5 chilling details about Nick Morelos’ murder

The murder of Nick Morelos still haunts Tucson, as it shattered the city's peace. On July 12, 2016, James Lapan (Morelos' coworker), driven by hatred and envy, shot and killed Morelos at his home, leaving him dead in a pool of blood. Detective Jennifer Garcia and her team had to double-interrogate many suspects to uncover the killer and the motive behind the crime.

Dateline’s season 27 episode 13 on NBC titled Stone-Cold, aired on August 23, 2024, at 10 p.m.E.T. delved deep into this brutal homicide.

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Horrifying crime scene and other haunting details about Nick Morelos’ murder

1) The detectives remained puzzled

Reportedly, the neighbors weren't scared even after so many shots were fired nor alarmed, which surprised the investigators. This led them to believe that the assassin must have used a silencer to kill Nick Morelos.

Although one of Nick's neighbors had heard an odd noise, they weren't positive if it was a gunshot. But it would take a great deal of skill and accuracy to shoot while using a suppressor, as the detectives speculated. Detective Jennifer Garcia was left wondering who this skilled assassin was, as she had to put in many hours of research and thought for days before identifying the true murderer.

Despite Nick Morelos having a vicious dog~ a Pitbull to protect him and the property, the cops were first baffled as to how the killer gained entry into the residence. As the detectives surmised, the murderer must have gone onto the patio roof and then shot Nick inside the home.

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2) The crime scene was horrifying

Reportedly, when Nick Morelos’s fiancé, Kristy, came to his house worried about why he was not responding to any calls, she found Morelos naked and dead in his bedroom. The room was in a mess. There was blood everywhere and the walls in his bedroom had multiple bullet marks, as shown previously on Homicide: Hours to Kill.

Nick's fiancee previously told Dateline: Secrets Uncovered about discovering Nick's body and said:

“I zeroed in on him. He was just laying there and he was just, just full of bullet holes. This is the man I was supposed to marry.”

Detective Garcia described the crime scene as:

"The floor was very sticky and it smelled very heavily of mouth wash, so we felt at the time that whoever did this tried to clean up whatever tracks they left.”

Nick was reportedly found to have eight projectile wounds when Jennifer Garcia and the other detectives examined his body. To confirm that he was dead, the murderer gave him one last shot to the head after shooting him several times. It did not appear that the killing was related to theft or burglary.

Allegedly, Nick must have been brutally murdered by someone who harbored a deep hatred for him. When the detectives later found out about the killer and his true motive behind this crime, it all made sense to them, as shown previously in Homicide: Hours to Kill.

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3) Nick's ex Jessica was a suspect too

Jessica was dating Lapan and their alleged conversations revealed that James had asked Jessica about Smokey, Nick Morelos's pitbull, right before Nick was murdered.

Did the two work together to take down Nick or was it just James who was involved remains a question that is going to be unanswered forever with the case now closed and James in prison. Was Jessica involved in the murder remains a question to date.

Prosecutor Jonathan Mosher told Dateline: Secrets Uncovered:

"there were a strange series of texts between Jessica and Lapan the night before the murder, where Lapan texted her about a pit bull and she responded, “His dog … his name is Smokey,” seemingly a reference to Morelos’ beloved companion."

When asked about if Jessica was involved in Nick Morelos's murder, Prosecutor Mosher said to Dateline that:

“I can’t prove that she had involvement, but I can’t rule it out either.”

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4) James abused his wife Sareena and also threatened to hurt her

James was an extremely abusive husband (Image by Prime Video)

Reportedly, during the last part of the interrogation, James's wife, Sareena, told the police that James had asked her to lie to the police about where he had been the night Nick Morelos was killed. Sareena told the detectives that she was afraid of James, so she pretended to be her alibi.

She had enough of James' mistreatment and his threats to harm her, so she decided to come clean and ensure that justice was served. The detectives were also informed by Sareena that James was envious of Nick. Previously, Sareena also told Dateline: Secrets Uncovered that James asked him to lie about his whereabouts. Here is what Sareena revealed:

"When he had come in, his arm was bloody and he just looked at me and said, ‘I was home all night and we worked out this morning.’”

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5) The detectives found a ton of evidence inside James Lapan's house

Reportedly, after Lapan did not want to give his DNA for sampling and testing after the second interrogation, the detectives got a warrant to search his house. They found everything they were looking for.

A gun, bullets, a silencer, and even bloodied pants. When it was all sent to the lab for testing, it matched with the blood found at the crime scene, which later matched with James's DNA and linked him directly to the case. The missing piece of the rug from Nick Morelos's home was also recovered from James's car.

James was sentenced to life without parole on October 2, 2018, and charged with first-degree murder for slaying Nick Morelos in cold blood.

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To know more about Nick Morelos's death, watch Dateline’s upcoming episode on NBC.