Waukesha death investigation; Nikita Casap bound over for trial

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Nikita Casap, the teen charged in connection with the deaths of his mother and stepfather, who were found dead in the Village of Waukesha in February, appeared in court on Wednesday, April 9 for his preliminary hearing.

Preliminary hearing for Casap

What we know:

A Waukesha County sheriff's detective testified during Casap's preliminary hearing. He shared details about finding Tatiana Casap and Donald Mayer dead in their home. 

"Victim A had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the back of the head," said Det. Ross Seitz of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.

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The detective also said a classmate gave police details about a conversation she had with Casap before his disappeared from school.

"Witness A indicated at times the defendant talked about killing himself or harming himself and had mentioned that first he would kill parents by possibly shooting them because he didn’t want to subject them to his own death," Det. Seitz said. 

After that testimony wrapped up, the judge overseeing the case found probable cause to believe that a felony had been committed. He then bound Casap over for trial.

Casap is due back in court on May 7 when he will enter pleas to the charges against him. 

Casap is charged with 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)

WARNING: Details of this report may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.

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. 

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. 

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.

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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."

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. 

Crime and Public SafetyWaukeshaNews