I faked my own death to put wife in jail after she hired $2,000 hitman to murder me – but she could try to kill me again
A BOXING coach has revealed the moment he found out his own wife wanted him dead.
And when Ramon Sosa was confronted with proof Maria ‘Lulu’ Sosa had tried to pay a “hitman” to murder him – he worked with the FBI to fake his death in a bid to snare the woman he once loved.
Ramon’s friend, who is a gang member, first approached him and explained that Maria had offered him $2,000 to kill him.
He said: “When he told me I didn’t want to believe him. I thought he was just joking around.
“But I knew he was serious when he said, ‘look, I have seen that look in people’s eyes when they want to kill somebody, and they were serious’.
“This lady wants to kill you.”
Ramon, 55, and his friend – named only as Mundo – then decided to dramatically turn the tables on scheming Maria.
He had first met his personal trainer wife in a nightclub in Houston, Texas in 2007.
She was born in Mexico and was in the US on a short term visa.
The pair fell in love, got married and Maria was able to become a US citizen.
Yet, before Ramon discovered the plot against him, he admits his marriage had become strained.
His boxing gym, where he trained youngsters, was struggling and his wife began spreading rumours that he was abusive and had a drink problem.
In 2015, Maria surprised Ramon when she demanded a divorce. And it was later that year that she approached Mundo without realising he was friends with her husband.
Speaking to The Sun in 2019, Ramon said: “Those moments when I first heard that Lulu wanted to have me killed were surreal.
“The words kind of hung in the air for a split second and when I began to process the message, the words fell into my brain one by one.
“And then it hit me that I still had to live under the same roof with the person planning to have me murdered.
“Yes, I slept with the enemy and with one eye open, all while trying to act as ‘normal’ as possible so Lulu would continue with her plan. Keep in mind, that was the only way we could catch her in the act.”
In their bid to stop Maria, Mundo hid a microphone inside his clothing and taped their next conversation, before handing the incriminating evidence to cops.
But it wasn’t enough, so police suggested Ramon pretended to be dead for a photo which an undercover cop could show his wife to further incriminate her.
With the support of the FBI, Texas Rangers painted bloody makeup on Ramon, so it looked as though he had been shot through the head.
Describing the picture, Ramon, who has three kids from a previous marriage, said: “It was chilling. Utterly and indescribably chilling.
“That picture, to this day, reflects one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. The thought of me lying in a shallow grave in my underwear with a bullet hole through my temple is mind boggling.”
A ‘hitman’, who was actually an undercover officer, later met Maria in a parking lot and showed her the pictures.
Ramon said: “Lulu [was] laughing when the undercover officer showed her the picture. She had the nerve to ask him if I was really dead or if I was going to get up.”
Maria was later arrested and pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder at the District Court in Conroe, Texas.
Then aged 42, she was jailed for 20 years in October 2016.
Despite her lengthy jail term, Ramon knows that one day Maria will be a free woman and could seek revenge.
He said: “There is a little bit of thought about that when she does get released, about retaliation.
“But I have talked to the authorities about that and they have explained about how it all will work, everything she will have to go through.
“I don’t think she will take a chance. If anything happens she will go back to prison. It does cross my mind.”
Ramon attended Maria’s trial and in a bid for some closure between them told her that he forgave her.
He said: “I stood up there in a packed courtroom. A lot of people were surprised when they heard me say that I forgave her.
“She never looked at me. She never apologised.
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“I said ‘there’s not a perfect person in this courtroom, we have all made mistakes’.
“‘But now the mistake that you have made, you’re going to have to pay the consequences now’.”
“I forgive, but I don’t forget,” he added.