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Man, 22, Facebook Murder-for-Hire Target, Shot Dead

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on August 18, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Corey White, the alleged target of a Facebook murder-for-hire scheme, was shot dead Monday evening outside his West Philadelphia home.

White's name made headlines earlier this year when his ex girlfriend, London Eley, posted a status update on her Facebook page offering $1,000 to anybody who killed him, according to the Huffington Post.

Police say that 18-year-old Timothy Bynum responded to Eley's murder-for-hire post, asking for the $1,000 up front and a description of White, according to Reuters. It's probably little surprise that both were arrested and charged with felonies.

Investigators are unclear about the motivation behind White's killing. An initial investigation revealed that there was a verbal altercation between White and the killer. After the argument, the killer pulled out a gun and shot White in the chest.

Eley and Bynum were both behind bars at the time of the incident, though authorities are investigating if there are any connections between the errant Facebook post and White's murder, according to the Huffington Post.

While the pair were behind bars at the time of the incident, it's possible that Eley may have spurred on the killing by blasting White's name across the internet. Eley has already been charged with murder solicitation stemming from the Facebook post, according to Reuters.

Eley could try to defend against her Facebook murder-for-hire charges by saying that she lacked the requisite intent to have Corey White killed. Solicitation charges can also be defended if the person ends up recanting the offer or notifying the police to prevent the criminal activity from taking place. Whatever her defense strategy is, she will have to put it together quickly as she is due back in court in early September, according to the Huffington Post.

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