Clinton Man Sentenced In Murder-For-Hire Scheme

CLINTON, CT — A Clinton man was sentenced to ten years in prison for hiring someone to murder his ex-wife, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. James Erik Godiksen, 57, will also serve three years of supervised release and pay a $10,000 fine.

Godiksen was in prison at New Haven Correctional Center in 2016 when he reached out to other inmates in an effort to find someone willing to kill his ex-wife. Godiksen offered an undercover ATF special agent $5,000 in the attempted murder-for-hire scheme.

He provided a physical description of his former wife, her phone number, her home address, her place of work and the route she typically drove to work, according to the statement.

He also told the undercover agent how he would like his former wife to be murdered:“I want her killed, if that’s possible . . . . Head cut off would be nice.”

Godiksen also offered the undercover agent additional money if he encountered his former wife’s current boyfriend and killed him, too.

He was arrested Sept. 14, 2016, when he met with the undercover agent and provided him with a “down payment” of $80, some of which was to be used to purchase a knife.

In July 2018, a jury found Godiksen guilty of one count of murder for hire.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Clinton Police Department and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale and Dave Vatti.