A Hempfield man faces up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to hire a hitman to kill his sister.
Police said Peter Cute, 64, met with undercover detectives and offered to pay them $1,000 to murder his estranged sister, who he claimed prevented him from having access to his family’s property and finances.
According to authorities, Cute made contact with an informant who set up a meeting on April 19 in the parking lot of an Eat’n Park restaurant in New Stanton. Investigators said Cute actually met with undercover detective from North Huntingdon who recorded a nearly 30-minute conversation in which Cute offered money to have his sister killed the next day.
Cute, who has been in jail since his arrest, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal solicitation to commit murder. Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Ranger said Cute previously rejected a plea deal that would have resulted in his being sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison. Standard sentencing guidelines call for Cute to receive at least eight years in prison.
“Our offer is within that range,” Ranger said during the court hearing that was originally scheduled as a pretrial conference. “The victim is very much in fear. She is terrified of him.”
Cute opted to plead guilty without a sentencing deal in place.
“It’s in my best interest,” Cute said of his guilty plea.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears ordered the county’s probation department to conduct an investigation into Cute’s background that will be used at a sentencing hearing to be conducted in about three months.
Assistant Public Defender Sarah Reeb told the judge she will seek a mitigated sentence for Cute, who she said suffers from physical ailments that has left him confined to a wheelchair.
“When he came to the jail he had leg sores and they’re treating that at the jail but he still has medical conditions,” Reeb said.
