Well, If You Can't Even Trust a Hitman...

LONDON - A British man who paid a hitman to murder his wife walked into a police station to complain that the assassin had taken his money and done nothing — a complaint that earned the unhappy customer a jail sentence instead of a refund.

A court heard this week that the 40-year-old handed over a down payment to a man he believed was a contract killer, agreed on a price of about $8,000 for the job, and waited. And waited.

When the hitman failed to materialize, the husband did what any dissatisfied customer might do: he reported the missing money to police — explaining, helpfully, exactly what the payment had been for.

Detectives, understandably interested, took a full statement. The man was arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for soliciting to murder. His intended victim, the court heard, had no idea of the arrangement and was described as "shocked."

The supposed hitman, meanwhile, appears to have simply kept the money. Police did not say whether he too faced charges — there being some dispute about whether a fraudulent hitman is better or worse than a real one.

"It is not every day a man walks into a police station to report that his murder contract has gone unfulfilled," a detective told reporters outside court, with what witnesses described as admirable restraint.

The husband was sentenced to a prison term the judge said reflected the seriousness of the intent, even if the execution — so to speak — never got past the planning stage.

Consumer groups had no comment on whether the man might pursue a civil claim for his down payment.