Page 10 — Thursday, May 6, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
legals
Former TK teacher charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
A retired Thornapple Kellogg High School
teacher is accused of paying a hitman $17,
in the form of the virtual currency Bitcoin in
a plot to kill his wife, a former Hastings Area
School System elementary teacher.
Nelson Paul Replogle, 59, was arrested last
month in Knox County, Tennessee, after
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents
received a tip from representatives of the
British Broadcasting Corp. about a murder-
for-hire plot that targeted Replogle’s wife,
Ann. He was ordered detained until trial
Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra
Poplin, court records show.
Replogle retired in June 2018 from the
Thornapple Kellogg district, where he had
taught social studies, Thornapple Kellogg
Assistant Superintendent Craig McCarthy
said.
Replogle had served as one of the senior
class sponsors and was among those reading
the list of names of graduates at TKHS’
commencement ceremony in 2018, according
to the district’s website.
In a five-page affidavit filed with the U.S.
District Court Eastern District of Tennessee in
Knoxville, FBI Special Agent Clay Anderson
described the alleged plot. Anderson said he
received information April 20 about a possible
murder-for-hire plot from the BBC
representatives, who told him the target of the
plot was Ann Replogle, and provided her
name and address. It’s not clear how the BBC
obtained the information they provided to the
FBI.
“The Knoxville FBI contacted the Knox
County Sheriff’s office and advised them of
the threat. The Knox County Sheriff’s office
sent deputies to the residence of the victim to
verify her well-being. In addition, the
Knoxville FBI sent special agents and task
force officers to conduct an interview of the
victim and any other residents at the location,”
Anderson said in the affidavit.
Nelson and Ann Replogle were at home
when agents and task force officers arrived.
They both said they could not think of anyone
who would want to harm Ann. Nelson
Replogle was then separated and interviewed
alone, and said he did not solicit his wife’s
murder nor could he think of anyone who
would, according to the affidavit.
Anderson then contacted the BBC
representatives who had provided the tip, andwas told they had information that a payment
was made with the understanding that an
unknown person would kill Ann Replogle as
she took a pet to a local veterinarian for an
appointment.
“The information provided was very
specific about date, time, vehicle make, model
and color,” Anderson said in the affidavit.
“The payment for the murder of the victim
was made using the virtual currency Bitcoin,
and the date and time of the transaction as
well as the receiving Bitcoin wallet was
provided.”
The exact amount of money that changed
hands was not revealed in Anderson’s
affidavit, but was later revealed at Tuesday’s
detention hearing.
“It is alleged that $17,800 in bitcoin was
provided as payment,” a portion of the court
statement from Tuesday’s hearing said.
The FBI provided a blockchain analysis of
the Bitcoin transaction and was able to
determine that the Bitcoin wallets used to pay
were CoinBase wallets. Investigators then
went to work, subpoenaing CoinBase for
records pertaining to the transaction, citing a
threat-to-life situation.
“The information provided by CoinBaseshows Replogle listed as the owner of the
account and shows the transaction between
Replogle and whomever is behind the murder-
for-hire website. In addition, CoinBase
provided the registration information to
include photo identification and photos of the
suspect,” Anderson said in the affidavit.
CoinBase provided connection logs that
showed “multiple” internet protocol
connections, the last one being April 20.
Further investigation revealed the IP address
involved with the CoinBase wallet was
associated with Replogle’s AT&T account at
his home, court records show.
The CoinBase subpoena further revealed
that Replogle paid for the Bitcoin out of a
personal savings account at First Horizon
Bank in Knoxville; his wife did not have
access to that account. Law enforcement
contacted the bank seeking information,
which “corroborated the information from
CoinBase,” Anderson said in the affidavit.
Shortly after that information was
confirmed, Replogle was arrested.
During Tuesday’s detention hearing, the
court outlined specifics as to why the suspect
should remain jailed until trial.
“While the use of cryptocurrency does noton its own implicate a risk of danger,
Defendant’s alleged use of Bitcoin in
connection with locating an individual on the
internet to commit a murder for hire suggests
that he was attempting to avoid detection,”
the statement from the court read. “In addition
... the evidence of Defendant’s dangerousness
is demonstrated by the allegations that in
arranging the murder for hire, he took
affirmative steps to provide specific
information regarding his wife’s proposed
location in furtherance of the plot to kill her.”
Replogle’s family members had offered
several living options for Nelson in the event
he was released while awaiting trial. However,
Judge Poplin ruled that releasing Replogle
would present a danger to his wife and the
larger community, and ordered him detained
until trial.
“The Court finds that the evidence and
information provided at the hearing established
by clear and convincing evidence that
Defendant poses a serious risk of danger to
the community or another person,” she ruled.
“The Court finds that no condition or
combination of conditions will reasonably
assure the safety of individuals of the
community if Defendant were released on
bond.”
The Replogles and one of their children
moved from Michigan to Knoxville in 2018,
after both retired from their teaching jobs.
Nelson Replogle was working part-time while
drawing a pension from his teaching job and
does not have any criminal history, court
records show.
A preliminary hearing in the case had been
originally scheduled for Wednesday, May 5,
but was rescheduled to May 26 in U.S.
District Court in Knoxville after the defense
attorney requested a continuance, according
to court records.Goebel tells Rotary Club
about Aug. 3 bond proposal
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
Hastings Area Schools Superintendent Matt
Goebel updated the Hastings Rotary Club
about a bond proposal for the district on the
Aug. 3 ballot.
If approved by voters, the district would
request a levy of 6.8 mills. That’s slightly less
than the 6.9 currently being paid, and it would
bring in $21.9 million for the district.
“We can continue to invest in our schools to
keep our schools great without increasing the
tax rate,” Goebel said.
The millage would be used to replace aging
technology and buses, including some vehi-
cles that have been in use since 1997.The funds also would pay for a number of
building upgrades, many of which would
increase security and efficiency, Goebel said.
These include replacing single-pane windows
with double panes, adding cameras, replacing
lights, renovating playground equipment fix-
ing roofs and adding an air purifier. Goebel
said the purifier would increase the efficiency
of the heating and cooling system, and should
help to decrease the number of staff and stu-
dent sick days.
The largest single project would be renova-
tion of the high school roof, the cost of which
Goebel said is equivalent to four years of the
district’s sinking fund.1351 N.Broadway (M-43) Hastings
269.945.
OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:00 - 4:Come see us for all your wedding needs.
Shop your LOCAL printing company for customized
- Thank you notes
- Save the date cards
- Wedding invitations
- Photos
- Frames
- Wedding favors
- Posters
Need to plan a wedding?
Check out all our Special Services:
- Business Cards
- Greeting Cards
- Big Prints & Posters
- Photo Books
- Folding & Laminating
- Custom Rubber Stamps
- Plastic Binding
and more!
10
%
Invitations
OFF
No clear answers in
right- or left-handedness
Hi Dr. Universe. My questions are: Why
are people most commonly right-handed?
Who/what decides if we are left-handed or
right-handed? Are you left-handed or
right-handed?
Thanks, Mya, 8, Alexandria, Va.Dear Mya,
We don’t know exactly why so many
people are right-handed, but one place we
might look for answers is in the material
that makes a person who they are: genes.
The genes in your body help control all
sorts of things, from the color of your hair
to your skin to your eyes. These traits can
be passed down through generations —
from grandparents to parents to you.
My friend John Hinz, who is a right-hand-
ed professor at Washington State University,
knows a lot about genes and the study of
how organisms pass their genes through
generations.
He said that while there isn’t a single
gene that helps determine if you will be
right-handed or left-handed, scientists have
found around 40 genes that seem to be
related to handedness. Sometimes there is
just one gene that causes a certain trait, but
often it is combinations of genes that con-
tribute to each of your characteristics.
“Genetics is clearly part of it, but not the
whole story,” Hinz said.
He also said when both parents are
left-handed, they are more likely to have a
child who also is left-handed. Some studies
have shown that if both parents are
right-handed, there is a 10 percent chance
of having a child who is left-handed.
Meanwhile, if both parents are left-handed,
there is about a 25 percent chance the child
will be left-handed.But all we have to do is look at twins to
realize there is more to it. Identical twins
have all the same copies of every gene, but
they don’t always use the same hand.
This question has left a lot of researchers
wondering about the very question you’ve
asked, Mya. People have looked into how
the language centers in our brains might be
connected to our handedness or how our
experience as babies might be connected to
our handedness. Some researchers have
even observed dominant hands as a fetus
develops in a mother’s womb.
They’ve also investigated how people’s
different abilities are connected to handed-
ness. Of course, just because there are a lot
of connections or correlations between
what hand a person uses and other traits or
behaviors, that doesn’t mean we can say for
certain. We haven’t found a clear answer to
your question. Yet.
Whether you are left-handed, right-hand-
ed, or both-handed, hands can be really
helpful tools. They can help us pick up
things, climb to great heights, and even give
a high-five. Perhaps one day you can join
the community of creative and smart scien-
tists to help us investigate more about
genetics and handedness. There’s still a lot
of research to do among our four-legged
animal friends, too. As for me, I’m a righty.
How about you?Dr. UniverseDo you have a question? Ask Dr.
Universe. Send an email to Washington
State University’s resident scientist and
writer at [email protected] or visit her
website, askdruniverse.com.“The information provided was very
specific about date, time, vehicle
make, model and color. The pay-
ment for the murder of the victim
was made using the virtual currency
Bitcoin, and the date and time of the
transaction as well as the receiving
Bitcoin wallet was provided.”- FBI Special Agent Clay Anderson
from the five-page affidavit filed with
the U.S. District Court Eastern
District of Tennessee