Former automotive group partner charged with murder for hire

A federal grand jury has indicted Erik Charles Maund, 47, a former partner at Maund Automotive Group in Austin, Texas, and three other individuals on murder-for-hire charges in the deaths of a Nashville couple, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to Maund, Gilad Peled, 48, and Bryon Brockway, 47, both residents of Austin, along with Richlands, N.C., resident Adam Carey, 31, have been charged with murder for hire, conspiracy to kidnap resulting in death and kidnapping resulting in death, Mark H. Wildasin, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said in a news release.

The superseding indictment from the DOJ also alleges that following his arrest, Maund agreed to pay for the killing of a co-conspirator, who had requested additional money.

“Peled informed Maund that one of the co-conspirators involved in the kidnapping and murders wanted more money as payment for the criminal acts. Maund agreed to pay the co-conspirator an additional $25,000 and then offered Peled $50,000 to arrange to pay Brockway $100,000 for the murder of the co-conspirator to cut off any future requests for payment for the original murders,” the DOJ release said.

Representatives for Maund were unavailable for comment.

The DOJ said in its statement that Maund had transferred more than $750,000 from his bank account to an account controlled by Peled as payment to the three men for the kidnapping and killing of Holly Williams, 33, and William Lanway, 36, on March 12, 2020.

According to a statement from the DOJ on December 13, 2021, Maund frequented Nashville and in early February 2020, he emailed Williams to visit her during a trip. Maund then received messages from Lanway, Williams’ boyfriend, requesting money to keep the relationship with Williams a secret.

Brockway and Carey killed Lanway, kidnapped Williams and drove her and Lanway’s body to a construction site in Nashville, where they then killed Williams, the latest DOJ statement said.

“Brockway and Carey, while armed with firearms, confronted H.W. and W.L. in the parking lot of H.W.’s apartment complex in Nashville and murdered W.L. by shooting him multiple times. They then kidnapped H.W. and drove her and the body of W.L. to a construction site on Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville, where they murdered H.W. by shooting her several times,” the DOJ release said.

The four men were arrested on Dec. 10, 2021, and are currently in custody.

If convicted, all four face up to life in prison.