In Liberty County, Georgia, the trial of Nicholas Kassotis, a former Navy JAG officer, has reached its final stages as of August 13, 2025, with closing arguments delivered in the case of his wife Mindi Mebane Kassotis’s 2022 murder and dismemberment.
The 40-year-old’s remains, found scattered across a three-mile radius near the Portal Hunting Club in Riceboro on December 2, 2022, bore signs of a savage attack, with nine head lacerations, a cracked skull, and defensive wounds on her arms.
Kassotis, 43, faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, and dismemberment, with prosecutors alleging he killed Mindi over Thanksgiving weekend and dumped her body parts.
The jury, seated on August 4, 2025, heard Kassotis testify that Mindi died in a “non-traditional hospital” under the influence of a mysterious “Jim McIntyre,” a claim prosecutors dismissed as a “CIA conspiracy theory.”
The trial, which began August 4, 2025, and is expected to last two to three weeks, has revealed chilling details through forensic evidence and witness testimony.
Prosecutor Laurie Baio argued Kassotis, motivated by an affair with Samantha Kolesnik (now his third wife) and a $1.5 million divorce judgment to his first wife, stabbed Mindi after learning she wasn’t pregnant.
Evidence includes a Target receipt for a knife, shovel, and deer processing kit purchased by Kassotis, though toolmark analysis confirmed the knife found near Mindi’s torso wasn’t used for dismemberment. Kassotis’s defense, led by Doug Weinstein, insists he and Mindi were on the run from McIntyre, an alleged FBI figure who controlled their lives, and that Kassotis feared for their safety.
On cross-examination, Kassotis admitted to buying the tools but claimed they were for unrelated purposes, like a gift for Mindi’s brother. No verdict has been reported as of August 14, 2025.
Pre-trial hearings in July 2025 set the stage for the high-stakes case, with both sides agreeing to keep gruesome crime scene photos from leaving the courtroom due to their traumatic nature.
Prosecutors highlighted Kassotis’s inconsistent stories, telling Mindi’s parents she died of a stroke on December 1, 2022, while claiming to others it was sepsis earlier. Witnesses, including Mindi’s parents, Frank and Betsy Mebane, testified about Kassotis’s lack of transparency, noting he never held a funeral or provided details about her death.
A July 25, 2025, hearing debated the admissibility of testimony from Kassotis’s first wife, who won the divorce judgment, and a Target receipt showing Kassotis bought condoms and Old Spice days after Mindi’s death.
The defense’s “Jim McIntyre” narrative, unsupported by evidence, has drawn skepticism, with public sentiment on X leaning heavily toward Kassotis’s guilt. The case continues to captivate, raising questions about domestic violence and deception.
Author
Latest entries
Donna Adelson Trial2025-09-05Donna Adelson Found Guilty on All Counts in Dan Markel Murder Case
True Crime2025-09-03Epstein Files: Survivors Break Silence on Capitol Hill
US2025-09-03Cardi B Assault Trial Verdict — She’s Not The Drama
US2025-08-30Jim Crow Era — Louisiana’s Split Juries Problem and the Limits of Retroactivity
