Cleveland man accused of wife’s murder now charged in murder-for-hire plot

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) —  There is a new charge tonight against Craig Liner, the Cleveland man accused of killing his wife, Karen.

News 12 obtained newly filed documents that point to a disturbing murder-for-hire plot authorities say Liner planned while behind bars.

Craig Liner is already charged with the murder of his wife.

Now, investigators say he tried to have someone else killed from inside the Bradley County Jail.

An arrest report says another inmate, William McDaniel, told detectives that Liner asked him to kill his former mother-in-law.

In exchange, Liner allegedly offered a 20-17 Malibu boat and an SUV once he got out of jail.

“I was made aware that there were some charges that would be pending or contemplated when they executed a search warrant on my clients property…I’ve been talking to the assistant DA and law enforcement trying to figure out what was going on, what the purpose of the seizure was, that sort of thing,” said Matthew Rogers, Craig Liner’s Attorney.

McDaniel said Liner was upset after a court hearing, telling him his ex-wife took half his money, and her mother was trying to take the rest.

The woman was later identified as Margaret Hopper.

Authorities launched a sting, wiring McDaniel with hidden recording devices and instructing him to speak with Liner.

“We have a lot of teeth to cross and eyes to dot so there are technical difficulties but we’re working together and have the resources pulled together to have the same common goal is how you pull that off and that’s exactly how we handle it we utilized whatever resources we had to make sure that we were able to carry this out and make sure we got charges filed,” said Mark Gibson Cleveland Chief of Police.

Though one of the recording devices failed, investigators say the backup audio captured key details, including references to quote “taking care of the problem” and the Malibu boat.

A search warrant later confirmed the boat was registered to Liner and stored in Cleveland.

Detectives say McDaniel didn’t ask for anything in return other than to be moved for his own safety.

Liner now faces a new charge of Solicitation to Commit First Degree Murder.

He remains in custody as both investigations continue.