Army Sergeant, Brother Accused of Plotting to Kill Woman, Her Boyfriend and Two Children in Texas

A service member in the Army and his brother have been accused of plotting to kill four people, including two children, authorities alleged.

On May 2, Jeremiah Peikert, 30, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to minors, according to the Connecticut State Police.

Law enforcement officials claimed Jeremiah, a sergeant in the United States Army based in Texas, conspired with his brother, 32-year-old Joshua Peikert, in the alleged murder-for-hire scheme.

Joshua, currently incarcerated at a Connecticut state prison in Uncasville, allegedly asked an unnamed inmate to hire a hitman to kill a 29-year-old woman, her 23-year-old boyfriend and her two kids ages 10 and 1, authorities said.

The inmate reportedly said he would find someone to commit the murders for $10,000 per person in addition to a $500 finder’s fee.

Joshua allegedly agreed to the terms, splitting the fee into two payments, with Jeremiah providing the initial $250 payment, officials claimed.

The inmate told authorities that he had no intention of finding a hitman and he only wanted the money. He then wrote a letter to the intended victim, letting her know the plans to kill her and her family, which prompted her to contact police.

The brothers discussed the murder-for-hire scheme by pretending it was a “construction job,” officials said.

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Jeremiah allegedly admitted to making the initial downpayment and knew the woman was an intended target, but he claimed he didn’t know the children were also on the hit list, according to officials.

Police said none of the alleged targets were killed.

Officials have not disclosed a potential motive for the alleged hit job.