A U.S. Army sergeant and his brother, both incarcerated in Connecticut, are facing charges for allegedly conspiring to murder four individuals, including two minors. The accused are 30-year-old Sgt. Jeremiah Peikert and his elder brother, Joshua Peikert, 31. The Connecticut Police have charged the brothers with conspiracy to commit murder.
The brothers are alleged to have planned in 2022 to orchestrate the killing of a woman, then 29, her 23-year-old boyfriend, and her two daughters, aged 10 and 1 at the time. The plot was reportedly hatched by Joshua Peikert while he was serving time at the Corrigan Correctional Center. He confided in a fellow inmate about his desire to have the woman and her family killed. The inmate claimed to have connections who could execute the plan, according to the affidavit.
Joshua Peikert allegedly enlisted his brother’s help to finance the plot, with Jeremiah Peikert paying the inmate $250 as a “finder’s fee.” The inmate purportedly quoted a price of “$10,000 a head” for each targeted individual. Joshua Peikert is said to have provided the inmate with the intended victims’ address, a description of their home’s layout, and the location of a spare key hidden outside the residence.
The inmate reportedly used coded language to discuss the plot with Jeremiah Peikert, referring to the planned murders as a “construction job” and the associated costs as “materials.” The inmate also informed Jeremiah Peikert of a delay in the plan due to the arrest of the intended hitman in Florida. The inmate warned Jeremiah Peikert of potential repercussions if they backed out of the plan.
However, the plot was thwarted when the inmate sent a letter to the intended female victim in October 2022, revealing the details of the plan. The inmate claimed in the letter that he had no intention of hiring a hitman or committing any violent act. He also stated that he had not contacted anyone to carry out violence against the woman or anyone else.
Upon receiving the letter, the woman immediately alerted the police, who launched an investigation. This included reviewing phone calls made from the jail and interviewing the inmate who had provided the letter. The police also traveled to Fort Cavazos in Texas, where Jeremiah Peikert was stationed. Jeremiah Peikert admitted to investigators that he had paid the inmate $250 and was aware that the “construction job” was a coded reference to the planned violence. However, he claimed he did not believe the children were part of the plot and that he had only sent the money due to pressure from his brother and the inmate.
Jeremiah Peikert was arrested in Texas and extradited back to Connecticut, where he is being held on a $500,000 bond. Joshua Peikert remains in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Corrections.