A teacher in Columbus, Ohio, has taken “extra credit” to a whole new level, allegedly trying to hire a high school student to take care of her estranged husband—permanently.
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Court documents from Franklin County Municipal Court, obtained by PEOPLE, reveal that Stephanie Demetrius was arrested on April 1 and charged with felony conspiracy to commit murder. Authorities claim that on March 26, Demetrius offered $2,000 to a student at the Academy for Urban Scholars High School to have her husband killed.
“This particular teacher was attempting to groom this young person into committing murder,” Sgt. James Fuqua of the Columbus Division of Police said in a press briefing via local outlet WSYX.
The situation was uncovered when the student’s mother found information on their phone and quickly contacted the police.
“Without their help, some of this may not have come completely to light and this was a situation where the parent was able to capture specific things inside of this young person’s phone to alert authorities,” Sgt. Fuqua added.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Fuqua admitted that the police remain uncertain about what prompted Demetrius to approach this specific student.
Ohio Teacher Filed For Divorce Twice Before Allegedly Hiring Student to Murder Husband
Court documents obtained by PEOPLE reveal Demetrius paid the student $250 upfront and, in a recording obtained by police, promised the rest was on the way.
The teacher allegedly disclosed that her estranged husband worked from home and indicated when their children would be away from the house. Court documents reveal that the student asked Demetrius whether the neighbors might hear the gunfire, to which she reportedly responded that the neighbors wouldn’t care.
During a virtual court hearing, Demetrius’s public defender dismissed the allegations as a fabrication, according to WSYX.
Court records from the Franklin County Domestic Relations Court, obtained by People, reveal that Demetrius filed for divorce from her husband, Carlington Demetrius, in April 2024. This wasn’t the first time she sought to end their marriage—she had previously filed for divorce in September 2017, though that case was ultimately dismissed.
A preliminary hearing for the case is scheduled for April 11. Under Ohio state law, a first-degree felony conviction could result in a life sentence for Demetrius if found guilty.