So to me, that's a justified -- I don't wanna say homicide, but I mean, technically, it is a homicide. Stephen Nichols: I mean, I think anyone with an ounce of intelligence can fill in the blanks. Then, for the second time in our "48 Hours" interview, Nichols brings up the topic of suicide. Back in Oregon, it was like a dream -- one that had come true for Rhonda's loved ones. Stephen Nichols: The police never once asked me if it was a suicide. The couple got to the trailhead, where Rhonda snapped a photo of Stephen, later found on her cellphone. When I'm really, really sad, I just -- I close down. As Nichols awaits trial in the death of Rhonda Casto, he has some pleasant distraction -- visits from his fiance, Landy. Peter Van Sant: And did Rhonda ever tell you how young her sister was when she first had sex with Stephen? Nichols was given credit for time served while awaiting trial. in theology from Westminster Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. in apologetics from Westminster Theological Seminary. I cant tell if he is lying. Nicholas Stephen. Stephen Nichols, 42, has admitted he was having sex with his girlfriend Rhonda Casto's underage sister Melanie at the time of Casto's death on a hike in 2009 He confirmed the relationship. Peter Van Sant: You're saying you'll take your own life. Stephen Nichols: She's never been off drugs since the age of 12. Like there's always other options there. If your sig other wants to climb a mountain, tell them to go by themselves ! Stephen has since been charged with murdering Rhonda, but has not yet faced a trial. To add more books, click here . Stephen Wagner Nichols, the father of Rhonda's daughter Ava who was just nine months old when she died. I dont believe her friends either when they say he threatened to kill her. Stephen says: No I did not. Stephen Nichols: I remember we kissed for a little bit. That's just horrible, Steve. Stephen Nichols: The weather was excellent, actually. When you see a missing post or a post without comments, it was likely lost during a migration. Of the sentence, Casto's mother tells People, "This is the justice system being stupid I am just disgusted with the outcome." Judge John Olsen: To that charge, what's your plea?. Stephen Nichols [looks away as he responds]: No. (Successful day traders dont move to China to teach English, either.) ', Stephen Nichols, the man accused of pushing his girlfriend Rhonda Casto, right, off a cliff to her death in 2009, has admitted he was having sex with her underage sister at the time, Nichols, then 34, had been dating the 23-year-old mother aspiring model for about three years and the couple shared a nine-month-old daughter Ava, In an interview being aired Monday Casto's mother Julia Simmons, pictured, said: 'He told Melanie that she was a dead ringer for her sister, and that the baby would forget her mother within just a matter of a short time and that they could be a family - the three of them', When asked presented with the idea that Nichols killed one sister to be with the other, he responded: 'Well you can believe whatever you want'. I do. I wonder if the distancing language of her at the end means anything. So I wld scrap her testimony, but theres plenty of motive even w/out it. Nichols would be extradited to Oregon and his daughter would be sent to live with Rhonda's family. But Nichols says Rhonda was acting strangely. Shortly afterward, Nichols moved across the state with his daughter to live with family. At "48 Hours"' request, Stephen Nichols has kept a video diary while out on bail, Stephen Nichols [video diary]: Today I had my first court appearance. I will always love Rhonda. I was looking for a place, a room to rent. Peter Van Sant: So when Stephen is telling us that they were planning their future together and everything was great and it was a lovey-dovey relationship, is he lying to me? - Investigation Discovery, Mystery at Eagle Creek: What really happened on Oregon model's fatal hike? By 2013, four years had gone by and no charges had been filed against Nichols. There's no way he would take his own life. There seems to be too many women falling to their deaths on these cliffs with their significant other surviving. Mike Arnold: I'm very excited to see Steve for the first time outside in the fresh air. My gut tells me hes guilty, especially after he left the country and stayed in China with his daughter. Peter Van Sant: Let's get in that time machine and go back to March 16, 2009. So Nichols says the couple came up with an adventurous plan to lose weight. NYC and wherever the wind may blow me . Prosecution aims to prove Casto death was no accident, Stephen Nichols on his freedom and family. Stephen Nichols is a Director of Athletics at California State University San Marcos based in San Marcos, California. I just answered the questions that they asked. The girl who fell and survived was playing sports and obviously very athletic at the time of her fall (which isnt the case with Rhonda), so being strong obviously has nothing to do with it. And oh yes, he is guilty as sin. Jessica Colburn | Rhonda's friend: Yes. What Nichols didn't know is that the entire time he was out of the country, investigators stayed on Rhonda's case and Simmons stayed on theirs. In 2017 prosecutors dropped the murder charge and replaced it with criminally negligent homicide and coercion, after a judge ruled that a detective had acted improperly during an interview. She goes, "I'll be fine." Stephen Nichols: I'm not going to comment on that. Peter Van Sant: Well, you brought this up. So it sounds like a small price to pay to be there for when my client gets to see freedom for the first time in a year. After Rhonda went off the trail, Nichols says he hiked down the deep ravine. Stephen Nichols: I turn around and I look at her and my tongue pretty much hit the floor. I was just like, "After all this time, finally.". It's one of those things where you think you're in a dream and you're gonna wake up at any time I'm like, "OK, I'm gonna wake up in China. Most of the time innocent people plead guilty in order to gain an advantage or meet a goal. Stephen Nichols: [Laughs] That part I'm not gonna take you through, because she did fall off, and I can say I had absolutely nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with her falling off. An Oregon man accused of killing his girlfriend by pushing her off a 100-foot cliff eight years ago has pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and coercion in her death, PEOPLE confirms.. She is a scientifically tested and studied expert. Three months after Stephen Nichols' arrest in 2015, his attorney, Mike Arnold, took his own investigative team up the Eagle Creek Trail where, he believes, Rhonda Casto slipped and fell to her death. That was my timetable. Stephen Nichols: Well I held her. 'I just immediately fell in love with her.'. Peter Van Sant: And who decides, "Hey, let's head back?". Instead she got a brand new life insurance policy and a special invitation for a hiking date in a wet Oregon spring on a trail where several people had recently fallen to their deaths. Follow. Judge John Wolf: What is your plea to the charge of criminally negligent homicide? When Rhonda Casto set out on March 16, 2009, for a hike with her boyfriend, her family had no idea the day would transform into a nightmare one that ended with Castos lifeless body at the bottom of a steep ravine. And so she just started bolting down, like at a full sprint, running down the trail. Because I was a little girl, he was playful, you know. The Investigator book. Julia Simmons: Yeah, right. Post author By ; Post date aleut tattoos aleut tattoos But then, Nichols claims, Rhonda asked him a startling question completely out of the blue. (The Hood River County, Oregon, District Attorneys Office, which brought the charges against Nichols, declined to comment.). Peter Van Sant: Steve, look at me. He's too narcissistic, egotistical, sociopath. We will continue to fight until we have proven my innocence. Available seven to nichols rhonda castro verdict, above you see. Give the relationship a few years, a severe economic downturn, trapped in relationship by having a baby, and a girlfriend who doesnt like you but wants a ring. A little over two months and she was fluent in Mandarin. She was taking Tae Kwon Do. from Geneva College. snowrunner unable to establish connection with the host. News Sport Region Music Person Profession. The plan was for Casto, a 23-year-old aspiring model, to walk the popular Eagle Creek Trail along Oregons Columbia River Gorge accompanied by her boyfriend, Steve Nichols. Stephen Nichols: I've laid everything out there. Stephen Nichols CBS affiliate KOIN Stephen Nichols, 40, was arrested Thursday, Feb. 12 in connection with the death of his former girlfriend, 23-year-old Rhonda Casto, of Portland, who. reason is this.. first person on video to link provided see more here said she was incredible athlete, very strong coupled with video of the trails as well as images looked up yes dangerous but no reason Id expect someone to fall let alone someone comfortable in their body. That isnt the case, seeing as the girl who was on the show that had also fallen from the same cliff and survived was also very athletic and strong. stephen nichols rhonda castro. I won't let him screw us up again. I read a lot. Castos family says they arent sure her death was accidental, as Nichols has insisted. 27/05/2022; Posted by diarmuid o connor kerry age; 27 . Peter Van Sant: That's terrible. Stephen Nichols: I had nothing to do with Rhonda Casto's death. Just a few hours before her death, Rhonda, who had learned of the affair, sent this text to her sister: Peter Van Sant [reads text aloud to Nichols]: "I don't know what to say besides he's a piece of sh--. But investigators believe there really was a relationship between Nichols and Melanie, one that continued on and off for four years, right up to that fateful last hike. Julia Simmons: He planned the whole thing, it was premeditated, the whole thing. Jessica Colburn: He's absolutely lying to you. They make better wives. 'She was going to move out, but she was trying to get up the courage to do it,' Simmons said. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Dr. Stephen J. Nichols is president of Reformation Bible College in Sanford, Fla., chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, and a Ligonier Ministries tea Dr. Stephen J. Nichols is president of Reformation Bible College in Sanford, Fla., chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, and a Ligonier Ministries tea Stephen Nichols: If it's a suicide, life insurance doesn't pay out. And I'm like, "Yeah you really do look like her.". Abdelsattar, Zaid. He chased after her, but by the time he reached her body he collapsed from exhaustion and hypothermia. It started pouring down rain and thunder came. Tessa Simmons: I loved having a niece. 'Some people are going to believe I'm innocent and some will believe I'm guilty. And I could hear my daughter in the other room, crying. It's a theory that could support Nichols' new suggestion of suicide. I think she held on for longer for the sake of the baby. Stephen Wagner Nichols, 40, was arrested February 12 at San Francisco Airport in connection with the 2009 death of his former girlfriend, Rhonda Kristen Casto, 23. So while I'd prefer to be coming home and doing farm chores and listen to wildlife instead I'll be thinking about my closing argument or what the next step of the case is. The only incredible athlete I recall in this story is the young woman who nearly died at the same point where Rhonda fell but managed to grab a root, which proves that an incredible athlete can lose her footing and fall. It's a final twist in a tragedy where only Nichols knows the real ending. Steve Nichols confirmed that he was having a relationship with Rhonda Casto's sister Melanie in an interview withMaria Elena Salinas of Investigative Discovery's The Real Storyset to air Monday. But Nichols says Rhonda was acting strangely. He's lying. Julia Simmons: I think she was attracted not so much to his looks, but to his his -- what he had. Murder Suspect Allegedly Stabbed Ex-Girlfriend and Set Her on Fire at Work, Calling Her a 'Witch', Ga. Man Arrested and Accused of Shooting 4-Year-Old Niece, but Family Insists Her Death Was Accident, Colo. Dad Accused of Trying to Kill 5-Year-Old Son by Assaulting Him, Pulling Him into Icy Creek, Gabby Petito's Mother Recalls Last Moments with Daughter Before She Left on Cross-Country Trip, Man Charged with Murdering Girlfriend Who Fell to Her Death on a Hike 6 Years Ago, Accused Killers of Ahmaud Arbery Go on Trial in 2020 Shooting Death of Unarmed Black Georgia Jogger, Woman Who Drove Hitchhiking Brian Laundrie Noticed 'Nothing Extraordinary' Until They Got Near Van. The couple got to the charge of criminally negligent homicide, and in! Credit for time served while awaiting trial and some will believe I 'm guilty was playful you... Us up again daughter to live with Rhonda Casto 's death collapsed from and. A trial for longer for the first time outside in the other room, crying meet goal! A photo of stephen, later found on her cellphone & # x27 ; s your plea? to. 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