Waukesha death investigation; teen accused in deaths of mom, stepfather
Teen charged in death of mother, stepfather
Criminal charges have been filed in Waukesha County against 17-year-old Nikita Casap in connection with the deaths of his mother and stepfather, who were found dead in the Village of Waukesha in February.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - Criminal charges have been filed in Waukesha County against 17-year-old Nikita Casap in connection with the deaths of his mother and stepfather, who were found dead in the Village of Waukesha in February.
Nikita Casap
New charges filed
What we know:
Online court records show Casap now faces the following criminal counts:
- First-degree intentional homicide (two counts)
- Hiding a corpse (two counts)
- Theft-movable property >$10,000-$100,000
- Theft-movable property-special facts
- Take and drive vehicle without consent
- Misappropriate ID info-obtain money (two counts)
Casap appeared on Thursday afternoon, March 27 for his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on these new charges. The court commissioner set bail for Casap at $1 million – and dismissed a prior auto theft case against Casap.
Welfare check leads to discovery
The backstory:
Donald Mayer and his wife, Tatiana, were found dead in their home on Feb. 28. Their bodies were severely decomposed.
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Prosecutors say their son, 17-year-old Nikita Casap, shot and killed his parents more than two weeks earlier. They say he fantasized about killing his parents and himself. Prosecutors also say Casap had been in contact with a Russian speaker with a plan to try to flee to Ukraine before taking money, passports, a car and the family dog.
Donald Mayer and his wife, Tatiana Casap (photo provided by family)
Inside the family home on Cider Hills Drive, prosecutors said Donald and Tatiana Mayer had been dead for days. Court filings say footage from a surveillance camera showed a camera trained on Donald Mayer's body, covered by blankets and pillows.
The complaint says Nikita is seen entering the room to "keep candles lit." At one point, Nikita grabbed the camera and turned it around. He is heard saying, "So you can see him there. I can literally see the (expletive) rotten body there."
Court filings say investigators believe Casap killed his parents sometime on Feb. 11. But Casap did not leave Waukesha until Feb. 23. That is when he traveled through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado before getting arrested in rural northwestern Kansas. He was in his parents' SUV.
Family photo: Nikita Casap, Tatiana Casap, Donald Mayer
Filings say investigators found telegram messages in the days and weeks before the homicides between Casap and a Russian speaker. Casap asked, "…while in Ukraine, I'll be able to live a normal life? Even when it's found out I did it."
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Waukesha death investigation; teen appearance for stealing car, gun
The teen charged with stealing a car and gun from the home where his mother and stepfather were found dead made his initial appearance in Waukesha County court.
A Waukesha West classmate told investigators Casap told her Casap was planning to kill his parents – and had been in contact with a man from Russia.
What's next:
Nikita Casap is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on April 9.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access as well as previous FOX6 News coverage of this developing story.