A 17-year-old from Wisconsin, Nikita Casap, was arrested in Kansas on February 28, following accusations of killing his mother and stepfather. The deceased, identified as Tatiana Casap, 35, and Donald Mayer, 51, were discovered in their residence weeks after their suspected murder around February 11. Authorities suspect that the teenager lived with the corpses for several days before fleeing in the family vehicle.
The police were notified of the situation on February 28 when Casap’s school reached out to the Waukesha police to perform a welfare check after the teenager had been missing from school for two weeks. Upon their arrival, the police were met with a gruesome scene. The house was filled with the stench of decomposition, and a body, later identified as Tatiana Casap, was found in the hallway covered with a blanket. She had been shot four times.
In the home office, authorities found Mayer’s body, which had a visible injury on the back of his head. The body was hidden under blankets and pillows. The family dog and Mayer’s car were also unaccounted for.
The investigation led by the police traced Casap’s activities using phone records, security footage, and financial transactions made with his parents’ credit cards. Casap was found to have used his parents’ cards in Waukesha from February 12 to February 23. He also responded to messages on his stepfather’s phone, creating the impression that Mayer was still alive.
Security footage from February 16 to February 22 showed Casap entering the rooms where his parents’ bodies were located. He was seen lighting candles near his mother’s body and taking pictures of his stepfather. A witness informed the police that Casap had confessed his plans to kill his parents and himself.
Following Casap’s arrest in Kansas, the police downloaded the contents of his phone. A witness disclosed that Casap had been communicating with a man in Russia. Casap and his mother were originally from Moldova. Conversations on his phone suggested plans to flee to Ukraine.
Casap’s phone also contained a message sent on February 8, just days before the alleged murders, about receiving money for headphones to shield from the sound of a .357 Magnum gunshot. Casap’s bail was set at $1 million during his court appearance on March 27. His next court date is scheduled for April 9.