Nicholas Samuel Markowitz (September 19, 1984 â€" August 9, 2000) was an American teenager who was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 15 after a feud over drug money between his half-brother Benjamin Markowitz and Jesse James Hollywood.
Kidnapping and murder
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Nick lived in West Hills, Los Angeles with his parents, Jeff and Susan Markowitz. The feud between Nicholas' older half-brother, Ben Markowitz, and Jesse James Hollywood, a mid-level drug dealer, began over an alleged $1,200 debt owed to Hollywood by Markowitz. On August 6, 2000, Hollywood, and his friends Jesse Rugge, and William Skidmore decided to confront Benjamin. However, on their way to see him, they saw Nicholas walking on the side of the road, having run away from home, and decided to abduct Nicholas in order to hold him for ransom in lieu of Benjamin's debt. They chased, assaulted, and abducted Nicholas, then escaped in a van.
Hollywood and his gang then picked up Brian Affronti (another one of Hollywood's friends) and drove up to Santa Barbara, California. When Hollywood and his gang informed Nicholas of why they were holding him, he allegedly panicked at first, however, after they offered him drugs and alcohol he felt that he was a part of the group. Hollywood left Rugge in charge of watching Nicholas and went back to Los Angeles apparently to talk to Ben. While in Santa Barbara, Nicholas met Rugge's friends Graham Pressley, Natasha Adams-Young, and Kelly Carpenter. The group attended various house parties together; reports indicate that many witnesses â€" parents and teens alike â€" saw the group together but did not realize anything was wrong. Although up to 32 witnesses knew he had been kidnapped they did not notify the police, as Nicholas appeared to be safe and having fun.
After Hollywood told Rugge that Nicholas would be returning home, Rugge, Markowitz and several others held a going away party in the pool area of the Lemon Tree Inn. However, after learning of the legal ramifications he could face for kidnapping, Hollywood called Ryan Hoyt, another member of his gang who owed him $1200, to kill Nicholas, giving him a TEC-9 semi-automatic firearm. The decision was made to commit the murder in the Santa Ynez Mountains, close to West Camino Cielo Road, north of Goleta, California.
After the party, Hoyt, Rugge, and Pressley drove Nicholas to the mountains, and walked up a trail to a grave dug by Pressley earlier that night. Rugge bound Nicholas's hands behind his back and covered his mouth with duct tape. Hoyt then hit Nicholas in the back of the head with a shovel, knocking him into the grave, and shot him nine times with Hollywood's semi-automatic pistol. The members of the group then tried to hide the gun by placing it between the legs of Nicholas's body and covering the body with dirt and branches. However, the grave was too shallow and close to the popular Lizard's Mouth Trail. Nicholas's body was found on August 12, 2000. Ryan Hoyt, Jesse Rugge, William Skidmore, and Graham Pressley were all arrested after numerous leads to the sheriff's office following Nicholas's death. Jesse Hollywood went on the run but was eventually captured in a small town near Rio de Janeiro five years later.
Legal outcome
There have been several court cases involving criminal trials with the kidnappers and a civil lawsuit. The criminal trials include:
- Ryan Hoyt, aged 21 at the time of the murder, was charged with first-degree murder. His trial began in October 2001 and ended in November 2001. He was convicted on November 21, 2001. The "penalty" phase of his trial began November 2001 and he was sentenced to death on December 9, 2001. Currently on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California.
- Jesse Rugge, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was charged with aiding in the kidnap and execution of Nicholas Markowitz. He was convicted of aggravated kidnapping for ransom or extortion with special circumstances in 2002 and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 7 years. Parole was denied in 2006. As of July 2, 2013, Jesse Rugge has been granted parole. On October 24, 2013, Jesse Rugge was released from prison and is now on parole, after serving 11 years in prison.
- William Skidmore, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was charged with kidnapping and robbery. In September 2002, he was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison as part of a plea bargain. Skidmore was released in April 2009.
- Graham Pressley, aged 17 at the time of the murder, dug the shallow grave for Nicholas. He was tried twice. In July 2002 he was acquitted of kidnapping and the jury hung, eight to four in favor of not guilty, on the murder charge. In October 2002, he was retried and convicted of second-degree murder. Pressley was incarcerated at a California Youth Authority facility until shortly before his 25th birthday in 2007. He has since been released.
- Jesse James Hollywood, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was not present at the scene of the crime but was found guilty of having ordered it. He immediately went on the run, but was arrested in Saquarema, Brazil, after five years of being on the FBI's most wanted list. In 2009, he was convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
- In addition to the criminal cases, the Markowitz family won a $11.2 million civil lawsuit in 2003 against the kidnappers and killers, as well as secondary people including the family friend whose van was used in the kidnapping and the owners of several homes where Nicholas was held against his will.
In popular culture
The feature film Alpha Dog, based on the events leading up to the murder of Nicholas Markowitz and directed by Nick Cassavetes, was released in 2006. Markowitz is portrayed as "Zack Mazursky" in the film and played by Anton Yelchin.
References
Bibliography
External links
- Memorial to Nicholas Markowitz
- Report about the murder of Nicholas Markowitz at the Wayback Machine (archived December 17, 2007) from the Los Angeles Police Department
- Case profile at America's Most Wanted
- Jesse James Hollywood, drug dealer orders murder and flees the Crime Library
