Jeal Sutherland schemed up a murder-for-hire plot targeting the father of a child shared with his then-girlfriend, prosecutors say – but he was scooped by informants
A New York man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a bizarre and disturbing murder-for-hire scheme aimed at eliminating his romantic rival.
Jeal Sutherland, 57, admitted to a murder-for-hire plot targeting the father of a child shared with Sutherland’s then-girlfriend, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Prosecutors say Sutherland offered to forgive a debt in exchange for the man’s murder and planned to have the victim’s body fed to hogs on a Pennsylvania farm. Unbeknownst to him, both the supposed hog farmer and the hired hitman were FBI informants.
As part of the plot, Sutherland also paid another man to deliver a disturbing threat: a dead Canada goose placed on the doorstep of the intended victim’s mother, with a threatening note stuffed in its beak.
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This wasn’t Sutherland’s first act of intimidation toward the woman – he had previously paid someone to set her car on fire to prevent her from testifying at a custody hearing.
That man would also become an FBI informant in the case, according to the document. The informant told the agency that Sutherland hired him as an “enforcer” for several vengeful tasks involving individuals who allegedly owed his employer money.
The informant also told police in advance that Sutherland intended to kill the father of his then-partner’s child in January, once released from a New York State prison. The informant began recording numerous conversations with Sutherland, revealing the full extent of the murder plan.
In one December exchange, the informant proposed a gruesome plan, telling Sutherland, “I have a van I can rent for like $250 from a nun – we can take him to a farm and let the hogs eat him,” according to the criminal complaint.
Early on, Sutherland claimed that his then-girlfriend wanted to take part in the killing, reportedly saying she wanted the intended victim “strapped to a chair so she can hit him with a baseball bat.” However, Sutherland expressed concerns about her reliability, saying she would “fold like an accordion” under questioning.
As time went on, he began trying to distance himself from the plot, stating in a later recording that he “[didn’t] want to know anything about [the killing],” but still wanted photographic proof that the victim was dead. In another conversation, he mentioned he would “probably be in Myrtle Beach” on the day of the planned murder.
On January 26, Sutherland met with the informant to provide payment, including $1,450 in cash, a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon for the hog farmer, and an E-ZPass transponder – a small device used to electronically pay tolls. He was arrested the next day.
Sutherland pleaded guilty on May 14. He faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for September 22.
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