A Hempfield man was sentenced Tuesday to serve at least eight years in prison for an attempt to have his sister killed in what prosecutors said was a scheme to secure their mother’s estate for himself.
Peter John Cute, 65, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to solicitation to commit murder. Authorities said Cute attempted to hire a hit man to kill his sister.
Cute made contact with an informant who set up a meeting on April 19, 2024 in the parking lot of an Eat’n Park restaurant in New Stanton. Investigators said Cute actually met with undercover North Huntingdon detective who recorded a nearly 30-minute conversation in which Cute offered money to have his sister killed the next day. Cute claimed he ordered the hit in response to allegations that his sister sought to remove him as their mother’s beneficiary.
Cute apologized to his sister during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, said defense attorney Amber Owens.
“He said he intentially made a statement and now he has a life sentence because of it,” Owens said. “It was a family dispute.”
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears ordered Cute to serve an 8-to-20 year prison sentence. He was given credit for the he has served in jail since his arrest nearly two years ago.
Owens said Cute, who is wheelchair bound, suffers from multiple physical ailments. Cute does not expect to live long enough to be paroled, Owens said.
Cute was also sentenced to serve an additional five years on probation for an unrelated theft case to which he previously pleaded guilty.
