Sgt. Joseph Chamblin is no stranger to scandal. In 2011, the Marine sniper was recorded urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Though he dropped in rank and was quietly, but honorably, discharged from the Marine Corps, Chamblin made peace with the incident in a tell-all book called Into Infamy: A Marine Sniper’s War. 

This veteran has been around the block. He’s made dubious decisions and survived to tell the tale. So when his girlfriend Laura Buckingham asked him to kill the man who fathered her young son, Chamblin knew he couldn’t handle this situation alone.

From the Daily Beast:

Roane County Deputy Sheriff Tim Phillips told The Daily Beast that Buckingham chose Chamblin to help her take out Sutherland because “she knew he’d been in the military in the past, that he was a Marine Corps sniper, and she felt that maybe he had friends that he had served with and would make her boyfriend disappear.”

Sutherland was told by Chamblin he was asked first, but told Buckingham, “I don’t think that would be a very good idea. But I might know someone, though.”

The sniper expressed fears for “his and his children’s safety due to the fact that she has become serious about this,” and that is why he ran to authorities, the incident report states.

Like Chamblin, Buckingham is a Marine and combat veteran. Sutherland told the Daily Beast that their relationship unraveled as her post-traumatic stress disorder grew worse. After breaking off their engagement, Buckingham worried that her ex would get full custody of their child.

When Buckingham asked him to find a hitman, Chamblin went to the police instead. With their guidance, he recorded conversations with his girlfriend and helped stage a fake murder. An officer posing as a hitman made contact with Buckingham and arranged the ‘hit’ on Sutherland for only $3,000.

“Are you f*cking kidding me? My life’s only worth $3,000?” he gripes today.

“It’s like a f*cking used-car lot,” Sutherland continued. “Like bring us your tax check and we’ll get you a car—only this is more like bring us your tax check and we’ll assassinate your ex-fiancé.”

Buckingham was arrested on Feb. 24 after the hitman delivered pictures of the staged killing. She is being charged with with criminal intent to commit first-degree murder.

Chamblin isn’t talking to the press, but Sutherland has expressed his thanks that the Marine sniper stopped this horrendous crime in its tracks.

“I owe the guy my life,” he said.