Louisiana Inmate Tried to Have Daughter, Wife Killed from Behind Bars

OUACHITA PARISH, LA (KPEL) — A West Monroe man already behind bars for alleged sex crimes against his 12-year-old daughter has now been busted twice for orchestrating a murder for hire from prison.

Steven Marcus Kelley is currently serving a 120-month sentence after an investigation uncovered that he was attempting to have the victim and key witness murdered.

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Previously, Kelley was booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center on multiple sex crime charges against his 12-year-old daughter after his wife reported him to authorities in 2019, according to KLFY.

The FBI became involved in the investigation after Kelley mailed a letter from prison that detailed where to find the victim and the witness and offered financial compensation if the individual were to follow his instructions on how to kill them.

However, the person who recieved the letter turned it in to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office, which prompted the FBI's involvement in the investigation.

Three years after Kelley was sentenced, he was back at it again.

Authorities say on September 26th, 2025, they recieved wind of yet another Murder-For-Hire attempt being orchestrated by Kelley.

An inmate told investigators that Kelley asked him to kill both his daughter and wife, who were involved in his sex crime case.

For weeks, Kelley had drawn up a plan to make their murders look "accidental" and offered the inmate $20,000 to carry out his wishes.

With Kelley's sex crime case trial approaching, he wanted the victim and the witness to be unable to testify.

Kelley was allegedly working with multiple inmates who discussed how to gain more intel on the victims' day-to-day schedules by posing as family members on social media during a series of phone calls.

Surveillance also captured Kelley writing the letter and handing it to the inmate he was attempting to hire.

Now Kelley has been charged with two counts of Solicitation of Murder, two counts of Attempted Intimidation of a Witness, and one count of Criminal Conspiracy following a Murder-For-Hire scheme as reported by KLFY.

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