Two South Florida men paid a teenage hitman to kill an airplane mechanic and fireworks merchant whose body was found on an Indian reservation about three weeks after he went missing, authorities said Monday.
Christopher “Lil Chris” Singh, 29, Avin “Smalls” Seetaram, 24, and Gavin Hunter, 18, faced a federal jury Monday over their alleged involvement in the violent kidnapping and murder of Miami-Dade County resident Suren Seetal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement. The accused Broward County trio face charges of murder for hire conspiracy, murder for hire, kidnapping conspiracy, kidnapping, and obstruction of justice, the statement noted.
Seetal was last seen alive Nov. 2 as he left his workplace for Dr. HVAC, Singh’s air conditioning business, where his phone went off network, per the statement. Seetal’s body was reportedly found Nov. 21 in the Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Florida Everglades, South Florida.
Singh owed Seetal about $315,000 due to their shared fireworks merchandise and Seetal had begun to recoup the debt from Singh, WPLG Local 10 News reported. Singh reportedly was also a creditor to Seetaram but forgave Seetaram $10,000 to get Seetaram to hire a hitman to kill Seetal. Singh allegedly paid Seetaram $5000 for the planned murder, which Seetaram paid to Hunter, the alleged hitman, according to WPLG. (RELATED: Judge Sentences Dentist To Life In Prison For Hiring Hitman To Kill Ex-Brother-In-Law)
NEW DETAILS: Two Broward men paid an 18-year-old hitman $5,000 to kill a 36-year-old airplane mechanic one of the suspects owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to, according to newly-obtained court documents. https://t.co/Lh7VsGCcMi
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) December 19, 2023
The men had been planning to kill Seetal for months, and Seetal had escaped injury and death when a masked man shot at him outside his residence in July, WPLG noted. Seetal reportedly told the police of the attempt on his life, according to WPLG.
Seetal’s family had offered a $25,000 reward for anyone who had information that could lead to Seetal’s safe return following his disappearance Nov. 2 after his day’s work at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, according to a separate WPLG report. The family’s cooperation with the investigators led to the arrests and charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s statement noted.
Singh, Seetaram and Hunter each face mandatory life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted of the charges, according to the statement.