A Wisconsin courtroom was the setting for a chilling case on Thursday, as 18-year-old Nikita Casap confessed to the murder of his parents, a decision intertwined with a sinister plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump. His guilty plea to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide was part of an arrangement with prosecutors that will inevitably result in two life sentences.

The court proceedings in Waukesha County Circuit Court revolved around the tragic deaths of Casap’s mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, events that sent shockwaves through the community last year. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop seven additional charges, which included theft and two counts of hiding a corpse.

Each of the homicide charges comes with a mandatory life sentence. However, Judge Ralph Ramirez has the discretion to consider parole eligibility for Casap after he serves a minimum of 20 years for each of the charges. The sentencing is scheduled for March 5.

During the hearing, Casap appeared visibly shaken, his hands trembling as he sat at the defense table. Judge Ramirez questioned him about his understanding of the plea’s consequences and whether he was responsible for the deaths of his mother and Mayer. Casap’s responses were consistent and affirmative: “Yes, your honor,” he replied each time.

Joseph Rifelj, Casap’s public defender, played a minimal role during the proceedings, only confirming the plea agreement’s details with the judge. Rifelj, after ensuring he had ample opportunity to discuss the deal with his client, opted not to address the media as he left the court.

District Attorney Lesli Boese told reporters outside court that her goal was to force Casap to accept responsibility for his parents’ deaths and two mandatory life sentences amount to sufficient punishment.

She said she will push Ramirez to deny Casap any chance at parole. She said Casap is a “danger to the community and that she didn’t want to take any chances that he could be rehabilitated.

According to a criminal complaint, investigators believe Casap shot his stepfather and mother at their home in the village of Waukesha on or around Feb. 11.

He lived with the decomposing bodies for weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather’s SUV with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather’s gun and the family dog, according to the complaint. He was eventually arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28.

Federal authorities have accused Casap of planning his parents’ murders, buying a drone and explosives and sharing his plans with others, including a Russian speaker. They said in a federal search warrant that he wrote a manifesto calling for Trump’s assassination and was in touch with others about his plan to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.

“The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan,” that warrant said.

Detectives found several messages on Casap’s cellphone from January 2025 in which Casap asks how long he will have to hide before he is moved to Ukraine. An unknown individual responded in Russian, the complaint said, but the document doesn’t say what that person told Casap. In another message Casap asks: “So while in Ukraine, I’ll be able to live a normal life? Even if it’s found out I did it?”