Waukesha homicides: Nikita Casap intends to plead guilty, filings show
Waukesha homicides, man intends to plead guilty
The man accused of killing his mother and stepfather in the village Waukesha home intends to plead guilty, according to court filings FOX6 obtained.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - The man accused of killing his mother and stepfather inside their village of Waukesha home last year intends to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, according to court filings FOX6 News obtained Tuesday.
Nikita Casap
In Court:
Nikita Casap, 18, is scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing on Thursday, Jan. 8. Court filings show he intends to plead guilty to the homicides, and the district attorney's office plans to dismiss other felony counts.
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FOX6 News reached out to Casap's public defender for comment but did not hear back by the deadline for this story.
"This is a tough situation – any person charged with first-degree intentional homicide is facing life in prison," said Jonathan LaVoy, a criminal defense attorney who is not associated with the case. "The court does have the ability to make someone eligible to be considered for extended supervision anytime at 20 years or later."
Waukesha County Courthouse
Given Casap's age, the severity of charges and mounting evidence, LaVoy said a guilty plea may be Casap's only move – but there's also potential federal charges to consider.
"It’s likely the federal government is waiting to see what happens in the state case. If he does get life in prison in the state case, it might not make sense for the federal to bring a case against him," LaVoy said.
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A judge bound Casap over for trial last April. Court records indicate the case was scheduled to go to trial in early March, but that would be avoided with a plea deal.
WARNING: Details of this report may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Law enforcement scene near Cider Hills and Heather, Waukesha
Death investigation
The backstory:
Donald Mayer and his wife, Tatiana, were found dead in their Cedar Hills Drive home on Feb. 28, 2025. Prosecutors said Casap, who was 17 years old at the time, shot and killed them more than two weeks before they were found. Their bodies were severely decomposed.
According to court filings, Casap fantasized about killing his parents and himself. He 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.
Casap did not leave Waukesha until Feb. 23. That is when prosecutors said he traveled through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado before getting arrested in rural northwestern Kansas. He was in his parents' SUV with the dog.
Family photo: Nikita Casap, Tatiana Casap, Donald Mayer
A criminal complaint said Casap was the driver, and a gun was seen "in plain view" on the passenger side floorboard. Driver's licenses of the deceased were also in the vehicle, as were unused ammunition and shell casings.
Court filings said investigators found telegram messages in the days and weeks before the homicides between Casap and a Russian speaker, in which Casap asked, "…while in Ukraine, I'll be able to live a normal life? Even when it's found out I did it."
After the case was originally filed, prosecutors charged Casap with intimidating a witness. Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese said the charge stemmed from what a classmate told police.
A Waukesha West High School student said Casap told her how he wanted to die by suicide and that despite a "happy childhood," he was planning to kill his parents. Casap allegedly told the girl, if anyone ever found out what he said to her, "it wouldn't end well."
Plot to assassinate Trump
Dig deeper:
An FBI investigation into Casap revealed a conspiracy to assassinate President Donald Trump in an effort to start a "political revolution," according to federal court documents FOX6 News obtained in April 2025.
As part of the homicide investigation, Casap's cellphone and other electronic devices were seized and searched. According to a search warrant, investigators uncovered material on Casap's cellphone related to "The Order of Nine Angles." The group is described in FBI documents as a "satanic cult" with "strong anti-Judiac, anti-Christian, and anti-Western ideologies" that claims to "incite chaos and violence."
Wisconsin teen named in warrant; expert on 'red flags,' extremism
Federal prosecutors said they found a plot to kill President Donald Trump on a Wisconsin teen's cellphone. An expert said there were "red flags."
The warrant also said Casap paid for, at least in part, "a drone and explosives to be used as a weapon of mass destruction to commit an attack." The killings of his mother and stepfather, according to the warrant, "appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary" to carry out the plan.
An excerpt from an apparent manifesto specifically referenced Trump and said "getting rid of the president and perhaps the vice president" is "guaranteed to bring in some chaos." It later said: "Point being this manifesto is specifically for the attack that targets Trump."
The Source: FOX6 News reviewed documents from the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Federal Bureau of Investigation and prior coverage of the case.