Dalia Dippolito Trial Begins Today, Posted by Meosha Eaton

A jury has been selected for the trial of Dalia Dippolito, a Florida newlywed who police say tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband last year.

According to the Palm Beach Post, four women and two men were selected late this morning. Two other women were selected as alternate jurors. Opening arguments in the case are expected to begin later today.

The Boynton Beach Police Department became aware of Dippolito's alleged plans to kill 38-year-old Michael Dippolito, her husband of six months, when they were contacted by a confidential informant who claimed to be a former lover. The informant told police that Dippolito, 26, wanted her husband killed because she had spent approximately $200,000 of his money. The informant also said she was afraid of the retaliation she might face if she divorced him, police say.


Upon learning the details of the alleged plot, authorities launched an undercover investigation.

The following day, the informant met with Dalia Dippolito at a local gas station. According to the police, during the meeting she gave the informant a down payment of $1,200 and provided photos of her husband and their home. She also inquired about when the murder would occur and said that she would make an appointment to have her hair done so she would have an alibi.

"She also spoke about how she would deny her involvement and provide police false information and names to keep the investigation away from her," said Boynton Beach Police Public Information Officer Stephanie Slater.

In the days that followed, Dippolito met with an undercover police officer who was posing as the hired hitman. During the encounter, which was secretly videotaped, the undercover agent asked Dippolito whether she was sure she wanted her husband killed, to which she responded, "I would be very happy." She then agreed to pay him $3,000 when the job was done, police said.

The undercover officer asked her one more time if she was sure about having her husband killed," Slater said. "She responded, 'I'm not going to change my mind. I am 5,000 percent sure I want it done. When I set my mind to something, I get it done.'" The plan was set in motion and, on August 5, police set the trap.

Dippolito was at a local gym when she received a phone call from police requesting her presence at her house. Upon arrival, she found her townhouse encased in crime scene tape and a crime scene tech dusting the front door for fingerprints. A detective escorted her to a waiting sergeant who informed her that her husband was dead. Upon hearing the news, Dippolito "collapsed into the sergeant's arms and sobbed," Slater said.

Brought to the police department, Dippolito came face to face with the man who had supposedly shot her husband twice in the head. It was then that she learned that the hit man was actually an undercover police officer and that her husband was alive and well.

Dippolito was charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder. In May, the Palm Beach County state attorney's office released 49 pages of text messages that were allegedly sent and received in the days and weeks leading up to Dippolito's arrest.

"The sooner he gets jammed up the sooner we can be in paradise island baby," reads one text message that prosecutors say came from a phone number associated with Dippolito.

The message, which was allegedly texted to Dippolito's lover in California, was sent on July 27, just nine days before Dippolito's arrest.

In some messages, sent before the meeting with the undercover hitman, Dippolito allegedly discussed planting drugs on her husband in an attempt to get him arrested for a probation violation.

Michael Dippolito had been arrested in 2002 and later pleaded guilty to charges of organized fraud, grand theft and unlicensed telemarketing. He was sentenced to two years in state prison but was released after just seven months. He remains on probation until 2032.

Dippolito previously pleaded not guilty in court. Her husband has since filed for divorce, but those proceedings are on hold, pending the outcome of her criminal case.

If convicted, Dippolito could face up to 30 years in prison.