Ala. Plumber Allegedly Tried to Hire Hitman to Kill Wife, 6 Kids: 'Start with One. Take Your Time'

Mohammad A. H. Mohammad’s wife and children had filed protective orders against him years before he allegedly tried to have them killed

An Alabama man has been arrested for allegedly trying to hire out the murders of his estranged wife and six adult children.

Mohammad A. H. Mohammad, 63, is charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, according to a criminal complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE.

Authorities had arrested the plumber, who owns a plumbing service in Homewood, Ala., by Tuesday, Sept. 24, when the federal case was unsealed.

A preliminary hearing is slated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on Friday, Sept. 27, at 10:00 a.m.

His federal public defender, Kevin. L. Butler, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Mohammad and his wife, married since March 2021 are currently in “active divorce proceedings,” per the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint.

In alleged interactions described in the affidavit, Mohammad instructed a cooperating witness to “just find me somebody,” to kill his family.

That unnamed witness allegedly connected Mohammad with an FBI undercover employee who posed as a hitman and wore a recording device.

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At their Saturday, Sept. 21, meeting, Mohammad allegedly told the supposed hitman that his family had turned against him, per the affidavit, and instructed him to kill: “Six kids, and the mom. You pick and choose who you gunna take out, and get paid.”

“Start with one,” Mohammad allegedly added, per the affidavit, which notes that he put a $550 downpayment on the hit. “Take your time.”

Federal investigators allege the attempted hits were the latest in a series of violent attacks against the family.

In November of 2021 – less than a year after the couple’s marriage – a Jefferson County, Ala. judge issued three protection from abuse orders against Mohammad for his wife and two of his children, per the affidavit, which goes on to site the orders, noting that Mohammad was “‘restrained from assaulting, threatening, abusing, harassing, following, interfering, or stalking.’”

In the wife’s petition, leading to the protection order, she wrote, per the affidavit, that Mohammad: “has hurt me and my kids & used weapons against us” and claimed he “said he wanted to shoot my daughter between the eyes.”

She also alleged in protection order paperwork that her husband would “threaten to lock us in the basement and kill us. He always threatens me and my children with violence. He has put his hands on my kids and sent them to the emergency room. He has put a gun & knife against my kids heads and throats. He has shot guns at us.”

The Hoover Police Department arrested Mohammad that same month and charged him with domestic violence for assaulting one of his daughters. Those charges were later dismissed.

In April 2022, Hoover police arrested him on a charge of felony first-degree stalking. They accused Mohammad of placing GPS tracking devices on his wife’s and other family member’s cars in violation of their protection orders, per the affidavit. (The outcome of those charges were not immediately clear, but Mohammad did not remain detained.)

Hoover police and firefighters responded to the home of the wife’s close friend on Jan. 3, 2023, for reports of vehicle arson, per the affidavit. Surveillance video captured the suspect’s vehicle, which was registered in Mohammad’s name.

The next day, Mohammad’s son’s silver Ram pickup truck burst into flames in Mohammad’s wife's driveway.

On Sept. 20, 2023, his son’s Toyota 4Runner SUV was one of four vehicles “found burned in a suspicious fire,” per the affidavit.

Then, on Dec. 9, 2023, Mohammad’s wife allegedly received a call from a man on behalf of Mohammad, trying to reconcile the marriage, per the affidavit. The wife refused and “less than 12 hours after the call,” another “suspicious” vehicular fire broke out at the wife’s residence, the affidavit says.

Charged with violating the protective orders, Mohammad’s bond was revoked and he was remanded a few days later.

At a hearing for his stalking charge, a recording of Mohammad was played in which he allegedly told a witness “God will reward me” if he hurt his family, according to the affidavit.

He was released on bond again in February.

By August he was allegedly making “repeated requests,” per the affidavit, to find someone to “take care of,” his wife and family members.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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