A 42-year-old Washington man allegedly sent a text message to a hitman requesting the murders of his wife and daughter. Or he tried to.
The text instead went to his former boss, who called police.
We"ve all been there with the errant text, right people?!
Jeff Lytle (above) was arrested last week on two counts of criminal solicitation for first-degree murder, according to multiple reports.
Lytle remains in police custody on $ 1 million bail and court records indicate that he has yet to enter a plea to the charges he is facing.
After receiving the text on February 7, his former boss was “disturbed” and notified the Snowhomish (Wash.) County Sheriff’s Office.
The message, addressed to “Shayne,” indicated that Lytle would allegedly be willing to evenly divide a $ 1.5 million insurance payout.
He anticipated receiving that amount upon the hypothetical, desired killings of his wife and 4-year-old daughter, the affidavit alleges.
“You remember you said that you would help me kill my wife … I’m going to take you up on that offer,” Lytle is accused of texting the hitman.
The text added that his spouse"s insurance policy “is worth 1 million and if you want a bonus you can kill … Her life insurance is 500K.”
He seemingly urged “Shayne” to commit the killings while making the heinous acts “look like a robbery gone wrong or make it a accident.”
The text also provides his wife’s work schedule and work location as well as his own, but again, this did not go to Shayne in the end.
Police say that after initially denying the message came from his phone, Lytle, a resident of Monroe, Wash., admitted writing the text.
He said the message was his way of “venting” his anger at his wife, but doesn"t even know anyone named “Shayne,” and the text was old.
Lytle claims the text was written months ago, after a fight he had with his wife, and that he writes "cathartic" texts that he later deletes.
Cathartic texts to hypothetical contract killers?
He theorized his daughter may have been the one to send out the text after discovering it in his “Drafts” folder, according to the affidavit.
According to police, Lytle’s wife told police the couple had been married for seven years and that she was aware of no marital distress.
She said that the couple have been struggling financially as Lytle has been out of work, but was as taken aback by the text as anybody.
