Colonie Man Pleads Guilty To Murder-For-Hire Plot
Sunday, May 18, 2025, 7:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
ALBANY, NY.- On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Jeal Sutherland, 57, of Colonie, New York, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino to Using an Interstate Commerce Facility to Facilitate a Murder-For-Hire.
Following entering his guilty plea on Wednesday, Judge D’Agostino accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for September 22, 2025. At that time, Sutherland faces up to 10 years in federal prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offense and Sutherland’s prior criminal history, if any.
According To U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone
According to U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone, III, and charging documents filed in the District Court, beginning in November 2024 and lasting through January 2025, Sutherland utilized his cellular phone to arrange the murder of a man who is the father of a child with Surtherland’s then partner.
As part of this plot, Sutherland agreed to forgive a debt of the person he hired to kill the victim. Sutherland also agreed to pay an undercover FBI Agent, who Sutherland believed to be a hog farmer, for the use of a Pennsylvania farm to dispose of the victim’s body by having pigs consume the remains. During his plea allocution on Wednesday, Sutherland admitted in late January 2025, he and another man put the carcass of a Canadian goose on the doorstep of the victim’s mother.
When the dead bird was discovered, it had a threatening note stuffed in its beak that had been written at the direction of Sutherland. The intended victim was not harmed, and the FBI arrested Sutherland on January 27, 2025. Sutherland has remained in federal custody since his arrest.
U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated, “Jeal Sutherland hatched a vicious plot to kill a romantic rival and intimidate his victim’s family. When members of the FBI and my office learned of Sutherland’s plans, they acted quickly and did not rest until Sutherland was brought to justice.
