(mouse clicking) - [Dispatch] Shots fired at 168 and Fort Street. 168 and Fort. A car saw an SUV and a sudan at the intersection then heard four shots. The sudan pulled over and then left north bound by an SUV on patrol 17. - [Police Officer] Clear. - [Dispatch] On patrol, 11. - [Police Officer] 11, clear. - [Dispatch] 13, clear. Patrol 13, clear. Clear, 13. Patrol 11, if you're out in the area - (indistinct radio chatter) - [Police Officer] On patrol 13. I'm gonna need a supervisor. I'm gonna need a squad on this location. I have a female face down on the street. - [Police Officer] Can you give me a location again. - [Dispatcher] 168 and Fort. (indistinct radio chatter) Patrol 13, is the party at the car still breathing? - [Police Officer] No. (dramatic music) - [Reporter 1] Four murders in 11 days. A judge decides Nikko Jenkins is responsible for all of them. - [Reporter 2] Nikko Jenkins was released from prison early, after serving only half his sentence. - [Narrator 1] Nikko Jenkins, the name is infamous in a true crime genre. A search on any video platform will produce terms such as "the evilest man in America," "the most dangerous man on earth," "natural born killer," and "psychopath." His rap sheet includes more than 20 convictions over two decades on crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, arson and use of a deadly weapon, to name a few. This is a man so terrifying, unpredictable, and violent, both in and out of prison, that a psychiatric hospital once refused to admit him. According to street legend, he once killed a man simply for looking at him. In 2013, Nikko Jenkins went on a ruthless killing spree in Nebraska, just weeks after his release from prison. The murders made national headlines for their brutal and random nature. His subsequent behavior in prison was even more startling and grotesque. As we examine the case of Nikko Jenkins, note that the intent is not to vilify or dignify the person, nor to portray him as a victim or a criminal. The record overwhelmingly speaks for itself. This is simply an account of the facts as I understand them, and it will be up to you, the viewer, to decide what those facts mean. So let us ask what can be learned from studying this case. Is there anything that can be done to prevent such atrocity in the future? Let's dive in. The first thing that you need to know about Nikko Allen Jenkins is that he comes from a remarkably long line of convicted felons. - [Narrator 2] You could say Nikko Jenkins and his relatives have had a colorful past, just look at their family tree. Seven felons in just two generations. Let's start with Nikko's uncle, 51 year old Warren Levering. He's a felon just released from prison in Oklahoma and has done time in Nebraska, too. Investigators say he's fathered seven children with six different women in five states. Nikko Jenkins' mother, Lori. Lori just bonded out of jail herself this week, on an unrelated felony terroristic threats charge. In addition to Levering, Lori has two other brothers, both are convicted felons. One is even currently on parole. Investigators say Lori Jenkins had six children with David Magee, but never married him. Magee died in 2009, but was a felon himself convicted of terroristic threats. Of the couple's six kids, four have been arrested in the past month. 23 year old Erica Jenkins is a convicted felon. Erica's little sister, 18 year old Lori Sayles, known as "Lolo" is charged in Bradford's murder, too. Prosecutors say, she got rid of the murder weapon. A third sister, Melonie, also a convicted felon, bailed out of jail last week on unrelated terroristic threats charges. She's 25 and investigators say she has three children under the age of seven and all were initially placed in child protective custody. Nikko has two other sisters, both live out of state and neither are in much contact with the Omaha Jenkins. A broad Look at the ties to one man. - [Narrator 1] Nikko Jenkins was born in Colorado on September 16th, 1986. His upbringing can be described as unstable and traumatic at best. As a child, Nikko witnessed rampant violence, verbal abuse, and alcohol and drug abuse. He also was a victim of substantial physical and verbal abuse from his parents, sisters, uncles, and cousins. According to a court-ordered evaluation of Nikko, his family life lacked the structure and social and emotional nourishment a child needs. His father was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He abused alcohol and eventually abandoned the family when Nikko was seven years old. There were times, after physical confrontations in the home, when Nikko was required to clean up the blood. As a result, he had difficulty sleeping as a child due to anxiety and nightmares. Records show Nikko was placed in foster care at age seven, and was first psychiatrically hospitalized at age eight. He was administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, in which he scored 88, just below average. In his youth, Nikko was evaluated by Dr. Jane Dahlke, a psychiatrist, who reported that he was suicidal and a danger to his mother and sister. He was hearing voices, carrying on conversations with himself, reported audio and visual hallucinations, and suffered difficulty sleeping and bedwetting. Dr. Dahlke testified that he had bipolar disorder at age eight, and that it is quite difficult for an eight-year-old child to malinger, or fake it. Six psychiatrists unanimously agreed that Nikko experienced years of serious mental illness. The most common diagnosis was Schizoaffective disorder/bipolar type. Government clinicians, however, reached different diagnoses, but agreed that Nikko had serious mental disorders. At age 11, he was reportedly sexually abused by a cousin. Also at age 11, Nikko became involved in gang related activities, and began to regularly carry weapons. Records show that before age 12, Nikko had already had multiple indictments including five thefts, one arson, one weapon charge, and two criminal mischief charges. In addition, Nikko was expelled from numerous schools for fighting, breaking windows, frequent unauthorized absences and bringing a handgun to school on one occasion. By seventh grade, he had stopped attending school altogether. By age 13, he had developed a substance abuse problem and lived in seven out of home placements, ordered by the state. Additionally, Nikko had been incarcerated in the Douglas County Juvenile Detention Center multiple times in his teenage years. Finally, in 2002, after years of detention, he was returned to society, but without the benefit of a reentry program or mental health treatment plan for his transition back into the community. With minimal education, a poor employment outlook, untreated behavioral health problems, and a lack of supportive family structure, the prospects of a successful adjustment to society were slim at best. So perhaps it's no wonder that on June 24th 2002, Nikko returned to familiar habits and carjacked and robbed a 21 year old man at gunpoint. Two months later, he carjacked a 20 year old woman at gunpoint at a grocery store. In 2003 at 17, Nikko was convicted for the armed robberies and sentenced to 18 years in prison, which would later grow to 21 years. By July 2005, he was placed in solitary confinement intermittently, due to behavioral problems. He was alone in a cell for 23 hours per day, and separated from most normal human contact. He received no meaningful health treatment while in solitary. At the time of his release in 2013, he had spent 77% of his time in isolation. What does extensive solitary confinement do to the human psyche? Dr. Craig Haney, professor of psychology at the University of California Santa Cruz, told a June 19th Senate judiciary subcommittee on human rights that the conditions of confinement are far too severe to serve any kind of penological purpose. Dr. Haney had interviewed hundreds of prison staff and inmates and toured and inspected dozens of US prisons. At the hearing, he showed pictures of solitary confinement's harsh conditions, including filthy cells that are scarcely larger than a king size bed. For some prisoners, the endless monotony, and lack of human contact precipitate a descent into madness. Also the American Psychological Association states many inmates experience panic attacks, depression, and paranoia, and some suffer hallucinations. In addition, patients with existing mental illness see their mental illness exacerbated. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the long term effect of solitary confinement is devastating. It can leave mentally ill individuals unable to function in correctional facilities and unprepared to successfully re-enter communities after release. When Nikko was not in isolation, he was wreaking havoc. He reportedly had a substantial history of verbalizing threats of violence against others. For example, on August 25th 2008, a unit manager reported on two conversations with Nikko. Apparently he spoke with Nikko on July 22nd and, at that time, Nikko said, "I'm just gonna randomly go to suburban houses and start killing people outside of North Omaha, maybe go to Tecumseh or Syracuse with my gang members and start killing people." There are multiple reports of Nikko making similar threats. Despite the homicidal thoughts, Nikko was discharged from the Nebraska correctional system on July 30th 2013, after serving just 10 and a half of the 21 year sentence. Remarkably, he was released to the community straight from solitary confinement. Because he was discharged and not paroled, Nikko was not under parole supervision, or any other kind of special monitoring. His wife at the time, Chalonda Jenkins, claimed in an interview with KETV that she urged the parole board against letting him out as he was not ready to be in society. - He's not pretending to be crazy, he's real life crazy. - [Reporter 2] Chalonda Jenkins says in the five years she's known her husband, Nikko, he suffered a plethora of mental illness, and claims to be controlled by an Egyptian God, Apophis. - [Chalonda] Nikko specifically told me that Apophis gives him orders. - Nikko told her Apophis saved him from attempting suicide in solitary confinement a few years ago. - There was this voice that came and was just like, "if you do what I tell you to do, if you follow my demands, then I'll make sure you're safe. Make sure you're okay." - [Reporter 2] Nikko claims to have heard these voices since he was a child and it continued through his teenage and adult years. And prior to his July release from prison, Nikko asked for mental help. His wife did, too. - I told them not to let him out. I said, he's not ready to come out in society. - [Reporter 2] But Nikko's wife says, the system failed him by not giving him that treatment. - [Narrator 1] On August 11th 2013, police were dispatched to a location in Omaha and found the deceased bodies of 29-year-old Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, and 26-year-old Juan Uribe-Pena in a pickup truck. Their pockets were turned inside out in their pants, and police discovered deer slug casings at the scene. On August 18th 2013, Nikko bumped into his former cellmate, the 22-year-old Curtis Bradford, at a party. They reconnect and post a photo on Facebook that evening. The next day at around 7:00 AM, the police were called to 18th and Clark street and observed a deceased 22-year-old black male with obvious gunshot wounds to the head. The victim is identified as Curtis Bradford. Police also find a deer slug, consistent with the deer slug used at the earlier homicides. On August 21st 2013, Andrea Kruger had just completed a bartending shift at the Déjà Vu Lounge when surveillance footage showed her locking up at 1:47 AM. She was driving home at approximately 2:00 AM when another vehicle stopped her car. The driver got out of his vehicle, walked up to Andrea's driver's side door, opened it, and forcibly pulled her out. He immediately shot her multiple times. The assailant jumped into her car and took off. Four murders in 10 days. The crimes brutal, senseless, and seemingly random nature terrified the community. Who was the perpetrator, and who will be next? Authorities launched a full scale investigation that involved the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the Omaha Police Department, the FBI, and the US Marshals. On Monday August 30th, a woman at the Tudor Apartments in Omaha called 911, stating that Nikko Jenkins threatened to kill her and her family. Nikko was located and arrested on a terroristic threats charge. Police observed Nikko carrying a bag into an apartment and obtained a search warrant for that bag. It contained a Remington Model Express Magnum Pump 12-gauge shotgun with a cut barrel and a buttstock, and a Hi-Point Carbine Model 995 rifle. Shell casings recovered from the Kruger murder scene were determined to have been fired by the same Hi-Point carbine. It also had Bradford's DNA on it. Ballistics evidence revealed that the spent rifle slug from the Bradford crime scene was fired from the shotgun recovered from the bag. On September 3rd, they brought Nikko in for questioning. By then, they had acquired substantial evidence against him, including an image of a female on surveillance footage, purchasing the kind of unique ammunition used in the killings. Police also obtained video from local businesses, which placed Nikko and his uncle in the area around the time of Kruger's murder. Additional corroboration came from Nikko's cousin who was present at the first and last murders, and one of Nikko's sisters, concerning Bradford's murder. With this in mind, the interrogation begins. (door opening) - There you go. - I can't be alone. I need to speak with someone. - Okay. - Cause that's what makes my mind frame go bad. Obviously I'm schizophrenia/bipolar, sir and I don't take medication. So, right now, that's why I'm gonna stay, that's why I told them they need to hurry up when I'm in this mind frame. - Okay. - So that when I speak to you, it's clear, but another thing, what I'm about to do for the Sheriff's office and you guys need to be honest with me, we're gonna make this work and get this closure for this family, you're gonna have to tell me what you have and what you don't have. That way I know if I have to go get it for you, 'cause these are my cousins. These are my two family, the ones that were in the house that day. - Okay. - They're brothers. But the one of them, he's a - think I'm a mental case? He's a severe mental case. He has documented being in Lincoln Regional Center, Psychiatric Hospital. See what I'm saying? So, he goes into the like, even when you'll arrested me, I don't know if you were on the team but he was acting up while they were pulling this out the house. - Okay. - You know what I'm saying? So I just don't want this to - that's why I didn't want talk down at the jail because there's family members on my dad's side. This is on my father's side. - Okay. Our mistake, all right? I gonna make you a fresh pot. That's not the best, but it's what we got right now, but I'll make you fresh pot. Here it is. All right. You good? - I need to speak to her superiors about this. The ones that I know that can - - He's my boss. - This is the man. - The ones I know that can make them - - Nikko, John Pinkman. - First of all, this is gonna be a long night but you're gonna get everything that you need to give her family closure. And I want you to understand something and I'm gonna say this very clearly. I was not there. Only thing I was, was hearsay, not hearsay, but you say like, okay, my religion of chthonic, that's the underworld he was like on the mummy, the black book. So this was them, my little cousins, that were in the house with me when I got served a search warrant. - Right. - This was their ritual of sacrifice. And I'm gonna give you from A to Z. This is not no goose chase. This is the real deal right here, which you signed up for. - Okay. Before we get any further though, I need to read you this rights advisory form. Okay? Okay. - I never knew the who, what, the when, the where, only thing I gave was the intelligence. - Describe this to me. This nine millimeter. Describe it to me. - Describe the weapon? - Yes. - It's a Hi-Point. It's a Hi-Point - I believe it's a Hi-Point rifle, but it shoots nine millimeter slugs. If you was to see this weapon, you would not believe that it was the murder weapon. Like I said, weeks prior to this, when I first got out, I gave intelligence. Like I said, I didn't know who was coming, what was coming, who was it gonna be used on. All I did was give the intelligence. - What kind of intelligence? - Intelligence of when would be the best window of opportunity. What roles to take in, if you're gonna do something well, they have cameras on the lights. As you know, when you take Fort from Military Ave, it takes you all the way out with no cameras, pitch black at nighttime. You realize that, right? So if you're coming from that crime scene, you can hit it straight out to Fort, and take Fort all the way back to Military Ave all the way to the Walmart. That's right off the interstate. Ain't that Walmart right off the interstate, off of Military Ave? - Yeah. - Yeah. - So my point is, things like that, the intelligence of what paths to take, you know what I mean? To avoid the cameras. Things of that nature. Bars close at this time, bartenders and they're walked out to their cars right after that. I mean, you know what I mean? Because the specific point was to get there, get her to an isolated place. You see what I'm saying? To where, and obviously when you're out there, only thing that's like, especially off of Maple, once you leave off of Maple, everything is black. Everything's black out there. So, it was a perfect opportunity. And that's why y'all don't even understand, man. Don't understand how hard this is for me right now. 'Cause I'm betraying my family. Do y'all understand it? This is not just me. I understand one family's getting closure, you know? But I'm literally betraying my family, and my bloodline. - You all right? - You all right, man? - That's what I don't understand, man, is that all up, I was in Nebraska corrections, man, all I wanted was help from you people, man. (door opening) (door sounds drown out dialogue) - You want more coffee, or no? - Yes, please. - Okay. - But I'm telling you right now what I've just given you, I will testify to that. This is the first time that I've ever aid and assisted law enforcement in my life. So any jury, any judge, any prosecutor will be - Once I sit on that stand and testify to this, it's golden. His jury's not gonna look at me and say, "oh, he's told before." with my history, and my reputation, in this first time testimony I've ever aid and assisted law enforcement and everything that I'm saying is accurate. - Okay. - This is, you gotta understand - listen to me, (Nikko mumbling) Listen, listen, I've listened to you for a long time. It's time for you to listen to me, 'cause like what you said, if you don't tell me what the heck happened out there, people are gonna think the absolute worst. People are gonna think the absolute worst. Hey, if this is a robbery went bad. If you did something really stupid. Now's the time. 'Cause otherwise, you're right, they're gonna look at Nikko Jenkins as a flat, bloody killer. That's what's gonna happen. Do you not realize I got Nikko Jenkins? Do you not realize that? I got Nikko Jenkins. I got you. - What do you mean, you got me? - I got your DNA at the murder scene. I got your DNA in the car. - You sure? - I got the weapon. I got Nikko Jenkins. I don't need - I don't care about anything. I just want other people that are involved in what the hell happened out there, and why? I know who, I know what, I know when, I know where. And then when I talked to you earlier, you're saying something about a car jacking. - That woman's husband and children, that woman's husband is grieving right now. This is not just some psycho killer that just wanted a gold trophy. I am documented psychiatrically disordered. I'm documented chemically imbalanced. This is a fact. So my point is - - We're well aware of that. - My point is this though, this family didn't deserve this. This could have been prevented. Had it not been for the Nebraska Department of Corrections, doing what they supposed to had did. And they never gave me an opportunity. They never gave me an opportunity for treatment, 'cause I wouldn't take the medicine. - [Narrator 1] Nikko stated that he heard the voice of the ancient Egyptian serpent God, Apophis, before the crimes. He said, "the last thing I could remember was I'm in a car. The next thing I know, I'm in front of this truck and I'm in front of these individuals. It wasn't premeditated. The demonic force led me to them just like the other victims. I don't recall in the moment of shooting them." When asked if he remembered killing Bradford, Nikko said that he remembered being with Bradford and hearing Apophis. Concerning Andrea Kruger's murder, Nikko recalled seeing a vehicle pull up behind him, hearing Apophis again, and getting out of his car. An investigation revealed that the first two victims, Cajiga-Ruiz and Uribe-Pena were lured by Jenkins' sister and cousin under the premise of performing a sex act. Then, Nikko appeared and blasted each victim in the face with a shotgun loaded with a deer slug. Finally, the victims were robbed. Next, 22 year old Curtis Bradford was recruited by Nikko to assist in a robbery, but it was a ruse. First, Nikko's sister shot him once in the head and then Nikko grabbed his shotgun and said, "this is how you do it," and proceeded to shoot Bradford in the head with a deer slug. Lastly, Nikko confessed that he killed Andrea Kruger because he wanted her vehicle to rob or jack other people. Her body was discovered by police responding to a call for shots fired. On September 4th 2013, the Omaha Police Department made the following announcement. - As always, I wanna thank the Omaha media for convening on such short notice for this press conference. The purpose of this press conference is to announce the arrest of 26 year old Nikko Jenkins on four counts of first degree murder, four counts of use of a weapon to commit the murders, and four counts of felon in possession of a firearm. The homicides are on August 11th, Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz and Juan Uribe-Pena were killed at 17th and F street. On August 19th, Curtis Bradford was killed near 18th and Clark street. And on August 21st, Andrea Kruger was killed in the area of 168 and Fourth Street. - [Narrator 1] In 2013, Nikko sent handwritten letters to the Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, prosecutors, and a judge, in which he claimed he wished to plead guilty to all counts. He added that he would protect Apophis's Kingdom with animalistic, savage brutality. Nikko Jenkins was held without bond, pending trial. Considering the facts of the case, the court wished to determine his competency. On November 8th, Dr. Bruce Gutnick completed a psychiatric diagnostic competence assessment. Dr. Gutnick surmised that Nikko suffered from schizophrenia, continuous, severe. Dr. Gutnick, who evaluated Jenkins on four occasions over several years, noted that Nikko had hallucinations and delusions and a blunted affect. Dr. Gutnick could not rule out Schizoaffective or other specified personality disorder. Dr. Gutnick said that Nikko was not competent to stand trial, but that his competence is restorable with appropriate treatment, including psychotropic medications. Based on Dr. Gutnik's assessment, the court ordered that Nikko be evaluated for competence to stand trial by staff at the Lincoln Regional Center. In February 2014, the court held a competency hearing. Psychiatrist Dr. Scott Moore contradicted Dr. Gutnik's assessment and said that Nikko was competent for trial. He believed that Nikko's principle diagnosis was anti-social personality disorder with a very slim likelihood of his having any other psychotic illness. And that Nikko was malingering. Once all the information was accounted for, Nikko was found by the court to be competent to stand trial. But Nikko Jenkins was on a mission to prove otherwise. While in prison, Nikko's behavior grew from eccentric to bizarre, to outright dangerous. He mailed a razor to a Nebraska Senator. Then, he swallowed a set of six prison keys. Next, he mutilated his genitalia in an attempt to make it look like a snake, and did enough damage to require 27 stitches. He also used the razor to split his tongue, to look like a serpent, but ended up splashing blood on the cell walls. He then tried to carve out the numbers "666" on his forehead, but forgot he was looking into a mirror and ended up carving "999," instead. Lastly, he would frequently cut into his face with razor blades. These constant efforts to prove his incompetency ultimately failed. Nikko would undergo a series of mental evaluations which produced conflicting information. On April 16th 2014, Nikko waived his right to a jury trial pleaded no contest and was found guilty of all charges. In May 2017, a special hearing took place to determine whether a sentence of death was justified. - Thanks, please be seated. Good afternoon, everyone. We are here today with regard to the sentence of Mr. Nikko Jenkins. This is in regards to the state of Nebraska versus Nikko A. Jenkins at case numbers CR13-2768 and CR13-2769. A three judge panel was appointed by the state of Nebraska to determine whether the death penalty was appropriate in these four murders for which Mr. Jenkins has been found guilty. After due liberation, in light of the evidence and the law, the panel finds that there are mitigating circumstances. However, these mitigating circumstances do not approach or exceed the weight given to the six aggravating circumstances. The defendant's commission of these four murders over a 10 day period is one of the worst killing sprees in the history of this state. Therefore, this panel finds that the death penalty is appropriate, should be, and is hereby given for each of the four murders by the defendant. It is therefore the sentence of this court as follows, at case CR13-2768, count one, murder in the first degree, a class four, class one felony, death. Count two, use of a deadly weapon, firearm, to commit a felony, a class 1C felony 45 to 50 years to run consecutive to all murder convictions at counts one, four, seven, and 10. Count three, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, class 1D felony, 45 to 50 years to run consecutive to all murder convictions at counts one, four, seven, and 10, and count two. (footsteps shuffling) - Do you want to sign this, or not? - I ain't signing that. I'm doing my appeals. - [Officer] Okay, for the record, I have a affidavit report of application to proceed informed of (indistinct). Which doesn't even have to appoint us, it just has to allow him to proceed, he doesn't want to sign it. - [Judge] Okay. Now the court accepts the finding that the defendant is informed of (indistinct), and then - - [Officer] There's an automatic appeal on it, anyway. - [Judge] And the court appoints the public defender's office to represent him at this time, unless there's a problem. Okay? - [Officer] Well, he can - you can do what he wants. - [Judge] All right. That'll conclude the hearing. Thank you all very much. - [Narrator 1] Nikko Jenkins was sentenced to death plus 450 years. He filed several appeals, but on April 20th 2020, the United States Supreme court refused to hear his case. Nikko remains on death row in Nebraska awaiting an execution date. However, Nikko Jenkins has one bright spot, he has apparently found love in the prison system. Dawn Arguello met Nikko Jenkins while working with a prison inmate advocacy group. She fell in love with him, despite his status as a notorious felon incarcerated for a spree of random murders. In an article by the Omaha World-Herald, she said, "he's not what the media's made him out to be. He's an enigma. He has feelings. He's very sensitive. He's very intelligent. And yes, he's very manipulating." According to the article, she was surprised to learn that Nikko had tattooed her name on his face. When asked, she did not confirm or deny the rumor that a wedding was on the horizon. - I told you I was gonna make these DVDs for you, and I'm making it for you. I want you to know that you make my heart flutter, I love you. I think about you every day. I wrote this song for you so you'd know that I love you. All I need you to do is stay with me right now, I need somebody, and I'm fighting this case, and stuff like that. At the same time, it's gonna be okay and a very long time. And everything's gonna be all right, so - (lips smooching) Kiss me good and I kiss you. Listen to me sing this song to you, and - It's gonna be just talking about stuff we talked about. But, I wrote this song for you, and I sung it to you before - (indistinct) But I'm gonna start it off in a second. All right. ♪ Cause you my sexy thing, my sexy thing ♪ ♪ Your pretty face ♪ ♪ Your pretty face ♪ Okay, that's the song I wrote for you. (tense music)