Brother Of Imprisoned CT Man Also Arrested In Murder-For-Hire

MONTVILLE, CT — The brother of a man imprisoned in Montville after being charged in a murder-for-hire plot has now also been arrested, according to a State of Connecticut arrest warrant issued Wednesday.

Jeremiah Peikert is now facing the same charges as his brother Joshua — conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to minors — after the pair conspired to have a woman, a man, and two children killed, according to an arrest warrant from state police.

To make the second arrest, Connecticut officials traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, where Jeremiah Peikert is being held as a fugitive of justice and is awaiting extradition back to Connecticut.

No one was injured in either of the accused's attempted commission of these crimes, police said.

Police said Joshua Peikert, while in prison at the Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville in 2022, told his cellmate he wanted a 29-year-old woman, her 23-year-old boyfriend, a 10-year-old girl, and a 1-year-old girl killed.

The cellmate said it would cost $10,000 for each person killed, which Peikert said "was doable" and that he would pay half up front and half when the job was done, according to an arrest warrant.

Peikert wrote a letter to the cellmate which the cellmate provided to state police. The letter detailed the location of the victim's home, the layout of the home, where the victim sleeps, and the location of a spare key to the home, according to the arrest warrant.

The cellmate then sent a handwritten letter to one of the victims because he was concerned for her safety and the safety of her children.

She immediately contacted City of Groton police, who in turn contacted state police to investigate.

Peikert had his brother Jeremiah, who was stationed at a U.S. Army base in Texas, pay the cellmate a $500 "finder's fee."

State police traveled to Texas to speak with Jeremiah, and "obtained a full confession."

Jeremiah Peikert and his brother had discussed paying for "construction materials" for a "job." He later told investigators that he knew the money paid was related to having one of the victims "hurt" but that he "did not believe the kids were planned to be involved in this scheme," the arrest warrant reads.

"I had thoughts of notifying the police," Jeremiah Peikert told investigators, "but I never did, but know I should have."

He added that Joshua Peikert "has displayed violent tendencies" and is "manipulative, especially with me, which played a role in me cooperating," the warrant states.