New York woman accused of plotting death of daughter's ex-boyfriend

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York woman is facing charges of trying to hire a hit man to kill her daughter's ex-boyfriend and feed his body to alligators, according to police and jail officials.

Police arrested Melisa Schonfield, 57, who lives in the small upstate town of Brownville, on Friday on charges of second-degree conspiracy and second-degree criminal solicitation, Dave Pustizzi, a detective in the Jefferson County sheriff's office, said in a statement.

Schonfield is suspected of meeting with an undercover detective posing as a hit man and conspiring to kill a Florida man, identified later as the 36-year-old ex-boyfriend of her daughter, Pustizzi said.

Schonfield is accused of giving the detective $5,500 in cash, half of the total amount for the killing, in a Wal-Mart parking lot, a local Fox News affiliate reported.

When the detective asked how to dispose of the body, Schonfield suggested throwing it to alligators, the television station reported.

Schonfield is suspected of ordering the killing due to a conflict with the daughter's ex-boyfriend over a young child they have together, the station reported.

After spending the weekend in the local jail, Schonfield was freed on Monday after someone posted a $500,000 bond for her release, a spokeswoman for the jail said.

Schonfield did not return a call seeking comment on Tuesday, and her attorney could not be identified. The sheriff's office did not respond to requests for further information.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Jonathan Allen and Dan Grebler)