Nurse Who Plotted to Kill Lakewood Woman Pleads Guilty

A 23-year-old Trumbull County man pleaded guilty in a “murder-for-hire” plot that targeted the killing of a Lakewood woman.

Andrew Martin, a former nurse at the Cleveland Clinic, entered guilty pleas to the charges of commission of murder-for-hire; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and obtaining individually identifiable health information.

Steven Dettelbach, the US attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said that Martin solicited a patient at the Cleveland Clinic to kill a Clifton Boulevard woman.

“The community is fortunate that law enforcement was vigilant and stopped this plot before it got too far,” said Dettelbach in a news release.

According to the affidavit, Martin tried to have the 79-year-old woman killed because she was “trying to mess up (his) life.”

But it appears as if he was just looking to take over the home.

The issues stem from the woman’s ownership of her Clifton Boulevard home. Martin and another person — identified by the US Attorney’s office as “DS” — conspired to take ownership of the home.

The indictment alleges that on Nov. 5, Martin used a telephone in connection with his intention that a murder be committed — that’s the reason for the federal charges.

According to an affidavit — filed by an agent of the the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — Martin told a patient that he would pay him $10,000 “to put four in her head and make it look like a robbery.”

Lakewood police assisted with the investigation.

Martin is scheduled for sentencing on July 18.