Man faces federal charge in plot to murder wife

DOTHAN, Ala. — Authorities recently arrested a Dothan man on charges that he’d hired another man to murder his estranged wife.
Federal court records show Steven Michael Capshaw had already paid two people to kill his wife, and had been planning with a third person to kill her as recently as last week.
According to a Dothan police statement, Capshaw, 52, was charged by agents with the FBI in a murder-for-hire scheme, alleging that he’d hired an undercover agent to kill his 49-year-old wife. Authorities took Capshaw into custody Friday. He was transferred from the Dothan City Jail on Monday to a federal courthouse where he was officially charged.
According to state court records, Sandra Gail Capshaw filed for divorce against Steven Michael Capshaw in August. Records show the couple had been married 29 years, and have three children, including two teenagers.
The murder-for-hire scheme apparently was hatched after Capshaw claimed his wife recently left him a letter indicating she wanted a divorce.
According to federal court records, Capshaw attempted to hire his own niece, Nathina Whitaker, and she’d apparently told him $5,000 was not enough to get the job done.
Whitaker told Capshaw her boyfriend, Timothy O’Neal, could help. Whitaker and O’Neal cooperated with police, helping them gather evidence leading to Capshaw’s arrest.
Capshaw suggested O’Neal use a knife or machete instead of gun. Capshaw reportedly gave O’Neal a box of rubber gloves and his choice of knives to use in the crime. O’Neal apparently took a pocket-sized knife with a hook blade that was later seized by law enforcement.
“It’s messy, it’s nasty, but it doesn’t make no noise,” Capshaw is quoted as saying about the advantages of using a knife during a recorded conversation he had with O’Neal.
Capshaw said he’d already paid two other people nearly $4,000 to kill his wife, and would pay O’Neal $3,000 once the job had been completed and he’d received some of the insurance money.
The federal court records show Capshaw had met with O’Neal as recently as last week and drove with him to his wife’s Dothan apartment complex. Capshaw also identified the type of Toyota Prius his wife drove and described the inside of her apartment for him. Capshaw specifically rode around with O’Neal and showed him where a Dothan police officer normally worked security for the apartment complex.
According to the Dothan police statement, the murder-for-hire investigation is ongoing and more charges are pending.
Federal records show Capshaw had met O’Neal at a Dothan business at least once while Capshaw worked as a nurse.