Remembering Lincoln's homicide victims of 2023
Seven people have died in suspected homicides in Lincoln so far this year. Here's who they were.
1. Julian A. Martinez
Police found 18-year-old Julian Martinez with one gunshot wound to his chest near 19th Street and Euclid Avenue on Jan. 21 after an argument over with a neighbor over their pet dogs devolved into a fatal shooting, according to authorities.
Prosecutors charged Martinez’s neighbor, 29-year-old Armon Rejai, with first-degree murder in the teen’s death.
, Martinez’s family said he cherished his sisters and nephews, who he loved to play video games and roughhouse with. He shared his life and love with his girlfriend and his best friend, along with numerous cousins and relatives, his family said.
2. Rudy Requejo Jr.
Rudy Requejo Jr., who was 22 months old, died at an Omaha hospital March 17 after weeks of suspected abuse and neglect, police investigators alleged in court filings.
Prosecutors charged the boy’s mother, 30-year-old Brittany Cook, and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Joshua Tackett, with child abuse resulting in the child’s death.
His family remembered Requejo Jr.’s infectious joy that, at times, brought previously feuding family members together.
“Junior had a smile that was like gravity,” his aunt said.
3. Ronald Gonzalez Rivas
Ronald E. Gonzalez-Rivas, 45, was one of two maintenance employees at The Lodge Apartments who were run over and killed at the south Lincoln complex on March 27.
A resident of the apartment complex, 27-year-old Taylor Bradley, was charged with six felonies for her alleged role in the brazen attack, including a first-degree murder charge in Gonzalez-Rivas’ death, according to court records.
In , his wife of 11 years, Georgina Molina, said she was deeply saddened by his death and asked for prayers for their family. Gonzalez-Rivas left behind two children, ages 19 and 26.
4. Christopher Karmazin
A longtime maintenance employee at The Lodge Apartments in south Lincoln, Christopher J. Karmazin was one of two men killed there March 27 when he and a colleague were run over and killed by a 27-year-old resident, police alleged.
Prosecutors charged Taylor Bradley with six felonies for her alleged role in the hit-and-run attack. She was charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony in Karmazin’s death.
, family said the Lincoln man left behind three children and a loving wife.
"Chris loved spending time with his friends playing board games and was an avid animal lover," a relative, Garrett Karmazin, said in a post pinned to the fundraiser. “He enjoyed spending time outdoors and working with his hands. His greatest joy was being a father."
5. Damien Brave
Damien I. Brave, an 18-year-old Lincoln man, died in the early morning hours of April 1 after he was shot four times at a house party the night before near 27th and Fair streets.
Police in Michigan later arrested 17-year-old Kashaun M. McCree for his alleged role in Brave's death, thought to have been the result of a robbery gone wrong. Prosecutors charged McCree, who police say fled to Detroit after the shooting, with first-degree murder.
Brave's close friend and family, who , remembered him as a goofy, fun-loving kid whose beaming smile demanded that others join in.
"If you felt like crap or you felt down, and you got one of his hugs, you just felt like you were safe," his mother, Heidi Brave, said. "I'm the mom. I should have made him feel safe. But the way he just hugged you, it just made you feel like you were something special."
6. Mark Kruger
Mark Kruger, 59, died May 7 after he was stabbed amid an argument at a family gathering that evening near 63rd Street and Baldwin Avenue.
Police arrested Kruger's son, Joseph Kruger, at the scene. The 40-year-old was later charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for his alleged role in his dad's death.
In , Mark Kruger's family described the Lincoln man as a loving father, grandfather, brother and uncle who loved music, concert-going and riding his Harley.
"... He loved to make the world smile," Kruger's family wrote. "He loved camping, fishing and going out on the boat. Mark always, always gave compliments and encouragement to all and he would give the shirt off his back for anyone."
The family also to help pay for his funeral.
7. Zachary Svoboda
Lincoln Police found Zachary Svoboda dead at his home near the North 50th and Greenwood streets on Aug. 23, 2023.
An autopsy determined the cause of death to be intoxication from a combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Investigators have identified physical and digital evidence, along with witness statements, that show Svoboda's death was intentional.
Police have alleged Amanda Wright devised and carried out a plan to kill Svoboda.
She is currently being held at the Lancaster County jail.
8. James Baylor
James Baylor, who often went by Jim or Jimbo but whose legal first name was Robert, died at a Lincoln hospital Sept. 5, nine days after he suffered a head injury in an apparently random assault near 13th and P streets Aug. 27.
Police of Lincoln on suspicion of first-degree assault in the hours after the attack. Prosecutors later enhanced the charges filed against Rodriguez Alvis, charging him with manslaughter following Baylor's death.
Baylor's friends and family remembered the 55-year-old as "a dear, kind, tender soul that touched a lot of lives."
"He was always interested in other people and what they were doing and always enthusiastic about them," said his brother, John Baylor. "And it was completely authentic."
9. Larry Cole
Larry Cole, 76, was found in his residence on the 1100 block of New Hampshire Street on Dec. 19. Officers went to the home on a welfare check, which was called in by one of Cole's family members.
Police received no answer when they knocked and smelled natural gas, which led them to call Lincoln Fire and Rescue who turned off the gas.
When the air cleared, police went in and found Cole dead inside, as well as another man.
Cole's death later was ruled a homicide.
Andrew Wegley
State government reporter
"I'm gonna miss everything about him," 18-year-old Damien Brave's mother said. "He was an amazing boy. Beautiful, inside and out."
Police largely declined to say what led up to last week's shooting, but in court filings, prosecutors said the teen's alleged murder was carried in out in a robbery attempt.
Two weeks after the death of 22-month-old Rudy Requejo Jr., the boy's family is celebrating and remembering the joy he brought into their lives, even as they continue to grieve.
Karsen Rezac was set for arraignment Wednesday, but he instead filed a written not-guilty plea waiving his appearance.
Deputies are investigating after a 5-foot-4-inch male of an unknown race was found dead Tuesday in a ditch, where his remains had been "for some time," Sheriff Terry Wagner said.
Armon Rejai hasn't yet been set for trial.
"I can't imagine what they're feeling right now," the police chief said. "The loss of a husband and the arrest of a stepson. Our hearts go out to them."
A bill passed in 2021 aimed to spare Nebraska crime victims’ from medical expenses. But, two years later, the state hasn’t yet reimbursed a single provider.
The 18-year-old lunged for Kashuan McCree's gun and tried to wrestle it away from him before he was shot three more times, police said in newly unsealed court filings.
The ruling dealt with how Tawhyne Patterson Sr.'s and Damon Williams Jr.'s cases were charged for Jessica Brandon's killing, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a similar case.
Omaha police are investigating a homicide that occurred on Harrison Street Friday night.
The Lancaster County Attorney's Office will ask to dismiss first-degree murder charges against Jahhrasta Fletcher for a fatal shooting last September behind a downtown Lincoln strip club.
Before prosecutors filed a motion Friday to have the murder charge dismissed, they filed new charges in a felony weapons case against the 22-year-old stemming from 2021.
Briana Jelinek was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for the role she played Henry Jones' death on May 19, 2022.
A Gretna teen's body was found in a bonfire pit near Phoenix in what Arizona police suspect is a homicide. The victim, Parker League, 18, graduated from Gretna High this spring.
A Lincoln woman got 2 years of probation for her role in a crash that killed Jeffery Zeiger, a motorcyclist whose friends and family were outraged by the ruling.
A jury in May found Brian Adams Sr. guilty of second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony for Trevious "Trey" Clark's killing in 2021.
A judge on Monday dismissed felony charges against three of Jahhrasta Fletcher's co-defendants in the fatal September shooting outside Foxy Gentlemen’s Club.
Three years after her son was shot to death in downtown Lincoln, Marlina Bowdery has turned pain into purpose, guiding grieving mothers through the unspeakable agony of losing children.
In back-to-back hearings, Anna Feilen and Marques Moten pleaded no contest to conspiracy to rob James Shekie in 2021. Both face up to 50 years in prison.
Police are investigating after a 46-year-old Lincoln man was found dead in his home near Northwest 56th and West Aurora streets Tuesday afternoon. His cause of death is unknown.
The Lincoln man who killed two homeless men in two days last summer, dismembering one of them in a motel room, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Kashuan McCree, 17, is charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for Brave's killing March 31.
"You're the guy with the knife, and you're the guy that used it," District Judge Jodi Nelson told Steven Alexander Thursday. "It's just senseless. Totally and utterly senseless."
Deputies were called to Gene Oltman's home July 11, 2022, on a medical emergency and found him dead inside, with evidence of physical trauma to his body.
A Lincoln man has died more than a week after he was rushed to a local hospital with a brain bleed after police found him unconscious downtown, police said.
The 55-year-old man who died Tuesday, days after he was assaulted, was remembered by brother John Baylor as a fixture in downtown Lincoln who was "loved by so many people."
Prosecutors filed enhanced charges Tuesday against the 22-year-old Lincoln man accused of killing a 55-year-old man in an apparently random assault on a downtown street corner late last month.
Kashuan McCree hasn't yet been given a trial date on charges of first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon for Damien Brave’s killing March 31.
A Council Bluffs, Iowa, man went to prison Thursday for his role in a drug robbery that led to a Lincoln man being shot dead in his home in 2021.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the mysterious death of a person whose body was found Friday in a campground beside the Platte River in western Douglas County.
Anna Feilen was sentenced to 8-12 years in prison Thursday for her part in a drug robbery in 2021 that resulted in a Lincoln man being killed in his home.
A Lincoln woman, 24, who deleted texts and lied to police after a man was fatally stabbed in her apartment got jail time Wednesday for being an accessory to the crime.
Clifford Davlin died Saturday at the Reception and Treatment Center, according to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.
A federal judge has resentenced two Omaha men for their involvement in a 2018 home-invasion attempted robbery where a 36-year-old Lincoln mother was shot and killed.
Derrick Pearson, 34, could get up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing in February for causing Henry Jones' death during a sudden quarrel or unintentionally during an assault.
Only the evidence tampering charge was directly tied to 33-year-old Robert Brannon's shooting death. Prosecutors said Jahhrasta Fletcher got rid of the gun, burned clothes and deleted video surveillance.
A Lincoln man pleaded no contest to second-degree murder Thursday for grabbing a gun from his center console and shooting a man to death in response to a fender bender.
A 34-year-old Lincoln man was sentenced to prison on Thursday for manslaughter in an attack that resulted in a 57-year-old man's "unfortunate, tragic" death in 2022.
Taylor Bradley's attorney said it's certainly within the state's prerogative to get a second opinion about whether she was insane at the time, but he questioned the need for it.
A Lincoln man was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison on Wednesday for shooting his neighbor to death in response to a minor car accident.
LPD said a 32-year-old man died Sunday morning at a Lincoln hospital after he was found shot outside a downtown bar. Police have detained a suspect.
Angel Rodriguez Alvis pleaded guilty to manslaughter for punching a 55-year-old stranger on a downtown street corner last August, angry because he was talking to two women with him.
The Lincoln Police Department arrested a 41-year-old Lincoln woman Friday in connection to the August death of her 38-year-old husband, according to a news release.
Amanda Wright has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 38-year-old Zachary Svoboda, who was found dead Aug. 21.
Armon Rejai will face a minimum sentence of 20 years and up to life in prison for fatally shooting Julian Martinez on Jan. 21, 2023.
"She was actually so delusional on that day that she was proud of what she did," Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jim Rocke said of Taylor Bradley.
The Lincoln Police Department has identified the 16-year-old victim who was stabbed to death over the weekend and the 14-year-old who was arrested.
District Judge Ryan Post set a hearing in June to determine whether Taylor Bradley remains dangerous to herself or others, where she is likely to face a civil commitment.
"This is a challenging one, Mr. Alvis, because you are a veteran, and I respect that," the judge said. "But it doesn't change the fact that you're unpredictable and dangerous."
A Lincoln woman who fatally ran down two men in her apartment parking lot last year will be sent to the Lincoln Regional Center, following a judge's decision Tuesday.
"It was you that for some reason decided to open the door and shoot and kill this unarmed 18-year-old young man," Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong told Armon Rejai.
Witnesses described Damien Brave's shooting the night of March 31, 2023, at a party packed with teenagers at Kashuan McCree's trial for the first-degree murder.