Ex-Navy officer charged with wife’s murder after dismembered body found in Georgia hunting lodge
Ex-naval officer, 40, charged with murder of 40-year-old woman after DNA experts finally discovered her identity six months after dismembered body was found in Georgia hunting lodge
- Nicholas James Kassotis, 40, has been arrested and charged with the November 2022 murder of his 40-year-old wife, Mindi Mebane Kassotis
- Mindi’s dismembered body was discovered last winter in the woods on the grounds of a Georgia hunting club, but she was not identified until May 11.
- Kassotis, a former JAG officer in the Navy, was arrested Friday in Pennsylvania. DNA swabs from his family linked him to the murder.
A former JAG naval officer has been charged with the murder of his 40-year-old wife after DNA experts finally discovered her identity six months after her dismembered body was found in a Georgia hunting lodge.
Nicholas Kassotis, 40, was arrested Friday in Pennsylvania following the gruesome discovery of Mindi Mebane Kassotis’s remains by hunters last December.
It is believed that by the time her remains were found on the grounds of Portal Hunting Club in Riceboro, Georgia, she had been dead for a month.
But it took another five months before her identity could finally be confirmed as the missing woman.
Mindi Mebane Kassotis was from New Orleans and was a writer and entrepreneur
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation created an artist’s impression of the woman whose body they found because there was no way to identify her at the time she was found.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has now charged Kassotis with murder with intent, felony murder, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and removing body parts from the scene of death or mutilation.
Mindi’s body was found by hunters on December 2, 2022 in Liberty County, Georgia.
The GBI determined she was placed there sometime after November 18, though her identity was a mystery at the time.
After her family provided DNA samples, her identity was finally confirmed last Thursday. Kassotis was arrested the next day.
The FBI used a laboratory that specialized in advanced DNA testing and received results that furthered the investigation. The GBI also interviewed family members and obtained DNA swabs for comparison with the profile created through genealogical DNA.
Her remains were found in the Georgia woods on the grounds of the Portal Hunting Club in Riceboro, Georgia. The club house is pictured
The dismembered remains of 40-year-old Mindi Mebane Kassotis were found by hunters in Georgia last December
Another artist’s impression of the woman now known as Mindi Mebane Kassotis who was finally identified as the victim on May 11
Mindi and Nicholas were married for six years and lived together in Savannah. The motive for her murder is unknown.
A native of New Orleans, Mindi was a writer and business owner while her husband served in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Navy.
Currently, Kassotis is in custody at the Lancaster County Jail, but the plan is to extradite him to Georgia to face charges.
Mindi’s friends who went to school with her posted online how they were shocked by her untimely end.
“She touched so many lives. I hope she knew how much loved her and how many have missed her for so long. I also pray that she did not suffer. She was such a special person, a true friend to everyone,” one wrote.
‘So sad and horrible! She was a good friend! Her parents and siblings are in my thoughts and prayers. I found out about this a few hours ago and my heart sank,” added another.