PARCHMAN, MS – A brother and sister from Mississippi have been sentenced for conspiring to hire a hit man to murder their stepfather in a plan driven by financial greed. Joshua Druid Bryan, aged 29, and his sister, Regan Emily Bryan, aged 30, plotted to kill their stepfather for his life insurance money.

On Tuesday, Regan Bryan received a sentence of 65 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Her brother, Joshua, was handed a 120-month sentence after being convicted on similar charges last December.

The plot unraveled after Regan testified that in November 2020, she and Joshua started discussing their disturbing plan. Court documents reveal that Joshua urged Regan to approach a known felon friend to see if they could “handle the problem” for them.

A key turn in the investigation came when this felon approached the FBI after being asked to get involved. From that point, the informant worked with federal authorities, secretly recording conversations with the Bryan siblings as the plot developed.

During a December 2020 call, Joshua reiterated to Regan three times to make a “proposal” to the informant, according to court records. Only days later, in a parking lot meeting, Joshua gave the informant the ambiguous green light to “do what he saw fit.”

Further audio and video recordings led by the informant captured detailed and chilling discussions about alibis and payments for the hitman. One video reportedly shows Joshua inscribing instructions on a piece of paper before burning it—an act witnessed by the informant. The message, according to testimony, instructed the purported hit man to proceed, promising he “would be paid handsomely.”

Later, Regan met both the informant and an undercover agent who posed as the hitman. Plans were further solidified in notes that Regan wrote and then destroyed during their meeting on January 7.

In an intercepted call following this meeting, the siblings expressed frustration and urgency regarding their stepfather and ongoing legal conflicts. Joshua, referring to the situation, stated, “This is f—ing over with,” reflecting their anxious anticipation for their plan to come to fruition.

Regan recounted her discussions with the informant and the supposed hit man to Joshua, prompting him to wish they have “safe f—ing travels.”

The successful intervention by federal authorities barred the siblings’ grisly plan and concluded with their sentencing this week, ensuring justice against their heinous intentions.