A Mississippi brother and sister have been sentenced for orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot to kill their stepfather for life insurance money.
Joshua Druid Bryan, 29, and Regan Emily Bryan, 30, from Clinton, attempted to hire a hitman to carry out the murder, according to court documents.
The plot was designed to secure life insurance proceeds from their stepfather's death, according to WLBT.
Regan Bryan was sentenced to 65 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Her brother, Joshua, was sentenced to 120 months following a trial where he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire. The trial concluded on December 15, 2023.
In November 2020, Regan testified, according to The Mirror, that she and her brother discussed the idea of killing their stepfather, with her brother urging her to ask one of her criminal acquaintances "if they knew anybody that would handle the problem," according to an order rejecting Joshua Bryan's motion for acquittal.
On December 8, 2020, during a phone call, Regan informed her brother that a recently released felon was coming over, and Joshua repeatedly told her to make a "proposal," court documents stated. After Regan made the "proposal," the felon contacted the FBI and began recording conversations with the siblings.
Two days later, on December 10, the informant sought Joshua's approval, and Joshua told him to "do what he saw fit," according to the documents. The informant then recorded a discussion with the Bryans about possible alibis and how they planned to compensate the hitman. On December 30, a video-recorded meeting showed Joshua writing something on a piece of paper, showing it to the informant, and then walking outside to burn it. The informant later claimed the note read, "Tell your boy to come on. I'll make sure he gets paid handsomely."
On January 7, Regan met with the informant and the alleged hitman, taking notes with details about the plan and destroying them afterward. That same day, a recorded phone call from Regan's cellphone captured a conversation between the siblings.
"This is f—ing over with," Joshua said during the call. "Hopefully everything works out real f—ing soon."
Regan then recounted her meeting with the informant and the hitman. "Well, I hope he has safe f—ing travels," Joshua replied.
