Family attorneys in Pasadena know that if you go digging around online looking for dirt on your ex, you'll usually get more than you bargained for. That is exactly what happened to Angela Voelkert, who created a phony Facebook profile of a teenage girl in hopes of getting the inside scoop on her ex-husband before they headed to divorce court. What she learned instead, however, would end with her ex getting arrested by the FBI.
Voelkert, under the name Jessica Studebake, became a flirtatious 17-year-old who quickly befriended David Voelkert. The two chatted back and forth online as Angela waited for evidence to use against her husband. According to police reports, she soon learned that her ex-husband had detailed plans to kill his wife and run off with their children. He allegedly asked his new "teenage friend" to find a gang-banger at her school who would be willing to kill Angela for $10,000. Mr. Voelkert has been accused of admitting to "Jessica" that he secretly placed a GPS tracking device in his wife's van and he planned on using it when he was ready to have her killed. His Facebook messages read: "There should be some gang-bangers [at your school] that would put a cap in her ass for $10,000. I am done with her crap" and "I am going to find someone to take care of her."
In another Facebook message to "Jessica," he wrote "Once she's gone, I don't have to hide with my kids." Court papers say he also asked Jessica to run away with him in another email.
The chilling messages were enough for the FBI to arrest David Voelkert. He was charged with illegally installing a GPS device. Authorities say he could face more serious charges.