Authorities have arrested a Wisconsin teenager on theft and motor vehicle charges after police found his stepfather and mother slain in their home last week.
The deceased couple were found in their home in Village of Waukesha, Wisc., on Friday, Feb. 28, by officers conducting a welfare check, according to a statement from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.
Police did not name the victims in the statement, but family members identified them as 51-year-old Donald Mayer and his wife, Tatiana Casap, TMJ 4, CBS 58 and 12 News reported.
Later on Feb. 28, officers from Wakeeney Police Department in Kansas arrested 17-year-old Nikita Casap while the teen was allegedly driving Mayer’s car, according to a criminal complaint initially obtained by 12 News and reviewed by PEOPLE. The complaint alleges that Nikita had Mayer’s firearm on him,
Nikita was charged with theft in connection with the vehicle and firearm; he has not been charged in connection with the deaths.
Investigators soon learned neither Mayer nor the Casaps had been heard from in the days leading up to the discoveries of the bodies.
On Feb. 28, around the same time that Mayer’s mother requested a welfare check, a resource officer from Nikita’s school requested the same thing, per the complaint. The resource officer said Nikita had maintained “perfect” attendance at the school — until he stopped showing up about two weeks prior.
Teen charged with stealing car of parents found dead in Waukesha home
The couple had waning communication with those who knew them throughout the month of February, according to the complaint.
Tatiana’s vehicle was last recorded in a license plate reader in the neighborhood on Feb. 11, investigators say.
On Feb. 23, Mayer’s mother received “suspicious” and “weird” text messages from him, she told police.
Mayer’s manager at work told authorities that he last heard from him on Feb. 25, and received a text from the victim’s number saying he was sick and couldn’t talk on the phone.
During the welfare check on Feb. 28, Tatiana was found covered in blankets, next to dried blood and a bullet hole; Mayer was found under a pile of clothes with “an obvious wound” on his head, per the complaint.
Police eventually tracked Nikita using Mayer’s car information.
He has been charged with one count of theft and one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, per the criminal complaint. Online court records did not indicate plea or attorney information for Nikita.
Waukesha authorities said on Monday that an autopsy had been completed but did not declare a cause of death.
