42-year-old Jeff Lytle wanted his wife and daughter out of the picture and was willing to pay a hitman to take care of them once and for all. When Lytle attempted to contact the paid killer by text message, he accidentally sent the message to his former boss, who was “disturbed” by the message, compelling him to contact the authorities.
In an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, Lytle’s former boss received the text on February 7 and contacted the Snowhomish County Sheriff’s Office. Lytle was then arrested on two counts of criminal solicitation for first-degree murder.
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The affidavit also revealed that Lytle hoped to cash in on the $1.5 million insurance claim he would receive in the event of the death of his wife and 4-year-old daughter. Apparently, Lytle offered to split the payout with the person he was hoping to contact, known as “Shayne.”
The father sent the message, “You remember you said that you would help me kill my wife…I’m going to take you up on that offer.” He noted that his wife’s policy “is worth 1 million and if you want a bonus you can kill [Lytle’s daughter]. Her life insurance is 500K.”
Lytle even gave information in hopes of helping the hitman to make sure the murders wouldn’t look like foul play, encouraging instead to make it “look like a robbery gone wrong or make it a[n] accident.” He also supplied his wife’s work schedule and location of where she worked.
The conversation concluded with Lytle saying, “I’ll split everything with the insurance 50/50.”
Upon initial questioning, Lytle denied ever sending the messages in the first place. Once he owned up to having sent the messages, he then claimed that he was merely “venting” his frustrations about his wife.
The father began concocting an elaborate explanation for the texts, saying he had initially written the texts months ago during a particularly turbulent point in their marriage, but kept the messages in a draft folder. From there, it was his daughter’s discovery of the messages that caused her to send the messages through.
Lytle’s wife was shocked by this conversation, as she was unaware of there being any strife in their marriage.
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[H/T PEOPLE]
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