In early February, Richmond police pulled over a wanted criminal with an extensive history of breaking the law.

After the arrest, according to a criminal complaint sworn out by an officer, the driver said he had been offered money and a minivan by a man who wanted his wife killed.

That appears to have led to Friday’s arrest of Michael Barrett, a Richmond real estate agent who was taken to a Henrico jail and was charged in Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court with solicitation to commit first degree murder and conspiring to commit first degree murder. Barrett died in jail Sunday. Officials said they believe he harmed himself while in custody.

Barrett’s death, and the allegation that he hired someone to kill his wife, came as a shock to neighbors and acquaintances. 

Police are saying little about the situation. FBI and Richmond officials deferred to Henrico police, who are taking the lead on the case. Henrico police said they do not believe anybody besides Barrett has died in connection with the case. 

The Richmonder’s accounting of events comes from multiple court documents, official statements and interviews. The name of the wife, who was in the process of divorcing Barrett at the time of his death, is not being used to protect her privacy.

The alleged hit man, Edwin Concepcion Calderon, has been convicted of a string of crimes over more than a decade and was described as a “violent sex offender” when U.S. Marshals sought his capture in 2019 after he violated the terms of his probation and failed to register as a sex offender. 

Federal court records indicate he then fled to Mexico, but was later taken into custody by Virginia officials. By 2024, other charges indicate Calderon was back in the Richmond area. 

In court documents, he listed his place of employment as an auto shop in Henrico’s Dumbarton neighborhood.

That’s where he alleges he was first approached about murdering Barrett’s ex-wife.

On Feb. 4, Calderon was pulled over by a Richmond police officer. He was booked into the Richmond jail in the early-morning hours of Feb. 5. Booking documents say the officer observed Calderon, and “knowing him to be a wanted party they conducted a traffic stop … confirmed identity … and placed him under arrest.”

After that arrest, Calderon detailed to police a meeting that he said took place between him, Barrett and “an acquaintance.”

“During this meeting, Barrett stated that he wanted his wife murdered so that he could collect her life insurance policy,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Henrico police, which lists the offense as occurring on or about Jan. 3. “Barrett detailed that he and (his wife) were in the midst of a divorce and he was concerned that she would take his money.

“Barrett offered a large sum of money in multiple payments as well as a Honda minivan as payment for this crime to be committed.”

The complaint also says that Barrett began providing payments and identifying information, including a key to the wife’s back door.

Barrett, it states, told Calderon “that he wanted this crime to be committed quickly and suggested strangulation. Barrett also made requests that (his wife’s) body not be discovered.” 

On Feb. 5, the same day Calderon was jailed, Barrett was scheduled to have custody of his daughter, according to a document he filed in Richmond Circuit Court.

In that petition, he alleges that his wife took the daughter the pair shared and had refused to communicate their whereabouts with him. In the court filing, which is dated Feb. 12, he requests the court grant him custody.

Records do not indicate a ruling in that petition. Instead, three weeks and a day later, Barrett was arrested.

In the criminal complaint lodged against Barrett in Henrico last Friday, the Henrico officer wrote that Barrett had been seen the previous day at homes belonging to the wife’s family members, in an attempt to find her.

“(The wife) and her family have expressed fear of Barrett multiple times,” the document says.

On Friday, Barrett was taken to Henrico’s Jail West facility, where on Sunday he was found with “life-threatening injuries.”

Inmate records show Calderon remains at Richmond’s jail, where he awaits a hearing in Richmond for illegal possession of a firearm, which is scheduled for April, as well as hearings on other unrelated charges.

A Richmond spokesperson said Tuesday that “RPD detectives are not aware of other persons charged in this investigation.” Asked if Calderon had been charged in the Barrett case, a Henrico spokesperson said they could not comment on an active investigation.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org. Reporter Sarah Vogelsong contributed to this story.