Jeremiah Peikert is a U.S. Army sergeant in Texas who is accused of being part of a plan to pay someone to murder a woman, her boyfriend, and two young children, as stated in court papers. published by Connecticut State Police.
He was taken into custody on May 2.
The report of his arrest says that he lives in Azle, Texas, and is 30 years old. He was 28 at the time of the incident. He is facing two charges related to the conspiracy, according to the document, which includes his photograph. The report was issued by the Connecticut State Police.
The court documents released by the police specify that the charge is “conspiracy to commit murder” in Montville, Connecticut, between July 22 and July 26, 2022. The document lists Peikert’s address as Copperas Cove, Texas. It accuses Peikert of being involved in the murder-for-hire plan with his brother Joshua Peikert. Joshua Peikert, 31, is also in custody, as per the documents.
According to court documents, bail was set at $500,000.
The second charge was “conspiracy to commit risk of injury to a minor.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Murder-for-Hire Plot Involved 2 Kids, Ages 10 and 1, Connecticut Police Says
Connecticut State PoliceJeremiah Peikert
The arrest warrant accuses Peikert of a plan to murder a 29-year-old woman, a 10-year-old girl, a 1-year-old girl, and a 23-year-old man.
The names and addresses of the victims were kept confidential due to Connecticut State Law.
The affidavit accuses Peikert and his brother of the following:
On October 19, 2022, a detective was assigned to investigate a suspicious incident at Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville, Connecticut. A previous inmate, who is currently incarcerated at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Connecticut, had “reportedly sent a handwritten letter to Victim #1.”
This letter “detailed a possible ‘murder for hire’ plot with victim #1, her children, victim #2 and victim #3, as well as her boyfriend, victim #4 as the intended targets,” the court documents say.
Joshua Peikert was accused of planning this murder with a witness when they were cellmates at Corrigan Correctional Center. He allegedly hired witness #1 to find a “hitman” to murder the above victims, the records say.
Victim #1 contacted the Groton City Police Department, which in turn contacted the Connecticut State Police to investigate, the records say.
The witness stated that “after only a short period of time of being cell mates with Josh, he disclosed to me that he wanted victims #1, #12, #3, and #4 murdered. We were discussing previous illegal activity at the time and I told Josh that I knew a few people that could have that taken care of for him,” the records quote the inmate, who was not identified, as saying.
The inmate told Joshua Peikert it would cost “approximately 10 thousand dollars a head for each person killed,” the records say, adding that Joshua Peikert said it was “doable.” He wrote down on a piece of paper “the victim’s address, where the victims would sleep, as well as the location of a spare key in the outdoor electrical outlet to gain access to the home,” the documents say
The prisoner stated that he didn't really plan to hire the hitman, but he requested $500 as a "finder's fee" and this was sent, according to the records. The statement says the prisoner believes the words "construction job" and "materials" were codes for the hit.
Jeremiah Peikert Allegedly Helped Transfer Money to the Prisoner
Connecticut State PoliceJoshua Peikert.
The witness gave the detective a handwritten letter from Joshua Peikert that described the location of the victim’s home, the layout of the residence and the location of a spare key to gain access. The word "job" was written at the bottom.
On July 19, 2022, Jeremiah Peikert placed $100 into the witness’s account using a credit card, the documents say. Jeremiah Peikert is Joshua Peikert’s younger brother and a member of the armed forces.
Warrants were obtained for Joshua’s phone conversations with Jeremiah, who is a member of the U.S. Army, currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas, the records say.
The affidavit indicates there were calls between the prisoner and Jeremiah Peikert regarding the transfer of funds.
In another call, the prisoner explained that the person who was going to do the "job" for Josh Peikert was arrested in Florida, records say.
Jeremiah Peikert is accused of stating, "The good news is that the job is going to get done because the payment, the agreement went through; the bad news is it may take a little while to happen’ maybe two weeks.
He is an Army sergeant, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states Jeremiah Peikert then admitted that he knew the "construction job" was not related to actual construction and knew the job was related to having the victim harmed.
He mentioned that he "knew the money I sent was being paid to witness #1 for his role in arranging to have victim #1 hurt. I did not believe the kids were planned to be involved in this scheme," according to the records.
He said he considered informing the police or the victim but did not, and said he sent the money because the prisoner kept pressuring him. He then added, "I don’t recall any conversations that let me know how victim #1 would be hurt or killed," the documents say.
Jeremiah described Josh as displaying "violent tendencies even growing up," the records say. He said Josh was manipulative and 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.
