A Wisconsin teenager has been charged with murdering his mother and stepfather, accused of living with their corpses for two weeks, and taking video with at least one of their bodies, prosecutors said.
Nikita Casap, 17, appeared in court in Waukesha on Thursday, where he faces a slew of charges including first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, 35, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, 51.
The bodies of Tatiana Casap and Mayer were found on Feb. 28 after Mayer’s mother called the sheriff’s office and asked for a welfare check on the family. They were found in a state of decay bearing gunshot wounds.
The criminal complaint said that Casap hadn’t been present at school for two weeks and no excused absences were provided.
Nikita Casap was arrested on Feb. 28 after running a stop sign in WaKeeney, Kansas — more than 800 miles away from his Wisconsin home. He was found driving his stepfather’s Volkswagen Atlas. His stepfather’s Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum gun, the victims’ drivers licenses, and spent shell casings were all found in the car, according to the complaint.
The teen was initially charged on March 3 with operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent and theft of movable property, in connection to taking the car and gun.
On Thursday, he was charged with two counts of first degree intentional homicide, two counts of hiding a corpse, theft of property over $10,000 and two counts of misappropriating ID to obtain money, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department and Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The teen appeared in court Thursday where prosecutors laid out new grim details in the case.
The mother was found in a hallway covered with blankets and a towel, and Mayer was found in a first-floor office, covered by a pile of clothing.
Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese said Casap shot his mother at least three times on Feb. 11, twice in the stomach and once in the neck, NBC affiliate WTMJ of Milwaukee reported.
Prosecutors said earlier this month that Casap killed Mayer by shooting him in the back of the head.
Casap then allegedly went to school the next day and continued to live at home for nearly two weeks until Feb. 23.
Police also found a camera memory card containing video of Casap lighting candles in the office where his step father’s body was and recorded the corpse about a week after he was killed.
Boese said Casap fled the home with $14,000 in cash and was communicating with someone to get fake plates put on his stepfather’s car to hide the fact that he was stealing it.
Location records from his phone showed he left the Waukesha area in his stepfather’s car on Feb. 24 around 10 a.m. and passed through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado, according the criminal complaint.
“It appears this individual was trying to flee the jurisdiction — not only this state ,but this country,” Christopher Bailey, Waukesha County court commissioner, said, according to WTMJ. “A lot of these issues make the court believe that this individual had no intention to be here where he is today.”
NBC News has reached out to the district attorney’s office and attorneys for Casap for comment.
His preliminary hearing is set for April 9.
