In the small town of Emerson, Nebraska, the community was shaken by the disappearance and subsequent discovery of the death of 41-year-old Kraig "Boomer" Kubik, a male resident, in early November 2016. The unsettling chain of events began to unfold on the morning of November 2nd, when Kubik's five-year-old son arrived late to his kindergarten class.
The young boy bravely told his teacher that his father was dead, describing a grim scene of blood and his father's boots left in the yard of their rural home. This alarming report prompted a welfare check by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office, launching a full-scale investigation into Kubik's whereabouts.
The investigation quickly led authorities to a farm in neighboring Dixon County, where they made a gruesome discovery. Inside the trunk of a car, they found human remains, which brought a tragic end to any hope of finding Kraig Kubik alive. Further investigation uncovered more of Kubik's remains in a culvert in rural Cedar County. An autopsy would later confirm that he had died from a gunshot wound to the head, and his body was dismembered after his death. The motive for this brutal act appeared to be a dispute over a red Dodge Charger that one of the suspects had sold to Kubik and was attempting to repossess.
Two individuals were ultimately charged in connection with the murder of Kraig Kubik: Andres Surber and Bryan Galvan-Hernandez. Galvan-Hernandez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2017 for his role in the crime. Surber's legal proceedings were more protracted, marked by delays due to questions about his mental competency to stand trial. He was eventually found competent, and his trial commenced in August 2020. During the trial, Surber claimed he shot Kubik in self-defense during an argument over the car, a claim the prosecution refuted, calling the act a premeditated murder.
In September 2020, a Dakota County jury found Andres Surber guilty of first-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The verdict brought a sense of closure to a case that had haunted the community for nearly four years. The trial revealed disturbing details, including surveillance footage from Kubik's home showing him with Surber and Galvan-Hernandez on the night he was killed. Ultimately, the evidence presented by the prosecution and the testimony of witnesses led to Surber's conviction, holding him accountable for the violent end to Kraig Kubik's life.
