Teenager Receives Life Sentence for Murdering Parents to Fund Trump Assassination Plot
A Wisconsin teenager who brutally murdered his parents to steal their money and finance a detailed plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump has been sentenced to life in prison without any possibility of parole.
Horrific and Inexplicable Crimes
Nikita Casap, 18, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the shooting deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, in their Waukesha home in February 2025. Judge Ralph Ramirez, presiding over the Waukesha County Circuit Court, described Casap's offenses as "horrific" and "inexplicable" before handing down two consecutive life sentences with no eligibility for extended supervision, which is Wisconsin's term for parole.
The judge emphasized his uncertainty about whether Casap could ever undergo meaningful rehabilitation. "I choose to find he's not eligible for extended release because I do not know ... when and if and whether a profound and significant change can occur," Ramirez stated during the sentencing hearing.
Gruesome Details and Cross-Country Flight
According to criminal complaints, Casap shot his stepfather and mother at their Waukesha village home around February 11, 2025. He then lived with the decomposing bodies for approximately two weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather's SUV. Casap took $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather's firearm, and the family dog with him.
After four days on the run, authorities arrested Casap during a routine traffic stop in Kansas on February 28, 2025. Prosecutors dropped seven additional charges, including hiding corpses and theft, as part of the plea agreement that secured his guilty plea to the homicide counts.
Assassination Plot Targeting Former President Trump
Federal investigators revealed that Casap had developed an elaborate plan to assassinate Donald Trump using a drone equipped with explosives. According to District Attorney Lesli Boese, Casap planned to attach an AK-47 rifle to a drone initially, then later decided to drop explosives on Trump from a drone before attempting to flee by ship to Ukraine, where he intended to hide for a decade.
"The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carry out his plan," federal authorities noted in a search warrant. Casap had written a manifesto calling for Trump's assassination and communicated with others about overthrowing the U.S. government.
Online Manipulation and Financial Scam
Casap's defense attorney, Paul Rifelj, argued that his client had been manipulated by online contacts who promised to help him assassinate Trump. These contacts convinced Casap he was part of a larger military strategy, giving him direction and purpose during a period of increasing isolation at school.
Prosecutors revealed that Casap sent $8,700 in bitcoin from his stepfather's account to individuals who promised to provide him with a drone and explosives. These contacts were actually scammers who never intended to deliver any equipment. "He walked right into it," Boese told the court.
Defense Pleas and Emotional Testimony
Rifelj asked Judge Ramirez to make Casap eligible for parole after 20 years, arguing that "children are more than their worst deeds." He explained that news of a doctor driving into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, in December 2024 had sent Casap into a rage, leading him to decide he wanted to change the world by killing a politician.
Casap appeared to tremble during the proceedings and gave an emotional statement, expressing love for his mother and acknowledging that Mayer had treated him like a son. "I thought I was part of a revolution," Casap said through tears. "I thought I was part of a war. I told myself bad things had to happen."
Prosecution's Case for Permanent Incarceration
District Attorney Boese argued forcefully that Casap was too dangerous to ever be released from prison. She detailed how Casap and his mother had moved to the United States from Moldova when he was a child, and how he had become increasingly addicted to what she described as "disturbing websites" as he grew older, researching serial killers and school shootings.
Boese emphasized that Casap told FBI agents he wouldn't have cared how many people around Trump might have been injured during the assassination attempt. Investigators found messages on Casap's phone from January 2025 in which he asked about hiding in Ukraine, with responses coming in Russian from an unknown individual.
The prosecution successfully argued that the mandatory life sentence for first-degree intentional homicide should be imposed without any possibility of parole, given the calculated nature of the crimes and the ongoing threat Casap would pose to society if ever released.
