A federal jury found a former auto dealership executive and two other men guilty of a murder-for-hire scheme that resulted in the deaths of two Nashville residents, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced on Monday.
After a two-and-a-half week jury trial, Erik Maund, 48, and Bryon Brockway, 48 — both originally from Austin, Texas — and Adam Carey, 32, of Richlands, North Carolina, were convicted of a the scheme scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported in a news release.
Brockway and Carey were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping with death resulting, according to the release, which also noted that a fourth member of the conspiracy — Gilad Peled, 49, of Austin, Texas — had pleaded guilty to the same charges prior to the trial and agreed to cooperate by testifying. (RELATED: ‘He Led A Double Life’: Democratic Operative Sean Caddle Pleads Guilty In Grisly Murder-For-Hire-Plot)
A former car dealership executive has been found guilty of wiring over $1 million to have his mistress and her estranged boyfriend murdered.https://t.co/WdlRHWsARj
— CBS 21 News (@CBS21NEWS) November 23, 2023
Evidence showed that Maund, who was an executive in his family’s auto dealership business, had been engaged in an extramarital affair with Holly Williams, 33, of Nashville, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In March of 2020, William Lanway, 36, also of Nashville, tried to extort cash from Maund regarding the illicit relationship, per the office.
Maund then hired Peled to respond to the extortion, and Peled in turn hired Brockway and Carey to go to Nashville and investigate Lanway and Williams, the news release explained. As Lanway’s attempts to extort Maund continued, Maund decided to pay Brockway and Carey $100,000 each to murder Lanway and Williams, the office reported.
On March 12, 2020, Brockway and Carey murdered the two victims at a construction site after kidnapping them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Peled then received $900,000 from Maund over the next year to distribute to Brockway and Carey for the murders, the office’s release noted.
“Those who devalue life need to know that when you break the law, you will be brought to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas DePodesta of the FBI Memphis Field Office. “We will continue to combine our resources and share our expertise to target those who hope to commit similar heinous acts.”
Maund, Brockway and Carey are facing mandatory life sentences, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. Peled will have his cooperation taken into consideration when he is sentenced in 2024.