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Documents: Ronald Ilg wrote letters to witness, tried to claim ex-wife framed him for kidnapping

In the letters, Ronald Ilg discussed how he intended to get in touch with victims and witnesses and plans to publish a press release professing his innocence.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Newly released pieces of evidence show a former Spokane doctor recently sentenced in a staged kidnapping scheme wrote letters to a witness in the case while he was in jail.

In the letters, Ronald Ilg discussed how he intended to get in touch with victims and witnesses, plans to put out a press release professing his innocence of the charges against him and plans to put the blame on his ex-wife, the victim of the kidnapping plot.

Ilg was sentenced to eight years in federal prison Tuesday for attempting to hire two hitmen off the dark web to kidnap and assault multiple victims, including his estranged wife. 

Ahead of his sentencing, prosecutors received copies of letters Ilg sent to one of the witnesses in the case. KREM 2 is intentionally not sharing the witness' relationship to Ilg to protect their identity.

In an interview with the FBI, the witness- referred to as Witness A- told investigators Ilg would frequently talk about someone he was "obsessed with"- referred to in documents as Witness 1. Ilg also told Witness A he believed they and Witness 1 would be good friends.

According to documents, Witness A believed that Ilg indirectly directed them to get in contact with Witness 1. Witness A said Ilg never explicitly wrote this in his letters but did give advice such as "Witness 1 would be a great person to help you."

In his initial letter, Ilg was reportedly asking Witness A to "work for him to handle his public relations" because he believed he could make money from the attention his case was receiving.

Ilg also claimed in one letter that he was innocent and was forced into a guilty plea.

Witness A told investigators about one letter they received from Ilg that included artwork. Ilg claimed his cellmate wrote the letter, but Witness A said they could tell it was his handwriting based on the other letters he had written.

In the letter with artwork, Witness A said Ilg made references to "a red barn or shed, a burner phone, and a child involved," which Witness A assumed to be Ilg's young son with his estranged wife.

According to Witness A, that letter suggested reporting a crime of child abuse against Ilg's estranged wife using a burner phone.

In a letter dated 4/8, Ilg told Witness A to "not believe anything you have read on the internet" about his case because "people put false stories and lies." He then directed Witness A to find a social media page discussing his case and anonymously post the following message:

"There was an alleged leak from the prosecution that [Ilg's estranged wife], Dr. Ilg's wife, said she was involved in creating the fake messages. During an alleged interview with the FBI...she admitted she was contacted by an anonymous person asking is she would be interested in setting Dr. Ilg up to go to jail. She agreed and admitted to helping create the online messages as well as make the transfer of Bitcoin."

In another letter, Ilg accused his estranged wife and her lawyer of using the couple's child "to get money."

"[Ilg's estranged wife] is no innocent princess," Ilg wrote. "It would be eye-opening for the public if somehow this information was posted online where she and everyone else could see it."

Ilg told Witness A in one of the final letters that they needed to stick to their story.

"Remember, if you do anything else, you will ensure I get 8 to 10 years," Ilg wrote. "We need to stick with our narrative, which is you and I are to perfect. You need to be my submissive."

On top of spending eight years in prison, Ilg will also have to pay more than $25,000 in restitution and a $100,000 fine.

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