A heinous crime for others, but a holy sacrifice for the notorious Nikko Jenkins!

In August 2013, Nikko Jenkins ended four innocent lives within ten days. But what startled the world was his confession as to why he committed those murders. The notorious killer claimed he did it at the command of an Egyptian god. 

Police mugshot of Nikko Jenkins when he was taken into custody on August 30, 2013

Police mugshot of Nikko Jenkins when he was taken into custody on August 30, 2013 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Nikko Jenkins Claims To Be Guided By Egyptian Deity 'Apophis'

Since his first account with the investigation, Jenkins left impressions of being a devoted follower of Egyptian gods. 

So much so that when the authorities interrogated him, he insisted he was being commanded by Apophis—a mythological Egyptian god who represents chaos, darkness, and disorder.

He also babbled whispering sounds and unrecognizable languages during his interviews and said what he spoke was Ancient Egyptian.

If that was not enough, Nikko reportedly tried to slice his genitals to make it look like a snake, much like Apophis. He tried to slash his tongue for the same reason.

However, his attempt at self-mutilation failed as all that he really accomplished was a smear of blood over his prison cell walls.

Moreover, in 2016, he carved "Hatshepsut, " a name of an Egyptian queen, and a chaos-representation on his chest. He did so by using three different colored altered pens.

While Jenkins insisted that the dark Egyptian deities influenced him, his prosecutors and court observers claimed it to be his way to blur his competency and dodge the death sentence.

Nikko Jenkins Inflicted Death With Help From Sister

Nikko Jenkins had just been released after his 10-years imprisonment for two carjackings and assaults on July 30, 2013. But within ten days of his release, he started robbing and killing people with the help of his sister, Erica.

On August 11, Nikko robbed and killed two men: Juan Uribe-Pena and Jorge Cajiga-Ruizon. He shot them with a sawn-off 12-gauge shotgun and dumped their bodies inside a pickup truck in southeast Omaha. His sister got 40 to 60 years of prison for getting involved in the robbery.

Then, after eight days of the first offense, he found another victim — his one-time prison mate Curtis Bradford. This time, he and his sister first lured the 22-year-old Curtis to their car and shot him on the head with a sawed-off shotgun and a revolver.

Jenkins continued the carjacking and inflicting death. On August 21, he pulled a bartender named Andrea Kruger out of her SUV and shot her four times before running away with her vehicle.

Nikko Jenkins's four victims: Juan Uribe-Pena and Jorge Cajiga-Ruizon, Curtis Bradford and Andrea Kruger 

Soon after Andrea's murder, he got arrested. In September 2013, the killer finally confessed to his crimes and asserted that his doing was in accordance with the  Apophis' command.

Punished With Death Sentence

After being charged with first-degree murder, Jenkins pleaded "no contest" to the murder charges. Ergo, he accepted he did the crimes but stood with a determination that it wasn't his fault. On top of that, he claimed to have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The said psychological disorders made it a question if he was competent to stand for a trial at all. Hence, the trial that was scheduled for August 11, 2014, got delayed indefinitely.

Nevertheless, to determine his competency, he was kept at Lincoln prison under the supervision of psychologists.

In 2017, the psychiatrists testified that Jenkins was competent to face the punishment. They clarified that he knew right from wrong despite having anti-social personality disorders, essentially holding him responsible for the death that he inflicted upon his victims.

Based on the testimonies, a three-judge panel sentenced him to death. He was also sentenced to 450 years in prison for his crimes.