An upstate New York man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a “murder-for-hire” plot in which he paid a man he believed was a pig farmer to dispose of the victim’s body by feeding it to his pigs, federal officials said.
Jeal Sutherland, 57, of Colonie, New York, arranged the murder of the father of a child he shared with his then-partner, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York said in a news release, citing Sutherland’s plea agreement and a criminal complaint.
Sutherland planned the scheme from November 2024 to Janu 2025, agreeing to forgive a debt of the person he hired to kill his target, the attorney’s office said.
He also agreed to pay an undercover FBI agent — who he believed was the pig farmer — to use his farm to dispose of the body, officials said. Sutherland planned for pigs on the Pennsylvania farm to “consume the body.”
Sutherland also admitted that he hired another man to put a dead Canada goose with a threatening note stuffed in its beak on the doorstep of the victim’s mother, the attorney’s office said.
Sutherland’s intended victim was not harmed, and Sutherland was arrested Jan. 27. He has been in custody since, according to the attorney’s office.
Sutherland’s attorney said his client had good intentions and was trying to protect his loved one.
“This is a case with good intentions that had bad planning and obviously bad results,” said Andrew Safranko, an attorney for Sutherland.
Safranko described how the intended victim, who has a long and difficult history with his ex and his child, was set to be released from prison.
“When he learned this person was going to be released from prison, [Sutherland] made up this terrible plan that he regretted,” Safranko said. “His efforts were valiant in trying to protect his loved ones but he went about it in a way that he regrets.”
Sutherland faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to three years, the attorney’s office said. He will be sentenced by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino on Sept. 22.
“Mr. Sutherland’s diabolical plot intended to violently end a man’s life and intimidate his family. Thanks to the swift actions taken by FBI Albany and our law enforcement partners, that plan never came to fruition,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli said in a statement.
