Cliff Notes
- A 17-year-old from Wisconsin, Nikita Casap, has been charged with the murders of his mother and stepfather after allegedly living with their decaying bodies for several weeks.
- Prosecutors allege that Casap shot his mother three times and killed his stepfather by shooting him in the back of the head before fleeing the state with a significant sum of money.
- A preliminary hearing is set for 9 April, with additional charges for theft and misappropriation of identity related to the incident.
Wisconsin teenager charged with killing mother and stepfather – and living with bodies for weeks
A teenager has been charged with killing his mother and stepfather, as prosecutors say he lived with their bodies for weeks.
Nikita Casap, 17, from Wisconsin, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of hiding a corpse, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department said.
He appeared in court on Thursday over the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, 35, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, 51.
Their bodies were found in a state of decay on 28 February after Mr Mayer’s mother – who had not heard from him in weeks – called the sheriff’s office for a welfare check.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reported that at around the start of March, Casap was arrested in Iowa – more than 800 miles away from where his parents’ bodies were found.
During his court appearance last week, prosecutors said Ms Casap was found in a hallway covered with blankets and a towel, and Mr Mayer was found in a first-floor office covered by a pile of clothing.
NBC affiliate WTMJ of Milwaukee reported earlier this month that Waukesha County district attorney Lesli Boese said Casap allegedly shot his mother at least three times on 11 February – twice in the stomach and once in the neck.
Prosecutors also said earlier this month that Casap allegedly killed his stepfather by shooting him in the back of the head, then went to school the next day and continued to live at home for nearly two weeks until 23 February.
Police also found a camera memory card said to contain a video of Casap lighting candles in the office where his stepfather’s body was, with him recording the corpse about a week after he was killed.
Mr Boese added Casap fled with $14,000 (£10,839) in cash, and was inquiring about how to get fake plates put on his stepfather’s car to hide the fact that he was stealing it.
Casap also faces a charge regarding theft of property over $10,000 (£7,741) and two charges of misappropriating ID to obtain money.
A preliminary hearing has been set for 9 April.
