Man pleads guilty in murder-for-hire plot in which he planned to feed victim to hogs

A man has pleaded guilty to a murder-for-hire plot in which he planned to feed the victim’s remains to hogs. Jeal Sutherland, 57, pleaded guilty to using an interstate commerce facility in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a man who lives in the Albany, New York, area — a charge for which he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Sutherland entered the plea Wednesday in federal court in northern New York.

Court documents said Sutherland attempted to arrange the murder of a man who is the father of a child with Sutherland’s ex-partner. As part of his plot, Sutherland agreed to forgive the debt of the person hired to do the killing. Sutherland also contacted a person who he believed was a hog farmer, intending to pay him for the use of his farm to dispose of the victim’s remains by feeding them to the hogs. 

But according to court documents, the farmer was actually an undercover FBI agent. Sutherland was arrested in late January and the intended victim wasn’t hurt. 

Prior to his arrest, Sutherland had also hired a different man to put a dead Canada goose with a threatening letter in its beak on the doorstep of the intended victim’s mother, the Justice Department said.

“Jeal Sutherland hatched a vicious plot to kill a romantic rival and intimidate his victim’s family,” United States Attorney John A. Sarcone said in a statement. 

In addition to prison time, Sutherland could face a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to three years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 22, 2025.