Mishawaka man, in jail on molesting charge, accused of trying to hire hitman to kill two
SOUTH BEND — A Mishawaka man awaiting trial on charges of molesting a child under 14 now faces additional charges claiming he tried to hire an assassin to kill his father-in-law and a romantic rival.
Joshua Lee Cassel, 31, has been charged with two counts each of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Police claim they searched recordings of jail phone calls and found that a man on Nov. 9 told Cassel he was having sex with Cassel's wife and wanted him to hear it from him personally. Police claim Cassel approached a fellow inmate at the St. Joseph County Jail the next day, asking if that person knew anyone who would accept payment to murder someone. The inmate allegedly told Cassel he could put him in touch with someone.
The inmate reportedly told police Cassel was asking him to help hire an assassin.
Police say a detective then visited Cassel at the jail, pretending to agree to the job. Police claim Cassel confirmed he wanted the man who was having an affair with his wife to be killed and provided a map to the man's place of work. Cassel is accused of agreeing to pay $5,000 to have the man killed because he "violated the bro code."
Police further claim that Cassel approached the other inmate again five days later saying he wanted to also pay to have his father-in-law killed because he was coming between Cassel and his wife and refusing to let Cassel speak to her. Cassel allegedly said if both men were killed, his wife would go to stay with Cassel's grandmother, who would help repair their marriage.
The detective returned to the jail, where he claims Cassel laid out his intention to have his father-in-law killed, including drawing a detailed map of the man's home and a seat he frequently sat in near a window. The map prosecutors included in the court documents includes a wish that the assassin not harm two dogs who lived with his father-in-law.
Cassel is now being held without bond, according to jail records, and has an initial hearing on the murder-for-hire charges scheduled for Nov. 29.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph County Jail inmate Mishawaka murder-for-hire charges wife
