A Wisconsin teen murdered his mother and stepfather — then stashed their bullet-riddled bodies under blankets and lived with the corpses for weeks, according to prosecutors.
Nikita Casap, 17, appeared in court Thursday on a slew of charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, for the gruesome killings of his mom and stepdad in their Wakeusha home last month, said a new complaint filed by authorities.
“The highest, highest counts that we have, quite frankly, in our country is what’s been alleged here,” Waukesha County Commissioner David Herring said in court, WISN reported.
It’s unclear what sparked the slayings.
Casap’s two-week absence from Waukesha West High School — as well as “weird or suspicious” text messages sent from his stepdad’s phone — prompted a police welfare check at the family’s home Feb. 28, officials said.
There, cops found the teenager’s mom, Tatiana Casap, buried under piles of clothes and blankets in the hallway near the kitchen with multiple shots to the neck, upper torso, abdomen and right wrist, the complaint stated.
Casap’s stepfather, Donald Mayer, was discovered in the home’s first-floor office with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the filing.
Both bodies were decomposed beyond recognition, forcing authorities to use other methods to confirm their identities, prosecutors said.
Tatiana and Mayer are believed to have died around Feb. 11, or 17 days before deputies discovered them, the complaint said.
Prosecutors believe Casap lived with the bodies for 12 days, all while communicating with his school, his stepfather’s employer and family members from his parents’ accounts, before escaping in Mayer’s car.
Casap was arrested during a traffic stop in Wakeeney, Kan. — the same day deputies found the couple’s bodies at the house about 850 miles away — while driving his stepdad’s VW Atlas with the family dog inside.
“Officers observed in plain view a gun on the passenger side floorboard that was later determined to be a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum firearm,” the complaint said, with the weapon description matching a gun his stepdad recently bought.
“Further, officers located [the dead parents’] driver’s licenses, unused ammunition for the .357 Magnum and spent shell casings.”
Jewelry and other valuable items were found in the vehicle, and Casap also allegedly used Mayer’s debit cards to get cash and buy goods. The items and cash were valued at more than $10,000, prosecutors said.
The teen — who does not have a license to drive — was originally charged with one count of theft and one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent when initially apprehended.
Casap was later also charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of hiding a corpse and two counts of theft of movable property.
The complaint said Casap had begun to send gory images on Snapchat to a female high-school classmate and made troubling references to shooting his parents and killing himself.
The girl told authorities Casap also was exchanging messages with someone in Russia about assassinating President Trump. The tip led investigators to find messages in his phone to someone in Russia and other unidentified individuals as he considered the idea of escaping to Ukraine, officials said.
In those messages were discussions about the loudness of a .357 Magnum matching the description of Mayer’s gun, according to the complaint.
Casap could face life in prison if convicted.
Casap’s bail, previously set at $250,000, has been increased to $1 million, court records indicate.
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