Man Arrested For Allegedly Hiring Hitmen To Kill Two People Blackmailing Him After Affair

Erik Maund, an auto executive, has been indicted for allegedly paying $750,000 to three men to track and murder his mistress and her boyfriend, who had purportedly been blackmailing him, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Maund hired the men as part of the alleged kidnapping and murder scheme: Gilad Peled, owner of Speartip Security who claimed to have served in the Israeli Defense Forces; Bryon Brockway a former active-duty Marine who served in a Special Operations Capable unit; and Adam Carey, who previously served in the Marine Corps’ Special Operations Group, according to the DOJ.

All four of the men involved were arrested Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, and carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and could face life in prison, according to the DOJ.

Maund, a married man from Austin, Texas, reportedly traveled to Nashville in February 2020 to visit family, according to the DOJ. While there he emailed Holly Williams, with whom he had a previous romantic relationship, and asked her to meet with him.

Williams’ romantic partner, William Lanway, allegedly demanded money from Maund and threatened to expose his relationship with Williams if Maund refused to pay him, according to the DOJ.

Carey and others reportedly traveled to Tennessee and surveilled Williams and Lanway, confirming Williams’ address and license plate and that Lanway had been staying with her, according to the DOJ.

Brockway and Carey confronted Williams and Lanway on Mar. 12, 2020 in the parking lot of Williams’ apartment, where they allegedly shot and killed Lanway, according to the DOJ. The two men then purportedly kidnapped Williams and drove her and the body to a construction site, where they shot and killed her and abandoned both bodies, the DOJ statement said.