State v. Mandel

In State v. Mandel, 78 Ariz. 226, 278 P.2d 413 (Ariz 1954), a woman who made a contract with two pretended accomplices to have her husband murdered, partly executed that contract by paying a portion of the consideration in advance, identified for the intended assassins the home and the car of the intended victim, pointed out a possible site for disposing of the body, and advised them on the time and place where contact could be made for the execution of the murder. The court held that she was properly convicted of attempted murder, stating: "She did everything she was supposed to do to accomplish the purpose. Had it not been for the subterfuge, the intended victim would have been murdered. Under such circumstances she cannot escape by reason of clever, elusive distinctions between preparation, solicitation and acts committed in furtherance of the design." Id. at 416.