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Man charged in 2017 double homicide found dead at Virginia jail
Last edited Fri Aug 23, 2024, 02:13 PM - Edit history (3)
Man charged in 2017 double homicide found dead at Virginia jail
The Associated Press
August 22, 2024, 7:12 PM
A man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his girlfriend’s parents was found dead Thursday in a Virginia jail, authorities said. ...Fairfax County police said Nicholas Giampa, 24, was pronounced dead at about 2 a.m. in his cell at the county jail, where he had been incarcerated since 2018. Police said they are investigating Giampa’s death but said that preliminarily they do not believe foul play was involved.
Giampa was arrested in December 2017 in connection with the fatal shootings of Scott Fricker, 48, and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, in their Virginia home. ... The case attracted national attention because of evidence Giampa espoused neo-Nazi philosophies. Neighbors said the then-teen also mowed a swastika into a community field.
At the time of the killings, Kuhn-Fricker’s 16-year-old daughter told police she and Giampa had formed a suicide pact after her family forbade their relationship, discussing “wounding her parents if they tried to intervene,” according to court records. Officials said the Frickers objected to the relationship after learning that Giampa associated with neo-Nazis online, as well as the fact that he had been charged as a juvenile with possessing child sexual abuse images.
Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker were shot after finding Giampa in their daughter’s bedroom. The daughter told police she had given Giampa a security code that allowed him to enter the home after her parents had gone to bed. ... According to police, Giampa reached for a handgun and shot Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker after the daughter unlocked her bedroom door. The daughter told police that Giampa put a gun to her head, but it did not fire. Giampa, then 17, then shot himself in the forehead. He was hospitalized for weeks but survived the injury.
{snip}
___
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
The Associated Press
August 22, 2024, 7:12 PM
A man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his girlfriend’s parents was found dead Thursday in a Virginia jail, authorities said. ...Fairfax County police said Nicholas Giampa, 24, was pronounced dead at about 2 a.m. in his cell at the county jail, where he had been incarcerated since 2018. Police said they are investigating Giampa’s death but said that preliminarily they do not believe foul play was involved.
Giampa was arrested in December 2017 in connection with the fatal shootings of Scott Fricker, 48, and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, in their Virginia home. ... The case attracted national attention because of evidence Giampa espoused neo-Nazi philosophies. Neighbors said the then-teen also mowed a swastika into a community field.
At the time of the killings, Kuhn-Fricker’s 16-year-old daughter told police she and Giampa had formed a suicide pact after her family forbade their relationship, discussing “wounding her parents if they tried to intervene,” according to court records. Officials said the Frickers objected to the relationship after learning that Giampa associated with neo-Nazis online, as well as the fact that he had been charged as a juvenile with possessing child sexual abuse images.
Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker were shot after finding Giampa in their daughter’s bedroom. The daughter told police she had given Giampa a security code that allowed him to enter the home after her parents had gone to bed. ... According to police, Giampa reached for a handgun and shot Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker after the daughter unlocked her bedroom door. The daughter told police that Giampa put a gun to her head, but it did not fire. Giampa, then 17, then shot himself in the forehead. He was hospitalized for weeks but survived the injury.
{snip}
___
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
At double-murder trial, jury won’t see defendant’s racist social media
Judge says prosecutors cannot show posts containing praise for Adolf Hitler, among other things
By Salvador Rizzo
August 9, 2022 at 7:24 p.m. EDT
A Virginia judge has ruled that prosecutors cannot tell the jury in an upcoming double-murder trial about the defendant’s social media posts containing praise for Adolf Hitler and support for Nazi book burnings and the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, according to newly unsealed court records.
Nicholas Giampa was indicted in 2019 on charges of shooting and killing his girlfriend’s mother, Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and stepfather, Scott Fricker, 48, after they confronted him inside their Reston home three days before Christmas in 2017. The court had kept records in the case hidden from public view, but a judge last month ordered them released after a motion from The Washington Post and the Associated Press, over the objection of prosecutors and defense attorneys.
{snip}
By Salvador Rizzo
Salvador Rizzo covers crime and courts for The Washington Post. He was a reporter for The Fact Checker from 2018 to 2021 and previously covered New Jersey politics. Twitter
Judge says prosecutors cannot show posts containing praise for Adolf Hitler, among other things
By Salvador Rizzo
August 9, 2022 at 7:24 p.m. EDT
A Virginia judge has ruled that prosecutors cannot tell the jury in an upcoming double-murder trial about the defendant’s social media posts containing praise for Adolf Hitler and support for Nazi book burnings and the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, according to newly unsealed court records.
Nicholas Giampa was indicted in 2019 on charges of shooting and killing his girlfriend’s mother, Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and stepfather, Scott Fricker, 48, after they confronted him inside their Reston home three days before Christmas in 2017. The court had kept records in the case hidden from public view, but a judge last month ordered them released after a motion from The Washington Post and the Associated Press, over the objection of prosecutors and defense attorneys.
{snip}
By Salvador Rizzo
Salvador Rizzo covers crime and courts for The Washington Post. He was a reporter for The Fact Checker from 2018 to 2021 and previously covered New Jersey politics. Twitter
Public Safety
Va. teen accused of killing girlfriend’s parents to be tried as an adult
The Reston home where Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and Scott Fricker, 48, were killed in December 2017. (Cal Cary for The Washington Post)
By Justin Jouvenal
September 24, 2019 at 7:08 p.m. EDT
A Lorton man was certified to stand trial as an adult for allegedly shooting and killing his girlfriend’s parents as a 17-year-old in 2017, a case that generated national attention because he espoused neo-Nazi views.
A Fairfax County juvenile court judge also ruled Tuesday there was enough evidence to send the double-murder case against Nicholas Giampa, 19, to a grand jury in the county’s circuit court.
Giampa is accused of shooting Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and Scott Fricker, 48, inside their Reston home shortly before Christmas in 2017. Giampa had dated Kuhn-Fricker’s then-16-year-old daughter and attended class with her at a school for teens with emotional and learning issues. Police say Giampa then shot himself in the head.
The daughter, who is now 17, testified at Tuesday’s hearing about witnessing the shooting. Judge Kimberly J. Daniel excluded the media and public from the courtroom after prosecutors argued the publicity would be detrimental to her recovery after the incident.
Scott Fricker and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker in 2014. (Sterling Portraits)
{snip}
By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers the Supreme Court. He previously covered policing and the courts locally and nationally. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter
Va. teen accused of killing girlfriend’s parents to be tried as an adult
The Reston home where Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and Scott Fricker, 48, were killed in December 2017. (Cal Cary for The Washington Post)
By Justin Jouvenal
September 24, 2019 at 7:08 p.m. EDT
A Lorton man was certified to stand trial as an adult for allegedly shooting and killing his girlfriend’s parents as a 17-year-old in 2017, a case that generated national attention because he espoused neo-Nazi views.
A Fairfax County juvenile court judge also ruled Tuesday there was enough evidence to send the double-murder case against Nicholas Giampa, 19, to a grand jury in the county’s circuit court.
Giampa is accused of shooting Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and Scott Fricker, 48, inside their Reston home shortly before Christmas in 2017. Giampa had dated Kuhn-Fricker’s then-16-year-old daughter and attended class with her at a school for teens with emotional and learning issues. Police say Giampa then shot himself in the head.
The daughter, who is now 17, testified at Tuesday’s hearing about witnessing the shooting. Judge Kimberly J. Daniel excluded the media and public from the courtroom after prosecutors argued the publicity would be detrimental to her recovery after the incident.
Scott Fricker and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker in 2014. (Sterling Portraits)
{snip}
By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers the Supreme Court. He previously covered policing and the courts locally and nationally. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter
Public Safety
A swastika was mowed into a field. Was it part of a chain of events that led to murder?
By Justin Jouvenal
December 26, 2017 at 9:31 p.m. EST
Neighbors said the display of hate in a Lorton, Va., community was as large as it was shocking: a swastika roughly 40 feet across mowed into the grass of a community field.
{snip}
By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers the Supreme Court. He previously covered policing and the courts locally and nationally. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter
A swastika was mowed into a field. Was it part of a chain of events that led to murder?
By Justin Jouvenal
December 26, 2017 at 9:31 p.m. EST
Neighbors said the display of hate in a Lorton, Va., community was as large as it was shocking: a swastika roughly 40 feet across mowed into the grass of a community field.
{snip}
By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers the Supreme Court. He previously covered policing and the courts locally and nationally. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter
Public Safety
A teen is charged with killing his girlfriend’s parents. They had worried he was a neo-Nazi.
By Justin Jouvenal
December 23, 2017 at 6:55 p.m. EST
Buckley Kuhn-Fricker was so disturbed by what she discovered about her teenage daughter’s boyfriend that she spent a tumultuous week pushing for a breakup. By Thursday, she texted a friend saying the “outspoken Neo Nazi” was out of their lives. ... But just hours later, the family said that the 17-year-old boyfriend had shot and killed Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and her husband, Scott, 48, in their Reston, Va., home. It happened around 5 a.m. Friday, while the couple's children and relatives were inside. They had gathered to celebrate the Christmas holiday.
The teen, who shot himself and is in critical condition at a hospital, was charged with two counts of murder Saturday after police spent Friday investigating at the large, single-family home decorated with Christmas wreaths and snowflakes. The Washington Post generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes unless they are charged as adults. The family of the teen, who is from Lorton, declined to comment.
Fairfax County police would not offer a motive for the double slaying, but family members and friends tied it directly to the couple’s struggle to keep hate out of their home, as one friend put it. They agreed to talk about the efforts because they said it was important to expose what happened. ... Friends and family said Kuhn-Fricker, who owned an elder-care business, was tolerant and passionate about civil rights and social justice, so she put her foot down after discovering alarming tweets and Twitter messages she believed were connected to her 16-year-old daughter’s boyfriend after looking at the girl’s phone. She believed the messages were posted under an assumed name.
On Sunday night, Kuhn-Fricker alerted the principal of the Fairfax County private school that her daughter and the boyfriend attend, attaching numerous images of the account that had retweeted missives praising Hitler, supporting Nazi book burnings, calling for “white revolution,” making derogatory comments about Jews and featuring an illustration of a man hanging from a noose beneath a slur for gay people.
{snip}
Scott Fricker had a doctorate and worked at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, {Janet Kuhn, Kuhn-Fricker’s mother} said. Janet Kuhn described him as a “wonderful, loving and engaged father.” ... The pair were married in 2005. ... Kuhn said that her daughter had an adult son, who lives on his own.
{snip}
By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers the Supreme Court. He previously covered policing and the courts locally and nationally. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter
A teen is charged with killing his girlfriend’s parents. They had worried he was a neo-Nazi.
By Justin Jouvenal
December 23, 2017 at 6:55 p.m. EST
Buckley Kuhn-Fricker was so disturbed by what she discovered about her teenage daughter’s boyfriend that she spent a tumultuous week pushing for a breakup. By Thursday, she texted a friend saying the “outspoken Neo Nazi” was out of their lives. ... But just hours later, the family said that the 17-year-old boyfriend had shot and killed Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and her husband, Scott, 48, in their Reston, Va., home. It happened around 5 a.m. Friday, while the couple's children and relatives were inside. They had gathered to celebrate the Christmas holiday.
The teen, who shot himself and is in critical condition at a hospital, was charged with two counts of murder Saturday after police spent Friday investigating at the large, single-family home decorated with Christmas wreaths and snowflakes. The Washington Post generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes unless they are charged as adults. The family of the teen, who is from Lorton, declined to comment.
Fairfax County police would not offer a motive for the double slaying, but family members and friends tied it directly to the couple’s struggle to keep hate out of their home, as one friend put it. They agreed to talk about the efforts because they said it was important to expose what happened. ... Friends and family said Kuhn-Fricker, who owned an elder-care business, was tolerant and passionate about civil rights and social justice, so she put her foot down after discovering alarming tweets and Twitter messages she believed were connected to her 16-year-old daughter’s boyfriend after looking at the girl’s phone. She believed the messages were posted under an assumed name.
On Sunday night, Kuhn-Fricker alerted the principal of the Fairfax County private school that her daughter and the boyfriend attend, attaching numerous images of the account that had retweeted missives praising Hitler, supporting Nazi book burnings, calling for “white revolution,” making derogatory comments about Jews and featuring an illustration of a man hanging from a noose beneath a slur for gay people.
{snip}
Scott Fricker had a doctorate and worked at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, {Janet Kuhn, Kuhn-Fricker’s mother} said. Janet Kuhn described him as a “wonderful, loving and engaged father.” ... The pair were married in 2005. ... Kuhn said that her daughter had an adult son, who lives on his own.
{snip}
By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers the Supreme Court. He previously covered policing and the courts locally and nationally. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter
News
Memorial Service Set for Couple Murdered in Reston
Fatimah Waseem December 29, 2017 at 11:00am
On Saturday, a memorial service will be held for Scott Fricker, 48, and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, the Reston couple who were shot and killed in their own home last week.
The service will begin at 10 a.m. at Herndon’s Trinity Presbyterian Church.
The couple was shot in their home on Friday, Dec. 22. Police believe a 17-year-old Lorton boy, whose identity has not been released, shot the couple and turned the gun on himself. He remains in the hospital with life threatening injuries.
One family member believes the teenage boyfriend of the couple’s daughter killed them after they learned of his Nazi views and encouraged their daughter to break up with him. The shooting took place on the 2600 block of Black Fir Court.
Fricker had a Ph.D from the University of Maryland and worked for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kuhn-Fricker specialized in estate planning and elder law.
Police are investigating the suspect’s alleged Neo-Nazi connections.
Memorial Service Set for Couple Murdered in Reston
Fatimah Waseem December 29, 2017 at 11:00am
On Saturday, a memorial service will be held for Scott Fricker, 48, and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, the Reston couple who were shot and killed in their own home last week.
The service will begin at 10 a.m. at Herndon’s Trinity Presbyterian Church.
The couple was shot in their home on Friday, Dec. 22. Police believe a 17-year-old Lorton boy, whose identity has not been released, shot the couple and turned the gun on himself. He remains in the hospital with life threatening injuries.
One family member believes the teenage boyfriend of the couple’s daughter killed them after they learned of his Nazi views and encouraged their daughter to break up with him. The shooting took place on the 2600 block of Black Fir Court.
Fricker had a Ph.D from the University of Maryland and worked for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kuhn-Fricker specialized in estate planning and elder law.
Police are investigating the suspect’s alleged Neo-Nazi connections.