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District Attorney: Dauphin Co. inmate tried to hire 2 hit men to kill ex-girlfriend

DAUPHIN COUNTY (WPMT)-A Dauphin County man is facing additional charges for allegedly trying to hire two hit men to kill his ex-girlfriend, according to Dauphin...

DAUPHIN COUNTY (WPMT)-A Dauphin County man is facing additional charges for allegedly trying to hire two hit men to kill his ex-girlfriend, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico.

The investigation came to light in Dec. 2012 after two Dauphin County prison inmates contacted the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division about a murder-for-hire plot.

Christopher Gessner, 50, was  in prison awaiting trial in a case of attempted murder and arson. According to police, Gessner set fire to his ex-girlfriends trailer in Lykens in 2011--injuring the woman and killing her dogs.

According to court documents, Gessner contacted two inmates while at Dauphin County Prison and offered them money in exchange for killing his ex.

Once out of prison--one of the inmates offered to cooperate with authorities in their investigation and began exchanging letters with Gessner to formulate a plan to kill the woman. According to court documents, Gessner paid the man $500 dollars as down payment.

The informant later met with Gessner at the prison and showed him a photo of what appeared to be the woman's dead body. The woman, who was the intended target of the plot, had agreed to pose for the picture, investigators said.  Gessner then requested to see a death certificate before any other money was exchanged, court records state.

Police met with Gessner on Wednesday and he confessed to concocting the murder-for-hire plot, authorities said.

He was charged with criminal solicitation to commit murder. Gessner was taken to Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The Dauphin County District Attorney's office credited the inmates for informing authorities about the plot and detectives for their work in building the case.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8.

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