Teacher Accused Of Plotting To Kill Wife To Be With Student
HARFORD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Murder conspiracy. A former Harford County teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student is now charged with plotting to murder his own wife.
Meghan McCorkell has more on the shocking allegations.
Ethan Estevez has been charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder, a charge his lawyer vehemently denies.
Thirty-one-year-old Estevez, a former teacher in the Harford County school system, now faces life behind bars. Back in March, police charged him with sex abuse of a minor amidst allegations he was having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
"He was a teacher and this was a student in the school where he was a teacher," said Joe Cassilly, Harford County state's attorney.
Now Cassilly says there's evidence Estevez and that student were plotting to murder his wife.
"It's not the kind of thing that we would charge lightly," Cassilly said.
Charging documents obtained by our media partner, the Baltimore Sun, detail an elaborate plot. A friend the student messaged told investigators Estevez allegedly explained they'd need a gun with a silencer and someone to shoot his wife first, then shoot him in the arm.
The sheriff's office found messages the 17-year-old wrote saying "Like it has to look like an accident because of life insurance and stuff" and they "just really need it to happen before Sunday."
Estevez was hired at the Center for Educational Opportunity in August of 2012. He was placed on administrative leave this March.
His attorney says her client is shocked by all the allegations.
"My client would deny any wrongdoing, that he never conspired with anyone to commit an offense or never solicited anyone to commit such an offense," said his attorney, Karen Jones.
Estevez has been released on $75,000 bond.
The conspiracy charges against Estevez will now be presented to the grand jury.
Harford County schools terminated Estevez's employment in January.
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