Former West MI Teacher Who Used Bitcoin in Plot to Kill His Wife Agrees to Plead Guilty

A former Middleville teacher who admitted to paying to someone on the dark web in Bitcoin to murder his wife has agreed to plead guilty.

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Nelson Replogle, who was a teacher at Thornapple Kellogg High School from 2000-2018, was arrested this past spring in Tennessee.

According to WBIR, Repogle, who has been in federal custody in Blount County since, recently signed a plea agreement on one murder-for-hire charge. He faces up to ten years in prison.

Fox 17 reported the FBI found that Replogle paid more than $17,000 in Bitcoin to a murder-for-hire website to have his wife killed while she was taking a family pet to the veterinarian.

According to WBIR, the plea agreement states,

The defendant used the Internet to provide the would-be killer with his wife's name and address, a description of her vehicle, a specific date, time and place where she could be found and the murder effected, and his intention that the killing appear to be road rage or a carjacking.

The FBI traced the Bitcoin to a Coinbase wallet owned by Replogle; the Coinbase wallet was connected to Replogle's bank account and IP address.

Fox 17 reports Repogle's plea hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25, 2021.