COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- While meeting with a hitman, a North Idaho attorney accused of plotting to murder his wife and mother-in-law said he "had no second thoughts" and "wanted the plan carried out."
New FBI documents obtained by KREM 2 News Thursday reveal what one witness told them about his meetings with Edgar Steele, and Steele's plan to have his wife and mother-in-law murdered.
In an interview with the FBI on Wednesday, June 9, the witness said he has known Steele, 64, for about 20 years, and has worked on several projects with him in the past. About six months ago, while working on a project together, the witness said Steele brought up names of people he wanted killed, mentioning both his wife, Cyndi, and her mother.
The witness told agents he agreed to carry out the killings, planned for Friday, June 11. He told agents he was instructed to make the killings look like a car crash in order for Steele to receive an insurance payment.
After agreeing to the plot, the witness said he was told where Steele's mother-in-law lives in Oregon City, Or., and even traveled there to scout the location.
FBI officials say Steele and the witness met twice, on June 9 and 10, to discuss the plot, and both times the FBI equipped the witness with a recording device.
Court documents show the plan was for Larry Fairfax, 49, to put a pipe bomb under Cyndi Steele's SUV, and a second one under Steele's car, so that when the first one went off, Steele could ignite his and claim both were targeted for murder.
Both pipe bombs were discovered Tuesday when Cyndi dropped the cars off at a Coeur d'Alene Quick Lube for an oil change, the same day Steele appeared in court on federal murder-for-hire charges. Fairfax admitted to building the bombs and his role in the plot.
Agents say the witness and Steele first met in a horse barn on Steele's property in Sagle, Id., where Steele said he would pay the witness $100,000 after the murders were carried out and the insurance payment came through. The witness requested $400 up front to cover travel costs to Oregon City to carry out the murders. Steele paid the money, and planned out an alibi and contingency plans if only one of the women were killed.
During a meeting on June 10, Steele told the witness he would call the next day when Cyndi left their house in the SUV. Steele insisted that the witness would only be paid after both women were dead and he was not considered a suspect.
Steele said he insisted on a hit that looked like a car crash to ensure both women died because he "did not want to take care of a paraplegic."
FBI agents recorded Steele saying multiple times during the meeting that he had "no second thoughts" and "wanted the plan carried out."
Steele also discussed methods of payment if either of them were arrested by police.
Steele was arrested Friday, June 11.
KREM 2 News asked FBI officials whether the witness in the documents was Larry Fairfax, the man charged with making and placing the bombs on Steele's vehicles, to which they said they could neither confirm nor deny.
