Nikita Casap: Hearing Set Bail at $1 Million

A court hearing on Friday, April 4, 2025, set Nikita Casap’s bail at $1 million after his initial criminal complaint was amended to include two accounts of first-degree intentional murder for the murder of Tatiana Casap and Donald Mayer, the defendant’s mother and stepfather. The Waukesha County Court Commissioner, Christopher Bailey, stated in the hearing that Casap was facing 10 felony charges of varying degrees and life imprisonment. 

“I have two alleged first-degree intentional homicide charges,” Bailey stated for the Court. “The two highest felony counts that we have, quite frankly, in our country, are what have been alleged here.”

Bailey listed the other 10 felony charges, which included two counts of hiding corpses. One count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent. A count of intimidating a witness. One count of misappropriating ID information and one count of theft of movable property. All of which are varying felonious charges. 

The court stated that Casap had alleged contacts in Russia. His phone records showed that he had been conversing with someone in Russian. These conversations detailed his plans to thwart Trump’s presidency and the United States Government. Casap had plans to flee to Ukraine after he committed the crimes. Due to this, the court considered Casap an extreme flight risk and set his bail at $1 million. 

The court also stated that Casap was to have no contact with witness A. According to Casap’s latest criminal complaint, a student at Waukesha West High School had disclosed to authorities that Casap had sent them disturbing images on Snapchat and discussed shooting his parents and killing himself. He had threatened the witness with death if they ever shared this information, hence the request for no further contact. 

Casap’s Criminal Complaint

An investigation into his phone locations showed that Casap had left the state in late February. Before authorities lost the trail, Casap had travelled through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. Kansas authorities arrested Casap in WaKeeney, a small city in Trego County. They found him with a large sum of cash on his person at the time of his arrest. This offered more evidence for the court to believe he was a flight risk.

Feb. 28, 2025, 9:44 a.m., deputies dispatched to a property on Cider Hills Drive in the Village of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Donald Mayer’s mother called them after not hearing from her son for weeks.

Casap’s school contacted Mayer’s mother with reports that he had not been in attendance for a long time. Waukesha West High School staff noted that Casap previously had perfect attendance. On the same day at approximately 9:50 a.m., the school’s resource officer, Officer Edwards, requested a well-being check of the Casap household, according to the initial criminal complaint. 

Mayer’s sister reported talking to him on February 18, an interaction in which Mayer had stated that he was sick and intended to take some time off from social media.

Dispatch contacted all local hospitals after receiving no response, but there were no reports of Mayer, Casap or Tatiana being admitted.

Authorities Forced Entry

After no response, deputies forcefully entered the house. First, they found the body of a female who appeared to have died from a gunshot wound, according to the criminal complaint. Shortly after, they discovered a second victim—a male—who had suffered a wound to the back of his head. The Waukesha County Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified the two deceased individuals as Donald Mayer (51) and Tatiana Casap (35).

Paul Frantz, a neighbor of the victims, noted that he had seen Casap driving away in Mayer’s Volkswagen Atlas on Feb. 23. Authorities discovered that Casap did not have a driver’s license after further investigation.

Paperwork found in the residence indicated that Casap had recently bought a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum. Authorities found the gun in Mayer’s Volkswagen upon Casap’s arrest. Corresponding to this, they also found Mayer and Tatiana’s driver’s licenses and empty shell casings in the car.

“The charges are a result of meticulous investigation efforts emphasizing our dedication to community safety and justice,” said Lieutenant Nicholas Wenzel in the Waukesha County Sheriff Department’s news release. “Members of the community are encouraged to contact the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department with any additional information relevant to this case.” Waukesha County authorities offer their condolences to the families of the deceased.