New York man planned to kill romantic rival, feed his body to pigs. Ends up hiring undercover FBI agent
The 57-year-old man also agreed to pay a pig farmer, who was an undercover FBI agent, to dispose of the victim's body by feeding it to the pigs.
A New York man has pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire plot against his romantic rival, which also included a plan to dispose of the victim's body by feeding it to pigs.
Based on the official statement from the US Attorney's Office in the Northern District of New York, 57-year-old Jeal Sutherland attempted to arrange the murder of a man, who is the father of the child of Sutherland's former partner.
What is the case?
As per the official Justice Department statement, Sutherland agreed to forgive the debt of the person he hired to kill his target. Furthermore, the 57-year-old man also agreed to pay a pig farmer, who was an undercover FBI agent, to dispose of the victim's body by feeding it to the pigs.
“Jeal Sutherland hatched a vicious plot to kill a romantic rival and intimidate his victim’s family. When members of the FBI and my office learned of Sutherland’s plans, they acted quickly and did not rest until Sutherland was brought to justice," said United States Attorney Sarcone.
The statement adds that Sutherland also hired a different man to put a dead Canada goose on the doorstep of his target's mother and stuff a threatening message in its beak.
The Justice Department added that the hit man was also an FBI informant. Hence, with information from the hit man and hog farmer, Sutherland's murder-for-hire plot unraveled.
Sutherland was arrested in January 2025 and now faces upto 10 years in prison. Furthermore, he is also liable to pay a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. The man remains in custody and is set to be sentenced on September 22, 2025.
