OCALA, Fla. — In October, a note circulated in the Marion County Jail that talked about murder — and feeding body parts to pigs and alligators.
- Inmate says he wanted ex-girlfriend, her kids dead, so he hired cellmate
- Cellmate asked Gary Bangstad to write up contract, then turned him in
- Contract reportedly called for murder victims to be fed to pigs, alligators
The note was allegedly written by 76-year-old inmate Gary Bangstad, a former college professor with several degrees.
In a jailhouse interview, Bangstad told Spectrum News that at some point, he fell in love with a woman. But now, he wants to kill her, along with her two children.
Charged with violating probation and domestic battery, Bangstad says he wanted to do something to get even with his former girlfriend. That's when he discussed a murder-for-hire idea with a cellmate.
"I just said, 'I'd like to put someone in the ground,' and he said, 'Well, I can take care of that for you.' And I said, 'How will you do that?' And he said, 'I belong to the gang called the (redacted),'" Bangstad admitted. (Jail officials asked that we not publish the name of the gang.)
In return for the murder of at least four people, Bangstad promised $1,000 per body, plus a car.
The cellmate then asked Bangstad to write up a contract and sign it.
"And I was foolish enough to give it to him," Bangstad said.
The cellmate ratted him out.
The contract allegedly included a bonus if the bodies were fed to pigs or alligators.
"That's what I was thinking at the moment. I was very angry," Bangstad said.
Bangstad now faces additional charges, including five counts of solicitation of murder.