A newly declassified federal search warrant has made chilling new charges against a Wisconsin teenager accused in the February murders of his parents.
Authorities now think the 17-year-old killed his parents to raise money to kill former President Donald Trump and topple the U.S. government.
Nikita Casap, who was taken into custody last month in Kansas, now stands charged in Waukesha County with first-degree murder, theft, and other crimes in connection with the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and stepfather, Donald Mayer. Investigators say Casap killed the couple at their suburban Milwaukee home and lived among their rotting bodies for weeks before leaving the state with more than $14,000 in cash, passports, and the family dog.
He is being held at the Waukesha County Jail on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to enter a plea at a next-month court hearing. Local prosecutors have hinted at federal-level charges, now substantiated in an FBI warrant made public on Friday.
Federal authorities accuse Casap of orchestrating the murders as part of a broader conspiracy. The teenager allegedly bought explosives and a drone, and shared details of his scheme with several people, including someone who spoke Russian. Police also found a three-page antisemitic manifesto in which Casap extolled Adolf Hitler and explained his radical ideology. Passages from his posts on apps like TikTok and Telegram were also included in the warrant.
As per the paper, "Casap seems to have composed a manifest demanding the assassination of the President of the United States. He was in contact with other individuals regarding his intention to assassinate the President and topple the government of the United States." It also mentioned that "The murder of his parents seemed to be an attempt to acquire the financial resources and independence required to executing his plan."
Prosecutors, in court, said Casap had talked about escaping to Ukraine with a Russian-speaking acquaintance. When he was arrested in Kansas, officials say he had money, official documents, a car, and the dog on him.
Federal authorities say Casap's manifesto gave them insight into his reasons for attacking Trump and contained provisions for starting anew in Ukraine. The sealed warrant also outlined his intention to topple the U.S. government by taking out both the president and possibly the vice president.
Phone and email messages seeking comment from Casap's public defender, Nicole Ostrowski, had not been returned as of Sunday. At an earlier hearing on March 12, Ostrowski had objected to some of the charges, including theft, and pointed to her client's youth. "He is young, he is still in high school," she said.
Apart from the charges of murder, Casap is also accused of concealment of a corpse, unlawful use of identification, and stealing.
Bodies of Tatiana Casap, 35, and Donald Mayer, 51, were found on February 28 after family members asked authorities to conduct a welfare check because they had not seen them. Mayer did not come to work, and Casap had not been to school in two weeks. Officials say the victims had been dead for weeks when they were found, and dental records had to be used to identify them because of how badly they had decomposed.
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