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A D.C. man is headed to prison for four years after pleading guilty to an attempt to solicit the murder of his estranged wife. The Washington Post reports that Raymond E. Bradshaw Jr. admitted in court yesterday to buying a handgun and presenting it to his nephew, along with a $2,500 sum if the nephew would kill Bradshaw’s wife, Cheryl McLaughlin.

However, while that was the scheme that landed Bradshaw, 64, in jail, it was not the first attempt he made on McLaughlin’s life last summer, the Post reports:

D.C. prosecutors said Bradshaw first turned to voodoo to save his relationship and, when that didn’t work, for something more sinister. They said he hired a purported African voodoo priest he met online and paid that person $500 to cast a spell that would kill McLaughlin, ensuring that she didn’t divorce him and seek alimony.

The botched magic spell was just one more chapter in a very troubled marriage. The couple, who were married in 1993, stayed together for about 15 years before Bradshaw turned abusive, threatening, and, apparently interested in using the dark arts to kill his McLaughlin.