A man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killings of his girlfriend’s parents was found dead in a Virginia jail Thursday, authorities said.
Fairfax County police said Nicholas Giampa, 24, was pronounced dead around 2 a.m. in his cell at the county jail, where he had been held since 2018. Police said they were investigating Giampa’s death but said they do not believe foul play was involved at this time.
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 drew national attention because of evidence that Giampa espoused neo-Nazi philosophies. Neighbors said the then-teenager also a swastika mowed in a community field.
At the time of the murders, Kuhn-Fricker’s 16-year-old daughter told police that she and Giampa had made a suicide pact after her family had forbidden their relationship. They talked about “injuring her parents if they tried to intervene.” according to court recordsAccording to officials, the Frickers objected to the relationship after learning that Giampa associated with neo-Nazis onlineand the fact that he had been charged as a minor with possessing child sexual abuse images.
Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker were shot after they found Giampa in their daughter’s bedroom. The daughter told police she had given Giampa a security code that allowed him to enter the house after her parents went to bed.
According to police, Giampa pulled out a gun 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 didn’t fire. Giampa, then 17, then shot himself in the forehead. He was hospitalized for weeks but survived.
During a hearing in 2018, psychologists testified that the brain damage from the self-inflicted gunshot wound left Giampa unable to fully comprehend the trial. At least one psychologist testified that Giampa would eventually recover enough to participate in his defense.
According to online court records, Giampa’s jury trial was postponed three times and was scheduled to take place in January.
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Olivia Diaz is a staff 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 under-reported issues.