Prosecutor Andrew Copeland said: “Not only were they co-workers, but James Perst’s loving rivals and they were both romantically linked to him at the same time. They both knew James Perst had a long-term partner with two young children.
“They weren’t worried about that, they were worried about each other … He tried to play them against each other.”
The court learned that Mr. Perst began working at the Milton Keynes branch in August 2014 and that Ms. Franks began working there a year later.
In 2016, they had been sentimentally related to each other and this relationship continued until Ms. Ruutna joined the same branch in 2017.
The prosecutor described Mr Perst’s relationship with both women as “episodic”, adding that Mrs Franks went to work at a branch near Bletchley in 2018.
He added: “In 2020, James Perst, while his partner and children were in bed, would often leave his home and go to Ruut Ruutna’s house. On August 17, 2020, Whitney Franks showed up. at Milton Keynes Sports Direct It was not a business visit, but a personal one.
“James Perst was clearly upset and made a comment about him sneaking in at night.”
“I’m looking for the murder of a woman”
The prosecutor told the court that on September 1, 2020, Ms. Franks sent an email to Mr. Perst that included a request to give him another chance.
“In the email, she says,‘ I can give you the whole world, James, if you can give me a chance, I think you can be the happiest you’ve ever been in your life. I’m telling you the truth. I hope you do well inside and out. I have been trying to resolve my anxiety. I’ve found some things that could help, so I’ll try them. ‘”
However, the next day, police were contacted by Carl Miller, a BBC investigative journalist, who had been investigating the dark web and had come across Mrs Franks’ advertisement for a hitman.
Copeland said: “There was a message on the website, including Ruut Ruutna’s address to Milton Keynes, Facebook profile and description. The defendant has not denied writing this.
“It was said,‘ I’m looking for the murder of a woman. I have £ 1,000 and am willing to pay more. This woman has caused a lot of problems for me and others. Can you help me solve it? ”
The prosecutor explained how Ms. Franks had created a cryptocurrency account, which allowed her to make anonymous purchases online. He had bought Bitcoin worth £ 282.57 on 20 August, but three days later withdrew the funds.
When police contacted her, Ms Ruutna said she had a “run” of who she might be and called Ms Franks, before she was taken to a safe house while the investigation continued.
Ms. Franks was arrested Sept. 10 and insisted she only wanted to “examine” whether the dark web was a “scam.”
The 26-year-old, from Two Mile Ash, Milton Keynes, Bucks, denies a murder application charge between Aug. 17 and Sept. 1, 2020. The trial continues.