Darshan Soni’s casual query about buying a silencer triggered police probe into alleged murder plot
Darshan Soni, an Indian-origin resident of Carmel, Indiana, has been arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill his wife following a shocking investigation sparked by a single question he asked one of his employees. Court documents reveal that Soni, 38, attempted to recruit staff from his own property business to carry out the crime, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
The plot unravelled when Soni asked an employee where to buy a silencer, setting off alarms and an anonymous tip to police.
According to FOX59, the Carmel Police Department launched the investigation on May 12 after receiving a tip that Soni had asked his employees at Compass Property Group where he could obtain a gun silencer. The tipster also claimed that Soni had discussed the planned murder, which was scheduled for May 16, and had picked up a wig from another employee’s house as part of the disguise.
One of the employees allegedly told the tipster that Soni had previously asked them directly if they would be willing to kill his wife—and how much money it would take. The same employee reportedly gave Soni advice on how to conceal his location by taking his phone to a different place during the murder. When approached by police, the employee agreed to cooperate but later warned Soni about the investigation.
Suspicious smoothies and a deadly plan: Soni allegedly tried to poison his wife before the murder plot took shape.
Investigators also learned that Soni’s wife had reported health issues and suspicious behavior in the months prior. She told authorities she had experienced unexplained nerve pain in November 2024. On one occasion, she found her smoothie tasted abnormally salty; on another, she discovered a white, clumpy substance in her drink. When questioned, Soni allegedly told her it was detergent.
The cooperating employee further claimed that Soni had imported poison from India and had been obsessively reading the book Rise and Kill First, suggesting he had been plotting the murder for some time.
To gather further evidence, police outfitted the cooperating employee with a GPS tracker and an audio recording device. During a monitored conversation, Soni confessed that he didn’t want a divorce because “there had never been divorces in his family,” and he didn’t want his children to suffer.
Soni was arrested on May 16 and is currently being held at the Hamilton County Jail on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.