MILWAUKEE (AP) — A teenager from Wisconsin, identified as Nikita Casap, 17, faces serious allegations surrounding the murder of his parents, as authorities allege that he may have committed these crimes to secure financial resources necessary for plotting the assassination of former President Donald Trump and attempting to overthrow the U.S. government. According to a recently unsealed federal warrant, the investigation reveals troubling details about the teenager's intentions and actions leading up to the murders.
Casap was charged last month in Waukesha County with first-degree murder, theft, and several other crimes related to the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and stepfather, Donald Mayer. The incident purportedly took place at their home located outside Milwaukee in February. Authorities claim that Casap fatally shot both parents and then resided with their decomposing bodies for several weeks. He reportedly fled with an amount of $14,000 in cash, passports, and the family dog before being apprehended in Kansas.
Currently, Casap is being held in the Waukesha County jail on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court next month to enter his plea. The unsealed federal allegations, which were highlighted in an FBI warrant, present a more complex picture of his motivations. According to federal authorities, Casap planned his parents' murders with the intent to gain financial means to carry out his alleged assassination plot against the President and subsequent efforts to destabilize the U.S. government.
The FBI warrant indicates that Casap had purchased a drone and explosives and had shared his plans with other individuals, including someone who speaks Russian. A three-page antisemitic manifesto, which praised Adolf Hitler, is also mentioned in the warrant, suggesting a disturbing ideological framework behind his actions. The document states, “Casap appears to have written a manifest calling for the assassination of the President of the United States. He was in touch with other parties about his plan to kill the President and overthrow the government of the United States.” This indicates that he viewed the killings of his parents as a means to obtain the autonomy necessary for executing his plot.
During a court session, prosecutors revealed that Casap had communicated with a Russian-speaking individual and had devised plans to flee to Ukraine. After his arrest in Kansas, authorities found him in possession of money, passports, a car, and the family's dog. Additionally, the federal warrant claims that his manifesto detailed not only his reasons for wanting to kill Trump but also his ideas about living in Ukraine afterwards.
References from Casap's writings described intentions to cause governmental collapse by “getting rid of the president and perhaps the vice president.” His public defender, Nicole Ostrowski, has expressed concerns regarding the charges against her client, moving to dismiss some of them, including theft, on the grounds that prosecutors had not substantiated their case sufficiently. She has also emphasized Casap's age in court, arguing that he is still a high school student.
In addition to first-degree murder, the charges against Casap include hiding a corpse, theft, and misappropriating identification to secure funds. Police discovered the bodies of Tatiana Casap, age 35, and Donald Mayer, age 51, on February 28, following a well-being check initiated by family members when Mayer failed to show up for work, and Casap had not attended school for around two weeks. Prosecutors have indicated that the parents were likely killed weeks prior to the discovery of their remains, which were so severely decomposed that identification had to be established using dental records.
