Man changes plea to guilty in hired-hit trial

BY FRANK DELANO

Date published: 9/25/2008

BY FRANK DELANO

"Not guilty," said James F. Oliff Jr. yesterday at the beginning of his trial in Westmoreland Circuit Court on four charges of trying to hire a killer of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

But, three prosecution witnesses later, Oliff, 42, admitted that the evidence against him was enough to convict him and send him to prison for a very long time.

Michelle Payne, 26, testified that she moved in with Oliff five years ago. The couple had three children, now 3, 4 and 5 years old, and lived on Woodbine Road near Lyells.

She said Oliff's verbal and physical abuse started when she was pregnant with her first child.

She testified that after beating her in February 2007, Oliff warned "he'd make me go away."

She moved in with her parents in Callao after another beating by Oliff a year ago sent her to a hospital in an ambulance, she said.

In January of this year, she and her children moved in with James L. Williams Jr. of Callao. Williams said that Oliff called him soon afterward.

Oliff "wanted to have her drugged so he could call the police to tell them she was acting crazy and get his kids back," Williams testified.

On Jan. 11, Oliff, a seawall builder, invited a friend named Steven Mark Beckham to his house, said Westmoreland Commonwealth's Attorney Dean J. Atkins. Atkins said Oliff offered Beckham $5,000 to kill Williams and Payne.

According to Atkins, Oliff told Beckham, "I think you ought to kill them with a .410 shotgun and use a slug because you can't trace it."

Beckham called the police. The next morning Beckham met with Westmoreland Sheriff's Investigator W.R. Lewko. Lewko fitted Beckham with a wire.

Lewko recorded Beckham's next two meetings with Oliff. At one of them, Oliff suggested that Beckham shoot Payne and Williams after they had dropped the children off at day care. Oliff also gave Beckham a diagram of Williams' house, Lewko said.

Date published: 9/25/2008