Perry approached Howard while working at a Valvoline Instant Oil Change in Carmel in November and asked him if he knew someone who could kill a person,  according to a probable cause affidavit reported by the Indianapolis Star.
Howard thought Perry was joking but started to believe him when Perry said he wanted his estranged wife dead to settle their divorce and get the money he thought she owed him, the affidavit said.

 

The following month, Howard recorded two conversations he had with Perry using his mobile phone.
In the conversations, Perry offered him $15,000 and a machine to print counterfeit money to murder or have another black person murder Mayer, the affidavit said.

'I just want this to be over and done with,' Perry said. 'So if she dies, I can drop the divorce lawsuit, she's dead and I'm free.'

Happier times: Perry allegedly wanted to kill Mayer so that the divorce lawsuit would be over

Howard replied: 'That ain’t what you want, man.' But Perry allegedly said he wanted her 'done'.
Perry then gave Howard her name and address, where she was living with her grandparents, and offered to draw a map of the home so the grandparents were not killed by mistake.
He then allegedly asked Howard not to tell him who was going to kill her.

'I don't want to know who, all right?' Perry allegedly said. 'And if they can make it look like an accident. I mean we live in Carmel. So, you know. Black people in Carmel?'
Howard then found Perry's wife's number online under her wedding photography business and texted her to say he needed to meet with her. On her website she credits her 'amazing husband' Perry as the one who first suggested she take up photography.
Howard and Mayer met in a coffee shop, where Howard played her recordings. He then took the recordings to the police, the Star reported.

Foiled: But his colleague recorded their conversations while at work at Valvoline Instant Oil Change in Carmel, Indiana (pictured) and then warned Perry's estranged wife about the plot

Mayer told police that she had married Perry in December 2009 but that he moved out in March 2012 and filed for divorce two months later, but that several hearings had been delayed.
She said they were $200,000 in debt, with $170,000 from her living expenses and college degrees.
He believed she had stolen $15,000 from him and they were also arguing over whether money from his mother's inheritance should be split, she told police.

Perry is being held on a $250,000 bond in Hamilton County Jail, reduced from his original bond of $1 million, and faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on March 12 and a jury trial on June 4.