‘Ghost Adventures’ Star Breaks Down in Court as Estranged Wife Sentenced for Murder-for-Hire Plot
- Victor Nwoko
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
Television personality and paranormal investigator Aaron Goodwin was overcome with emotion in a Nevada courtroom as his estranged wife, Victoria Goodwin, was sentenced for plotting to have him killed in a chilling murder-for-hire scheme.
Victoria Goodwin, 32, was sentenced to 36 to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to murder her husband while he was filming an episode of Ghost Adventures in California in October 2024. Court records revealed that Victoria contacted Grant Amato, a Florida inmate serving a life sentence for the murder of his own parents and brother, and offered him $11,500 to carry out the hit. Authorities said she had already paid Amato $2,500 as a down payment.
The plot unraveled when prison officials at Amato's facility seized his phone and uncovered disturbing messages between him and Victoria. Investigators said Victoria provided Amato with Aaron’s travel itinerary and detailed instructions to stage the murder as an accident.
During sentencing, Victoria apologized to her husband, stating she would “always hold love for him” and vowed he would “never be in danger” from her again.
Aaron Goodwin, 49, addressed the court in a tearful statement, describing the emotional devastation of discovering that his wife not only cheated on him with multiple men but also attempted to orchestrate his murder.
“For seven years I thought I was in the most loving relationship with my best friend—someone I trusted with my whole heart and laughed with every day,” he said.
Choking back tears, Aaron recounted how, after learning about her infidelity, he offered Victoria a choice between divorce or working things out. “I just loved her so much,” he said, adding that she initially begged for forgiveness and pleaded not to lose him.
“But now, discovering she put a hit out to kill me more than once, got blackmailed, and spent almost our entire savings to keep it quiet,” Aaron continued. He revealed that Victoria had even “got spiritually married” to the inmate she conspired with.
Aaron described living in constant fear following the discovery of the murder plot. “This has led me to fear for my life. I’ve hired armed security for weeks, not knowing if it was over or not. I cry every day. I feel so low. She grew me into a person I never was,” he said. “I will always wonder why.”
He also claimed Victoria tried to prevent him from attending the sentencing by manipulating legal channels. “Behind bars, she’s still trying to silence me,” he told the court.
Prosecutors presented text messages between Victoria and Amato, including one from Amato to a hired hitman that read: “He’s asleep right now in the hotel room… I need to know what’s going on. Can I get an update? Was it done?” In another chilling message, Victoria wrote: “Am I a bad person? Because I chose to end his existence. Not divorce.”
Victoria later told authorities she began corresponding with Amato after learning about his case through a true crime documentary. She claimed their relationship started as a “pen pal” connection and admitted she and Aaron had been facing marital difficulties.
Court documents show that Aaron and Victoria married in May 2020. Following her arrest, Aaron filed for divorce on March 12, stating: “The views, tastes, likes, and dislikes of Husband and Wife have become incompatible to the extent that it has become impossible for them to live together in marital harmony. There is no possibility of reconciliation.”
The murder plot, which could have ended in tragedy, has left the Ghost Adventures star emotionally scarred and shaken, forever altering the course of his life.
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