Knoxville Man Sentenced To 87 Months In Prison For Attempting To Hire A "Hitman"

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On February 24, 2022, Nelson Paul Replogle, 60, of Knoxville, was sentenced to 87 months in prison, followed by a three-year period of supervised release, by the Honorable Leon Jordan, Senior United States District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

As part of a written plea agreement, Replogle pleaded guilty to one count of Murder-For-Hire in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1958.  In the filed plea agreement, Replogle admitted to using the Internet in April 2021 to contact a dark web entity that purported to arrange murders-for-hire.  He provided the would-be killer with his wife’s name and address, a description of her vehicle, and a specific date, time, and place where she could be found and murdered.  In addition, Replogle asked that the killing appear as “road rage or [a] carjacking gone wrong.”  In exchange, Replogle used the Internet to transmit a payment of 0.2924549 Bitcoin, which on the day of payment had the approximate value of $17,853.49. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) learned of Replogle’s efforts to arrange to have the victim killed and arrested Replogle.  The intended victim was unharmed. 

This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Assistant United States Attorney Frank M. Dale Jr. represented the United States.

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