Five friends charged in a murder for hire plot appeared in court today

WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) - Five friends charged in a murder for hire scheme appeared in a Warren courtroom today. But the attorney for the alleged mastermind believes someone else should be on trial.

Mallorie Wilson-Strat is accused of giving David Clark a down payment to kill Jessica Sears, her boyfriend's estranged wife.

But her attorney Steven Freers tells Action News "She's not the mastermind," and that the unnamed person is not one of the five defendants.

Fortunately, the plot to kill the Armada woman was not carried out. Still, Wilson-Strat, Clark and three others are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and all face up to life in prison.

At this point all of the accused are co-defendants however some want to plea bargain individually. Any offer of a deal would have to come from the Macomb county prosecutor's office and is less likely in a high profile case.

Three of the defendants opted to proceed with a preliminary examination before trial. The two others waived their right to that hearing.

All five are being held on bonds ranging from two hundred fifty thousand to one million dollars.