On the evening of March 11, 2020, Linda Nemelka, a 57-year-old Caucasian woman, had just finished dinner with a friend in Millcreek, a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. Shortly after 10:00 p.m., she got into her car to head home, but was tragically shot and killed in what would later be described as a random act of violence. When police arrived at the scene, they found Nemelka's car in the driveway with the engine still running and the driver's side door open.
She was discovered slouched over the center console, having sustained gunshot wounds to her chest and thigh, and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
For over a year, the case remained a mystery, leaving Nemelka's five children and other family members grappling with unanswered questions and a sense of uncertainty. Investigators found a single 9mm casing near the vehicle and neighbors reported seeing a dark-colored SUV speeding away from the scene with its lights off. The lack of immediate leads was unsettling for the community and a reward was offered for information that could lead to an arrest. The investigation was further complicated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated headlines in the weeks following the senseless act.
A significant break in the case came in February 2021 when an informant provided crucial information to the police. This new lead pointed detectives to James Dekota Brunson and his girlfriend, Anika Celeste Thorpe. Unbeknownst to Nemelka's family, both individuals had been arrested on unrelated charges just a day after the murder. The day after the shooting, Brunson was apprehended after a foot chase during which he was seen tossing a 9mm handgun over a fence. Ballistic testing later confirmed this was the weapon used to kill Nemelka. It was revealed that on the night of the murder, Brunson and Thorpe, who were both on parole at the time, were driving a stolen SUV and had been involved in the theft of several firearms.
In July 2021, James Dekota Brunson, then 24, and Anika Celeste Thorpe, 23, were charged with murder, aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm by a restricted person. The motive appeared to be a carjacking that went horribly wrong. According to an informant, Brunson had spoken of "hitting a lick" that had gone bad on the night of the shooting. In October 2024, Brunson pleaded guilty to reduced charges of murder and aggravated robbery. He admitted to killing Nemelka during an attempt to forcibly take her car. Thorpe is expected to face a jury trial. The resolution of the case brought a sense of relief to Nemelka's family, who had endured a long and painful period of not knowing who was responsible for their mother's death.
