Louisiana man accused of molesting children convicted for murder-for-hire plot against ex-wife
02/10/2022 12:47 pm PST
MONROE, La. (TCD) -- A 48-year-old man accused of molesting children has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to hire someone to kill his ex-wife 2019.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, Steven Marcus Kelley was being held at Ouachita Correctional Center and awaiting trial for charges of rape and molestation when he tried to hire someone to kill his ex-wife. Another inmate reportedly referred a hitman, and Kelley mailed a letter to that person, offering $10,000 to carry out the job.
According the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kelley wrote to the individual to put "2 in the chest, 2 in the head" and to "make sure it counts." He also reportedly wanted the hitman to make it look like a robbery at his ex-wife’s place of work.
On the letter, Kelley reportedly drew a map detailing where his ex-wife worked. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kelley used another inmate’s name for the return address to cover up the crime.
On Dec. 10, 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says the person who lived at the address where Kelley mailed the letter turned it in to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office. Surveillance video from the Ouachita Correctional Center reportedly showed Kelley writing the letter on Dec. 5, 2019.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, surveillance video also showed Kelley using two different pens, consistent with the map on the letter, and he was seen bringing the envelope to the other inmate, who gave him the address. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the inmate whose name Kelley used on the return envelope entered the cell and talked with Kelley. Later that evening, the surveillance video reportedly showed Kelley giving the envelope to another inmate, who gave it to a correctional officer for mailing.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, authorities executed a search warrant at Ouachita Correctional Center on Dec. 30, 2019. Deputies reportedly found Kelley’s blue and black pens and the address of the hired individual in another inmate’s bunk.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in October 2021, Kelley was convicted by a federal jury and found guilty of use of a facility of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday, Feb. 9, that Kelly was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
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