A Magna man already awaiting trial on allegations that he tried to arrange his ex-wife's killing now faces two additional counts of criminal solicitation to commit murder, according to KSL News. The new allegations concern conversations prosecutors say Orane James Spence had with another inmate at the Salt Lake County Jail in May.
Charging documents described by KSL allege that Spence asked the inmate whether he knew someone who could carry out a killing and later contacted a confidential informant using the inmate's calling credentials. Prosecutors allege that Spence discussed killing his former wife so she would not testify, identified her and her mother as targets, and offered money for the killings. The FBI recorded several conversations, KSL reported.
Those are allegations, not findings of guilt. The available reporting does not establish whether the new counts will alter the trial scheduled for the end of September or how the court will resolve the competing factual claims. Spence has been held at the jail since his 2025 arrest.
The new case follows an earlier prosecution
Spence's original case also involves an alleged murder-for-hire plan. KSL reported that prosecutors charged him in May 2025 with first-degree felony criminal solicitation to commit murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice after investigators examined communications with an online contact in Connecticut. That earlier contact allegedly reported the conversations to the FBI, according to earlier coverage.
KSL reported that Spence's divorce was finalized shortly before his initial arrest and that his former wife told investigators about threats and statements she interpreted as indicating danger. The reporting also said she received the home and custody of the couple's children in the divorce. The public accounts do not independently establish the motive, the credibility of each allegation or the outcome of either prosecution.
A separate Utah case shows why comparisons require caution
Utah has seen other murder-solicitation prosecutions, but they are not evidence that such cases are becoming more common. In a separate Herriman case, KUTV reported that Linda Gillman offered a contractor $100,000 to find someone to kill her ex-husband. She was found guilty on one solicitation count and acquitted on another. That case involved a different defendant, county and procedural outcome; its relevance here is limited to illustrating that an alleged solicitation case can turn substantially on the evidence and on separate counts.
What the available Utah data can—and cannot—show
The Utah Department of Criminal Justice's 2025 domestic-violence data report cautions that much of the state's available information is collected after a victim engages with the criminal-justice system. That limits what official figures can show about abuse that is never reported or never reaches authorities. The report does not establish how often witness-intimidation or obstruction allegations arise in domestic-violence prosecutions, so the Spence case should not be used to infer a statewide rate or trend.
For people affected by crime, the Utah Office for Victims of Crime says it provides compensation and advocacy, funds victim-service programs statewide, and offers training and outreach. The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Victim Services Program says social-worker advocates help victims understand court proceedings, attend hearings and obtain referrals or other assistance.
Utah Courts say a protective order may prohibit contact and threats, require a respondent to stay away from specified places, restrict guns or other weapons, and temporarily address custody of shared children when the legal requirements are met. Information about those protections is available through the Utah Courts protective-order service.
The next significant developments in Spence's case are likely to come through court filings, hearings and decisions about how the new charges proceed. Until then, the allegations described in the charging documents remain unproven.
