Nicholas Giampa

Nicholas Giampa was a 17-year-old resident of Lorton, Virginia (Fairfax County) who on December 22, 2017 shot and killed Scott Fricker and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, the parents of his girlfriend, at their home in Reston, Virginia. He then shot himself in the head. He survived but with severe brain damage. The murders occurred after the Fricker-Kuhn family had discovered Giampa's neo-Nazi social media activity and ordered their daughter to end the relationship.

Giampa was never tried. He was found incompetent to stand trial in August 2018 due to his injuries, restored to competency in 2019, declared incompetent again in 2023, and died at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on the night of August 22-23, 2024, before a trial could take place. Foul play was not initially suspected.

AWD Connection and Background

Giampa's connection to Atomwaffen Division was established through public social media activity rather than confirmed formal membership. Under the alias "Kevin Gallo," he maintained a Twitter account ([@doctorpepper35]) that documented extensive neo-Nazi beliefs including heavy sharing of AWD propaganda and explicit praise for the James Mason text Siege. He praised a Twitter user identified as @RyanAtomwaffen. HuffPost documented and identified the account. He is described in contemporary reporting as an AWD "follower" rather than a confirmed cell member.

Earlier in 2017, Giampa had mowed a 40-foot swastika into a community athletic field in Lorton, Virginia.

Murders and Investigation

The Fricker-Kuhn family had confronted their daughter about Giampa's neo-Nazi social media presence and had forbidden her from continuing the relationship. According to prosecutors, Giampa and the daughter had entered a suicide pact and had discussed "wounding her parents if they tried to intervene."

On December 22, 2017, Giampa entered the family home at 2600 Black Fire Court in Reston during the early morning hours and shot both parents. He then shot himself in the head. He was found at the scene alongside the bodies. He survived but the gunshot wound caused severe brain damage that would permanently affect his cognitive functioning and became the central obstacle to his prosecution.

Legal Proceedings

Giampa was indicted in 2019 in Fairfax County Circuit Court on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was tried as an adult. In August 2018, a court found him incompetent to stand trial due to the effects of his brain injury. A 2019 ruling found him restored to competency and scheduled an adult trial. By 2023, competency proceedings again found him unable to stand trial. No trial ever took place.

He was found unresponsive in his cell at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center at approximately 1:58 a.m. on August 22-23, 2024 and was pronounced dead. Initial investigation did not suspect foul play.¹