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Police Officer's Ex-Girlfriend Accused Of Trying To Hire Undercover Cop To Kidnap, Murder 62-Year-Old Woman

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The former girlfriend of a Chicago police officer has been charged in a murder-for-hire plot, accused of trying to hire an undercover cop to kidnap and kill the woman she blamed for the end of the relationship.

Lissette Ortiz, 54, has been charged with one felony count of solicitation of murder for hire. She was ordered held without bail at her first court appearance on Sunday.

As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported, Cook County prosecutors said Ortiz concocted a calculated plan, which came into focus last week.

Prosecutors said after breaking up with her police officer girlfriend this summer, Ortiz believed the officer started a romantic relationship with a 62-year-old woman, who Ortiz blamed for their breakup. Sources said Ortiz is the former girlfriend of a police officer assigned to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's security detail.

Seeking to have the 62-year-old woman kidnapped and killed, prosecutors said Ortiz first approached a man identified only as "witness 2" on Nov. 18, and said she wanted to hire him or someone he knew to abduct the woman and bring the victim to her so she could "take care of the rest."

Prosecutors said Ortiz offered to pay that witness $5,000 for the kidnapping, or $500 and a large TV if he introduced her to someone else to carry out the kidnapping.

After that witness contacted Chicago police, he arranged for Ortiz to meet with an undercover officer posing as a kidnapper for hire.

The officer met Ortiz on Nov. 20 in the parking lot of a business near her home, and got in her car. She drove the officer around for about an hour, and said she wanted the officer to kidnap the victim, drive her to a remote location, and set the vehicle on fire. Ortiz also told the officer she wanted the victim to know she was responsible for the murder, and preferred she still be alive when the vehicle was set on fire.

Prosecutors said Ortiz told the officer she planned to be somewhere else at the time of the kidnapping and murder, because she knew police would suspect her of the killing, and she wanted to have an alibi.

Ortiz wanted to carry out the plot before Thanksgiving, so the victim couldn't celebrate the holiday in the same home Ortiz had shared with her ex-girlfriend, according to prosecutors. She offered to pay the officer $5,000 for the kidnapping and murder.

Prosecutors said Ortiz planned to flee to Puerto Rico after the victim was killed.

After leaving the meeting with the undercover officer, she was arrested. A specialized unit within the Chicago police department conducted the investigation.

Ortiz's defense claimed she was not a flight risk, and also claimed she has text message proof that the man she tried to hire extorted her.

Ortiz's former girlfriend was acquitted of domestic battery charges this summer. Ortiz had accused her of pinning her against a wall and ripping her clothes while taking away her car keys. A judge found the officer not guilty.

Ortiz also has a prior record. She was convicted of theft and forgery, and she has a current retail theft case.

CBS 2's Vi Nguyen contributed to this report.

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