Special Agent Edward Winkelspecht with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) said an informant met with ATF and NCIS special agents and informed them of Ghesquiere’s plot.

The source told them that after Ghesquiere and his wife stopped living together and separated, Ghesquiere said he wanted to ‘get rid of her.’
Ghesquiere faced a maximum sentence of 14 years but in the end was given three years less after pleading guilty in October.
In court documents, it was revealed that Ghesquiere and his wife were going through a divorce at the time, which left him dissatisfied with the turn of events. In court however, he attempted to justify this trying to put the contract on Kathryn buy arguing that she was cheating on him at the time with her ex-husband and was abusing alcohol and drugs, neglecting their son.
He also admitted that he that he tried to distance himself during the investigation by using a prepaid burner phone to set up a meeting with the agent who he assumed was a hitman.

Ghesquiere claimed his ex-wife refused to let him visit his son in early July, even though he had partial custody of the child.
Allegedly, as Ghesquiere became more frustrated by the situation, he told a friend the situation would be much easier if his estranged wife was removed.
Court documents revealed Ghesquiere said his son would tell him that he was hungry because his mother was too drunk to cook him dinner. On another occasion, he noticed a burn on his son’s leg, which he found out was from a cigarette burn that had occurred while the youngster was at the home of his mother.

The court ordered mental health treatment during incarceration for former navy petty officer Chadwick Ghesquiere

 Ghesquiere commented in court saying his actions don’t reflect him and he is shocked about his choices. He also stated he let a lot of people down, including his son.