Rebecca Simpson was caught on video trying to hire a hit man – Cold Hearted investigates

This week Cold Hearted examines the case of Rebecca Simpson, who seemed to have everything but whose obsession for a man other than her husband led her down a dark path.

Bridgeport, Texas, and Rebecca Simpson had seemed to be happily married to wealthy attorney Ross Simpson for many years, but she had been seeking excitement outside their marriage and it eventually led to trouble.

Simpson began an affair with Danny Watts in 1999, when he was working as her personal trainer. The relationship continued until 2004, even though the fitness club owner had gotten married to Shemane Watts the year before.

Friction between the two women reached a head when they had fight near Danny’s fitness club, which was also near her husband’s office, and the story made the local paper. This made Simpson furious and she began looking for someone she could hire to kill Shemane.

Unluckily for her the man she tried to hire to carry out the murder was undercover Department of Public Safety Officer. In recordings made by the officer, Simpson can be seen offering to pay $2000 to have Shemane’s wrists cut and for Danny to be beaten up. She also told the officer that she wanted it to look like a drug deal gone wrong.

In her defence Simpson said that she had been receiving threats from the couple ever since she accused Danny of trying to proposition her 16-year-old daughter. She also tried to shift the blame to security guard Kevin Cash, who’d she’d approached about self-defense classes.

However, he told the court that as soon as Simpson mentioned hiring a hitman he went straight to the police.

The 44-year-old was found guilty of attempting to hire a hit man to kill Shemane and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

However, in a final twist her sentence was later reduced to just five years. It turned out that her first lawyer had failed to mention that she’d been offered a five year sentence if she pleaded guilty. A later judge ruled that Simpson was entitled to a new trial and the plea deal should be offered again.

Cold Hearted airs at 10:00 PM on Investigation Discovery.