Police claim that US Army Sgt. Jeremiah Peikert, left, and his brother Joshua Peikert plotted to kill four individuals, including two children. (Police of Connecticut State)
Two US Army sergeants, one of whom is in prison in Connecticut, and their brother are suspected of planning to kill four individuals, two of whom are children.
According to the Connecticut Police, Sgt. Jeremiah Peikert, 30, and his brother Joshua Peikert, 31, are accused of plotting to commit murder. They allegedly planned the 2022 murder of a 29-year-old lady, her 23-year-old boyfriend, and her two 1- and 10-year-old daughters.
A criminal complaint states that Joshua Peikert expressed his desire for the woman’s and her family’s murder to his cellmate at Corrigan Correctional Center. The statement stated that the cellmate “knew a few people that could have that taken care of for him.”
Joshua Peikert made his brother pay a $250 “finder fee” to the prisoner. The prisoner allegedly stated that for every person killed, it would cost “$10,000 a head.”
The affidavit claims that Joshua Peikert took note of the victim’s address, the house’s layout, and the position of an extra key that was left outside the house.
According to the affidavit, the cellmate called Jeremiah Peikert to discuss the “construction job” and the purchase of “materials,” which was code for the hit.
According to the affidavit, he also informed him that the work would be delayed because the scheduled individual was detained in Florida for striking a police officer. The cellmate allegedly informed Jeremiah Peikert that it would “not be good” for his brother if the brothers broke their request.
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However, the murder-for-hire scheme was thwarted when the woman’s cellmate sent her a letter outlining the scheme in October 2022.
According to the affidavit, the prisoner wrote the victim, “At no time did I have any intention of hiring a hitman or committing any violence. Also at no time did I contact anyone to commit violence against the victim, or anyone else.”
He “blew smoke up his ass” and declared that the hit was out when Joshua Peikert persisted in inquiring when the murders would occur.
Following her receipt of the letter, the woman called the police, and they launched an investigation. They looked into calls made from the jail and spoke with the cellmate who provided the letter including the victims’ addresses that Joshua Peikert had given them.
Additionally, detectives took a plane to Jeremiah Peikert’s station in Fort Cavazos in Texas. He acknowledged paying his brother’s cellmate $250 in a statement to detectives, and he acknowledged that the term “construction job” was a code word for injuring the victims.
According to the Army sergeant, he didn’t believe the kids were involved in the scheme. He claimed that he was only “reluctantly” able to give the prisoner $250 because the other convict and his brother were “pressuring” him to.
“The fact that Josh wanted Victim #1 hurt is not a total surprise, because Josh has displayed violent tendencies, even growing up,” Sgt. Peikert stated. “He is also manipulative, especially with me, which played a role in me cooperating. During our conversations he did mention not wanting Victim #1 or the kids in his life anymore and didn’t want to see them. I did not immediately connect this with wanting them killed, but it makes sense now.”
