On
this date, August 11, 2013, a Nebraskan Spree Killer, Nikko Jenkins, began his
spree killing of four people. I will post information about him from Wikipedia and other links.
Nikko Jenkins
is a convicted American spree killer known for committing four murders in Omaha,
Nebraska in August 2013. Jenkins is easily identified by his facial tattoos,
which he claims to be in the language of the ancient serpent god Apophis, under whose
commands he claims to act. Jenkins' murder spree occurred within a month after
he had been paroled from serving a ten-year prison sentence for unrelated armed
robbery and assault charges.
Early
years
Jenkins
spent the majority of his life leading up to the murder spree behind bars. He
first entered the system at age 7 after bringing a loaded .25 caliber handgun
to his elementary school. At age 11, Jenkins was kicked out of a group home for
repetitive violence, and stopped regularly attending school. He had committed
multiple assaults, including one knife assault, by age 12. In 2003, after
spending time in a youth detention facility, Jenkins was sent to prison for two
armed carjackings. While incarcerated, he was charged twice: for his part in a
2006 prison riot, as well as for assaulting a prison guard while on a furlough
for his grandmother's funeral.
Murders
About
5 a.m. on the morning of August 11, 2013, a patrol officer discovered two
bodies in a white Ford pick-up truck parked near a city swimming pool at 18th
and F Streets, in Spring Lake Park. Both Juan Uribe-Pena and Jorge C. Cajiga-Ruiz
had been shot in the head, their pockets turned inside out. The random
double-murder began Jenkins' spree, less than two weeks after his release from
prison on July 30.
On
August 19, around 7 a.m., the body of Curtis Bradford was found outside a
detached garage at 18th and Clark Streets, by a man returning home from a night
shift at a convenience store. Investigators arrived to find two bullet wounds
in Bradford's back. It was later revealed that Bradford and Jenkins had posed
for a Facebook photo posted the day before. Bradford would be the only victim
familiar to Jenkins.
Jenkins'
fourth and final victim, Andrea Kruger, was discovered by a passerby on August
21, at about 2:15 a.m. Her body was found lying in the road at 168th and
Fort Streets, with multiple bullet wounds. Kruger had been returning home after
a bartending shift near 178th and Pacific Streets. Surveillance footage showed
her locking up the Deja Vu Lounge at 1:47 a.m. Kruger's gold 2012 Chevrolet Traverse SUV was found abandoned 12
miles (19 km) away, in an alley at 43rd and Charles Streets, at 6:30 that
evening. Later that week, a news conference was held by Douglas County Sheriff
Tim Dunning, in which he stated that investigators believed the SUV had been
abandoned roughly 2.5 hours after being stolen, and that a "feeble
attempt" had been made at setting the vehicle's interior ablaze.
The
four victims of Nikko Jenkins
|
Victims
Date
|
Name
|
Age
|
Race
|
Crime
scene
|
Method
|
Relation
|
|
1
|
August 11, 2013
|
Juan Uribe-Pena
|
26
|
Hispanic
|
Pick-up truck by swimming pool at Spring Lake Park,
near 18th & F St
|
shot in head
|
none
|
2
|
August 11, 2013
|
Jorge C. Cajiga-Ruiz
|
29
|
Hispanic
|
Pick-up truck by swimming pool at Spring Lake Park,
near 18th & F St
|
shot in head
|
none
|
3
|
August 19, 2013
|
Curtis Bradford
|
22
|
Black
|
Near 18th & Clark St, outside detached garage
|
shot in head
|
met in prison
|
4
|
August 21, 2013
|
Andrea Kruger
|
33
|
White
|
168th St near Fort St, middle of road
|
multiple shots
|
none
|
Arrest
On
August 30, Nikko Jenkins was arrested on an unrelated terroristic threats
charge. But by then, evidence against him had mounted—investigators had the
image of a female associate on surveillance footage at a local gun outlet
buying the kind of distinctive ammunition (Brenneke Classic Magnum 12-gauge,
commonly known as "deer slugs") that had been used to commit the
killings. Additional footage had been pulled from cameras along the route to
Kruger's abandoned SUV. On the evening of September 3, Jenkins confessed to all
four murders during a rambling 8-hour interview, attributing the acts as a
sacrifice to Apophis. He was charged with four counts of murder following the
confession.
Trial
In
handwritten letters dated November 3, 2013, submitted to the Omaha World Herald,
prosecutors, and a judge, Jenkins said he wished to plead guilty to all counts
in the four slayings, and that he would protect Apophis' kingdom with
"animalistic savage brutality".
On
February 19, 2014, Jenkins filed a federal lawsuit seeking $24.5 million from
the State of Nebraska for wrongfully releasing him from prison, stating that
his claims of hearing voices from Apophis were repeatedly ignored. In the
six-page handwritten filing, he stated that being kept in solitary confinement
augmented his schizophrenia. He blamed corrections officials for the four
killings.
After
being declared competent to stand trial, the proceedings against Jenkins
commenced. On his request, Jenkins was allowed to represent himself at trial,
under the guidance of advisory attorneys. Throughout the trial, Jenkins
maintained that he acts under the command of Apophis. His courtroom antics
included speaking in tongues, howling, and laughing as prosecutors recounted
the details of his victims' deaths.
On
April 16, Judge Peter Bataillon found Nikko Jenkins guilty of all four murders.
Sentencing
dilemma
Jenkins
was initially scheduled to be sentenced on August 11, 2014. The date was
delayed indefinitely following a hearing held to determine whether he was
capable of understanding the death penalty proceedings against
him. On July 29, Judge Bataillon ordered Jenkins to be housed at the Lincoln Regional Center
psychiatric hospital until doctors were
satisfied with his condition. Officials at the Regional Center refused to house
Jenkins due to inadequate security, but doctors agreed to treat him at a Lincoln
prison.
OTHER
LINKS:
No comments:
Post a Comment