Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Web of Lies: Hitman 4 Hire’ follows attempted murder survivor Brian Long as he recounted his blissful domestic life, completely unaware that his former wife, Leslie, was hatching a plan to kill him with her alleged lover. The episode takes the viewers through his traumatic experience and how he survived the attack only to have his life shattered by the truth of the attack on him. So who is Brian, and where is he now? Let’s find out.
Who is Brian Long?
In September 2003, Brian Long resided with his then-wife, Leslie, and two children, Tyler and Courtney, in their Lexington Drive home in St. Clairsville, Ohio. He worked in the industrial sales business and had to work long hours to offer the family a decent lifestyle. His ex-wife, Leslie E. Long, from West Virginia, was a devoted stay-at-home mother, spending her time doing domestic chores and looking after the children. According to Brian, they started dating in college in mid-1989 and were married in October 1990.
However, with Brian away from home most of the time, Leslie got bored and started a business selling children’s books from home. She was a qualified woman with a bachelor’s degree in business and went on to earn her MBA. Leslie started looking for potential investors on the internet and quickly began making friends and encountering potential business partners. Brian and the children recounted how her internet addiction increased, resulting in her neglecting the family and her household duties.
According to the show, Leslie met John W. Jaworski, then 35, formerly of Sarver, Pennsylvania, on the internet, and their relationship rapidly transformed from online friendship to something more intimate. Nevertheless, Brian chanced upon the flirtatious emails one day, catching his wife red-handed in the middle of her online affair. A seemingly apologetic Leslie swore to cut everything off, and he decided to let the issue slide.
Surprisingly, Brian started receiving violent threats and animal carcasses on the doorstep weeks later, culminating in him getting shot twice by an unknown assailant in his home on June 3, 2004. He survived the attack, and the St. Clairsville Police Department began investigating the murder attempt. The investigators were allegedly thrown off the scent by some false leads, but they soon found out about Leslie’s online affair after going through the computers.
The officers discovered Leslie and John colluded to recruit the latter’s brother-in-law, Richard Cavannaugh, to carry out the hit on Brian. The trio was arrested, with Leslie admitting to conspiring for murder in 2005, and was sentenced to nine years behind bars. She and Brian divorced the same year, with him winning full custody of the children.
Where is Brian Long Today?
After serving five years of her sentence, Leslie applied for judicial release in 2011, citing her samaritan work in prison and her model behavior as a prisoner. Brian opposed the release in court, delivering a lengthy and emotional statement. He alleged, “I do not believe she (Leslie) is remorseful. I’ve never heard her apologize in court.”
Brian further contended her ex-wife was tried for attempted murder only because his will and strength to live squandered her devious plan. He claimed he still had limited feeling and range of motion in one arm due to a bullet shattering his elbow, while the other bullet remained lodged in his abdomen.
Brian stated, “I will never be whole again. I am forever broken by my experience.” He asserted he suffered discomfort with one 9 mm bullet still inside him. Brian accused his former wife of being a manipulator, blaming her for fabricating a stalking case and accusing her of cutting his brake lines two months before he was shot. Moreover, he alleged Leslie sought to kill him to cash in his life insurance policy that she had secretly increased from $350,000 to over $700,000.
The survivor ended his statement by saying, “She conceived the idea of ending my life and manipulated others in an attempt to get it done. I don’t believe someone with such a blatant disregard for human life is able to be rehabilitated.” From what we can tell, Brian, in his mid-50s, has been trying to move on from the past to the best of his abilities but prefers to do it in private these days. In other words, he doesn’t seem to have a presence on any online platform, so we do not know much about his recent personal or professional experiences.
Read More: Where Are Leslie Long and John Jaworski Now?
