All four defendants in a murder-for-hire scheme with ties to Baldwin County have entered not guilty pleas in federal court ahead of their August trial.

Three sisters, two from Baldwin County — Mitzy Smith, 54 of Fairhope, Judy Owen, 61 of Silverhill, and Sandra Grimes, 57 of Niceville, Florida — were arrested on Friday, May 10, after allegedly planning a hit on a Louisiana man, Grimes' son-in-law, due to what the complaint details as his ongoing physical abuse of Grimes' daughter and grandchildren. They are accused of hiring Smith's former Barnwell-area neighbor and five-time convicted felon Rebecca Murphy, 36 of Foley, to have the son-in-law killed.

Murphy, who was arrested on Friday, May 24, and charged with both conspiracy to commit murder for hire and being a felon in possession of a firearm, informed the FBI of the supposed murder plot in early May, leading to the sisters' arrests, and was soon deemed a danger to threaten, injure or intimidate a prospective witness or juror, as well as flee, according to the detention request.

The sisters also recently received a new indictment from a grand jury that includes charges for both February and March alleged attempts at murder for hire after the trio already faced charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, conspiracy to transfer a firearm to be used in a violent crime and use of interstate commerce facilities to commit murder for hire.

Owen entered a not guilty plea to the updated indictment on Tuesday, July 2, and was later denied a request to be tried separately from the other defendants. Grimes, Smith and Murphy entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday, July 3. Jury selection is set to start on Monday, July 29, with the trial for all four defendants to follow next month.

As Gulf Coast Media previously reported, the sisters supposedly originally gave a man $10,000 to take the job, but he disappeared with the payout, ultimately leading them to recruit Murphy in February, according to the complaint. Murphy allegedly had Owen pay a $500 vet bill, got offered additional payment and was taken on multiple trips to Louisiana by Grimes and Owen. Federal testimony claims not only were funds provided by Owen with the intention of Murphy buying heroin, to make it appear as if the man had overdosed, but also a box carrying a 9mm gun via Smith in case other measures were necessary.

"I think it's a very weak case, other than the entertainment value of a crazy Alabama story," Smith's attorney, Dom Soto, told Gulf Coast Media upon her arrest.