Woman pleads guilty to murder for hire plot against her husband

Published Sept. 3, 2009

A Pleasantville woman entered into a plea agreement for the murder-for-hire scheme to have her husband killed and will be sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel announced.

Michael Lowrie, 63, must serve 85 percent of the prison term before parole eligibility when she is sentenced on Nov. 6. The defendant told the court today that she had been married for 15 years and that the marriage had deteriorated. She further stated that on May 29, 2009, she drove to the Egg Harbor City Lake Pavilion where she met with a person and gave him $2,500 to have her spouse, Adrian Lowrie, 72, murdered. The “hit man” turned out to be an undercover operative from the FBI and she was arrested shortly thereafter. In addition to the prison term, the defendant forfeited the money she gave to the man whom she believed was a hit man and the vehicle she drove to meet with him, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Murray Talasnik who represented the State.

Egg Harbor City Police Department, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the FBI conducted the investigation that led to Lowrie’s arrest. She was indicted in connection with the crime in June.

Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury presided over the plea hearing.

Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.