New Mexico Man Admits to Trying to Rent a Hitman to Take Out Mother-in-Law
A New Mexico man has pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to pay someone to kill his mother-in-law. Leif Everett Hayman made multiple requests to the website RentAHitman.com in April 2022, according to the criminal complaint filed in New Mexico District Court.
In his first request to the Rent-A-Hitman site, Hayman provided an address, phone number, and email address for his mother-in-law, along with her picture, according to the complaint. “I want her gone now too much I don’t like about her she’s controlling my wife,” he wrote.
Hayman made another request to the site, and followed up via email multiple times, the complaint says. “You people are fake if u were real someone who have contact me already I can't wait anymore I'm doing it my fucking self thank you for nothing fake people,” he wrote in an email on April 28, 2022.
In May, Hayman’s requests were passed along to agents at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Using the information provided by RentaHitman.com, the ATF was able to identify Hayman, his wife, and his mother-in-law. In May, the ATF reached out to Hayman pretending to be a hitman interested in fulfilling his request. Hayman originally offered to pay $200 for his mother-in-law to be shot in the head, but later said he could only get $53 from his wife so the killer would have to use a baseball bat.
On May 11, 2024 an undercover ATF agent went to pick Hayman up to conduct the hit, and it soon became clear that Hayman wanted the agent to harm a caretaker who accompanied him, the complaint notes. According to court records, Hayman lived in a residential facility, and in his correspondence with the agent, Hayman had said he was often surrounded by staff. “This is part of the deal,” Hayman said. Hayman and his caretaker began shoving each other, and the agent drove off.
While a neuropsychologist testified that Hayman has an intellectual disability, he was deemed competent to stand trial. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years, and his sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
In July 2022, the owner and administrator of RentAHitman.com, Robert Innes, told The Daily Beast that despite the number of criminal cases the site has been involved in, people still send requests. “I get requests every single day,” Innes said. “It’s mind-boggling. I just don’t get it.”
Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.
Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
