Nickolas Khalil Vinson, 21, of Aurora, who stabbed and killed Oscar LeMar Owensby, 50, and then Snapchatted a video of the aftermath, will serve 33 years in the Department of Corrections. He faced a sentencing range of 20-38 years.
Nickolas Khalil Vinson
On December 14, 2017, Owensby – who was the defendant’s stepfather and common-law husband to the defendant’s mother – asked Vinson to do more chores, chip in money and help around the house more often. The three shared a residence near the intersection of South Rifle Street and South Buckley Road in Aurora.
Owensby and Vinson began to argue, and Owensby eventually left to pick up Vinson’s mother. Owensby and Vinson continued to argue over text. Upon their return home, Vinson’s mother asked if they could talk. Vinson went to his room and shut the door. The argument continued, and with the tension increasing, Owensby challenged Vinson to come out and fight.
Vinson armed himself with a 8-inch blade with a brass knuckle-styled handle, came out and stabbed Owensby in the neck. Vinson stabbed Owensby a total of 11 times in the torso and neck, resulting in his death.
Shortly after stabbing Owensby, Vinson began to stream a video onto Snapchat where his mother can be seen running to Owensby screaming, “LeMar, can you hear me? Can you hear me? No!”
The video pans to Vinson’s face where he tells the camera, “Hey guys, I just killed him. I just killed him. I just killed him.”
Vinson fled the scene. Shortly after, a parent contacted Aurora Police sharing with them the video that their daughter saw on Snapchat. Vinson returned to the scene after calling his mother, who then gave the phone to APD, who ordered him to return.
On June 28, 2019, Vinson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder (F2). Two sentence enhancements were proven earlier.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jake Adkins prosecuted this case. He said, “This is a defendant who – in response to a familial argument over doing more to pull his weight around the house – brutally murdered the only father he had ever known, plunging an 8-inch blade into his neck, chest, and back 11 times. When it was done, he turned to Snapchat to proclaim his grossly disproportionate response to the world. Nickolas Vinson has earned every day of that 33-year prison sentence.”
The Honorable Judge Andrew Baum presided over this case.