Riverside man who tried to hire hitman to kill stepmother sentenced to prison

A Riverside man who tried to hire a hitman to kill his stepmother was sentenced to prison on Tuesday.

Beau Brigham, 33, was sentenced to three years in prison with credit for time served. Brigham received credit for 398 days and 398 “conduct credits.”

In all, he is expected to serve about four months before being released. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has asked Brigham receive six years of probation.

In August, Brigham was found guilty of solicitation of murder for using the internet to find someone to kill his stepmother, a woman who lives in San Luis Obispo.

Brigham downloaded special software to access a hidden part of the internet commonly referred to as the “dark web” or the “deep web.” Brigham tried to hire a hitman to kill his mother but abandoned those plans once he realized the site he was using was a scam.

Brigham was arrested after a “concerned citizen” from the United Kingdom turned over messages to the CBS News show “48 Hours,” which contacted the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.

An investigation between the SLO Sheriff’s Office and SLO Police Department led to Brigham’s arrest after they concluded that he tried to order the murder of his stepmother online.

Brigham was facing a maximum sentence of nine years in prison. Three years is the lowest possible prison sentence, according to San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow.