A 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty to murder Monday in court in St. Charles, admitting that she killed a man who left bad reviews about her on a website that connects sex workers to clients.
Paige T’eva Layne has now been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The Post-Dispatch first reported that Layne, who maintained an online profile as Danyl Diamond, originally told police that on April 1, 2021, she went to the Wentzville home of Stephen Wilson, 40, under the alias of a different sex worker, Trixie.
Wilson had written bad reviews accusing Layne of theft on the page Layne operated as Diamond. The reviews caused Layne to lose money, she told police.
Prior to going over to Wilson’s house, Layne texted another individual, "I'm going to kill him."
Text messages going back months between Wilson and Layne showed that the two had been feuding over Layne's alleged theft as well as Wilson's bad reviews. At one point, Wilson texted Layne, "Advice get a better knife.”
According to the Post-Dispatch, Layne initially told police that she'd stabbed Wilson in self-defense after he first attacked her with a knife. She also said that after stabbing Wilson she absconded with his weapon, two of his cell phones and some watches, which were later recovered at her hotel room.
Wilson was found later in his home having succumbed to wounds to his neck and head.
Layne was initially charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge.
Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
