Man pleads in murder-for-hire website scheme

A Las Cruces man who repeatedly contacted what he thought was a murder-for-hire website has pleaded guilty to a federal charge for seeking to kill his girlfriend’s mother, federal officials said Tuesday.

Leif Everett Hayman, 33, submitted three service requests in 2022 on the website “rentahitman.com,” providing the name, address and phone number of the intended victim, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

Hayman faces up to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico said in a written statement. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

Hayman’s defense attorney said in court records that Hayman’s attempts to employ a professional hit man to “eliminate” his girlfriend’s mother weren’t serious.

A neuropsychologist testified in October that Hayman had a mild intellectual disability but was competent to stand trial, court records show.

At the time, Hayman had a legal guardian and lived in a residential facility through the state’s Developmental Disabilities Waiver program, according to court records.

In May 2022, the owner of the website reported the service requests to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the affidavit.

On May 9, 2022, Hayman had a phone conversation with an ATF agent in which Hayman agreed to pay $200 to murder the victim, it said.

The undercover agent went to Hayman’s home on May 11, 2022, purportedly to pick him up and carry out the hit, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

“When the agent showed up, Hayman emerged from the residence with his caretaker in tow,” it said. “Hayman indicated to the agent that he wanted something done to the caretaker and stated to the agent ‘this is part of the deal.’”

The agent aborted the operation after Hayman and the caretaker began shoving each other, it said.

A federal grand jury indicted Hayman in July 2022 on a charge of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-to-hire.

The website’s home page states, “RENT-A-HITMAN: Your Point & Click Solution!” The site sells hit man T-shirts and has an online order form seeking information about the target of each hit.