People keep asking the same question: is nikko jenkins still alive, and if so, how is that even possible given the headlines from 2013? Honestly, the answer is a straightforward yes. He is very much alive. As of early 2026, Nikko Jenkins remains incarcerated at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution in Nebraska. He isn't just sitting there, though. His case has become a tangled web of mental health debates, bizarre self-mutilations, and a legal "will-he-won't-he" regarding his own execution that has frustrated the courts for nearly a decade.
You've probably seen the photos. The tattoos covering every inch of his face. The self-inflicted scars. Jenkins is the man who claimed an ancient Egyptian serpent god named Apophis ordered him to kill four people in Omaha back in August 2013. He did exactly that, just days after being released from a ten-year prison stint. Since then, the state has been trying to navigate the messy intersection of capital punishment and severe mental illness.
The Current Status of Nikko Jenkins
If you’re looking for a date on the calendar for his execution, you won't find one. Not yet. In early 2025, things took a weird turn. Jenkins actually wrote a handwritten motion to the court asking them to set an execution date and dismiss all his appeals. He basically said he was done. But then, less than a month later, he changed his mind. He retracted the request and decided he wanted to keep fighting.
This kind of back-and-forth is typical for Jenkins. It’s a legal nightmare. His lawyers are currently pushing the argument that he is intellectually disabled. Why does that matter? Because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it's unconstitutional to execute someone with an intellectual disability.
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- He is currently held in high-security confinement.
- He has four death sentences hanging over his head.
- He also has an additional 450 to 500 years of prison time for weapons charges.
- The Nebraska Supreme Court already upheld his death sentence once in 2019, but the appeals process in capital cases is famously slow.
Why hasn't he been executed yet?
Nebraska isn't exactly fast when it comes to the death penalty. They’ve only executed one person in the last 25 years—Carey Dean Moore in 2018—and that required a massive effort to secure the necessary drugs. For Jenkins, the delay is mostly about his brain.
Experts have been arguing about his sanity since day one. Some doctors say he has schizoaffective disorder and is genuinely detached from reality. Others, including many who testified for the state, argue he is a master manipulator who is "malingering"—that’s a fancy way of saying he’s faking or exaggerating his symptoms to stay alive. The court eventually sided with the idea that he was competent enough to stand trial, but that hasn't stopped the endless cycle of appeals.
Then there’s the self-mutilation. It’s hard to ignore. While in prison, Jenkins has sliced his own tongue to look like a snake, carved "666" into his forehead (backwards, because he was using a mirror), and even attempted to cut his own penis to resemble a giant serpent. These aren't just "cries for help"; they are graphic, violent acts that make it very difficult for the state to claim he is a "standard" inmate.
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The Crimes that Put Him There
To understand why the question of is nikko jenkins still alive carries so much weight, you have to remember the victims. This wasn't a slow-burn crime. It was a ten-day spree that terrified Omaha.
- Juan Uribe-Pena and Jorge Cajiga-Ruizon: These two were found shot in a car on August 11, 2013. It was a robbery turned into a double homicide.
- Curtis Bradford: A former prison acquaintance of Jenkins. He was found dead eight days later.
- Andrea Kruger: This was the one that truly broke the community. She was a mother of three, just driving home from work. Jenkins pulled her from her SUV and shot her multiple times before stealing the car.
He was caught shortly after and didn't exactly hide what he'd done. He spoke freely about the "commands" he received, often speaking in tongues or referencing "Apophis" during interviews and court appearances.
The 2026 Legal Landscape
Where do we stand right now? The ACLU and his defense team are still very active. They’ve raised concerns about his time in solitary confinement. Jenkins spent years in isolation before his 2013 release, and many argue that the state basically "created a monster" by locking a mentally ill teenager in a box for years and then dumping him on a street corner with no supervision.
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In late 2025, his legal team filed new motions regarding his cognitive impairments. They are seeking more funding for neuropsychologists to prove he doesn't have the mental capacity to be executed. The state, meanwhile, continues to maintain that his crimes were calculated and that he understands exactly what is happening.
Basically, the legal "tug-of-war" is nowhere near finished.
What’s Next for Jenkins?
There is no "finish line" in sight for this year. The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services continues to manage him as a high-risk inmate. If you’re following this case, expect more hearings regarding his mental fitness. The state is still trying to figure out how to handle a man who wants to die one day and wants to live the next, all while claiming to be a vessel for a serpent god.
For those interested in the legal or social ramifications of the case, the next logical step is to track the Nebraska Supreme Court's upcoming rulings on his intellectual disability filings. These will determine if a death warrant can even be requested in the next few years. You can also monitor the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services "Inmate Locator" tool, which is the most reliable way to confirm his current housing and status in real-time.