Kindergarten Teacher, School Nurse Arrested In Murder-For-Hire Plot

A kindergarten teacher and a school nurse have been arrested in a murder-for-hire conspiracy.

On Wednesday, Virginia State Police arrested and charged Angela Nolen with solicitation to commit murder. On Tuesday, she allegedly attempted to hire a hit man to kill her former husband. Nolen, 47, is employed as a kindergarten teacher at Sontag Elementary School in Rocky Mount, Virginia.

Cathy Warren Bennett, 37, charged as an accessory to the solicitation, is also an employee of Sontag Elementary School, where she works as a school nurse.

The Franklin News Post writes that the women, who are reportedly friends, are accused of working together to obtain the services of a hit man to kill 63-year-old Paul Strickler, Nolen’s ex-husband.

On February 19, Angela Nolen allegedly made contact with an undercover agent posing as a hit man. Police claim she agreed to make an upfront payment of $4,000 for Strickland’s murder with an additional $4,000 to be given upon completion of the act.

Court records reportedly indicate that Nolen was granted an order of protection against Strickler last year. It remains in effect until October 2014.

Issued prior to their divorce in December, the order bars Strickler from any contact with Nolen and limited access to the couple’s daughter.

The Roanoke Times spoke to Paul Strickler following the kindergarten teacher and school nurse’s arrests in the alleged murder-for-hire conspiracy. He claimed that Nolen was in the process of trying to buy the couple’s house from him:

“If I was dead, she would not have to give me the money. That scares the H-E-L-L out of me. I’m just so glad that the state police found out about this and uncovered it.”

Angela Nolen is currently being detained at the Western Virginia Regional Jail without bond, while Cathy Bennett was granted a bond of $60,000 Thursday. What do you think of a kindergarten teacher and school nurse allegedly conspiring to commit murder-for-hire?