AUSTIN, Texas — Three people were found guilty in a murder-for-hire case Friday, including a former Austin businessman.
According to The Tennessean, a federal jury in Nashville found Erik Charles Maund, along with Bryon Brockway and Adam Carey, guilty of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
Brockway, who is from Austin, along with Carey, who is from North Carolina, were convicted on all charges including kidnapping resulting in death and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Maund, a former Austin auto executive, was found not guilty of kidnapping resulting in death.
The maximum sentence for federal murder-for-hire is life in prison or death.
In December 2022, Gilad Peled pled guilty to three charges after he was indicted the year before. The four men were charged in connection to the kidnapping and murder of Holly Williams and William Lanway in March 2020 in Nashville.
KVUE obtained an indictment that stated Maund frequently traveled to Nashville to visit a relative. In February 2020, Maund started texting Williams, whom he previously had a relationship with.
According to court documents, Williams' estranged boyfriend, Lanway, found out and began demanding money from Maund and threatened to expose his relationship with Williams if he wasn't paid. On March 12, 2020, Williams and Lanway were found dead in a car in Nashville.
The couple were kidnapped and shot to death before being left in the car, according to records. A press release stated that their bodies were discovered near a construction site by a worker.
Peled, Brockway and Carey traveled to Nashville to kidnap, threaten, and intimidate the couple, according to the indictment. Maund paid the three men more than $750,000 for the kidnapping and murder.