Trial In Teens' Double-Slaying Will Go Forward: Report

NAPA VALLEY, CA — The suspects charged in the 2024 killings of two teens in a residential Napa neighborhood will face trial after a judge ruled Friday there is probable cause to proceed on first-degree murder charges.

Following a five-day preliminary hearing, Napa County Superior Court Judge Francisca Tisher held Vallejo resident Jonathan Nicholson Jr., 24, and Santa Rosa resident Jessica Whitten, 21, to answer on two counts each of first-degree murder in the deaths of Aileen Villasenor, 19, of Rohnert Park, and Sasha Mufich, 17, of Napa. Whitten also faces one count of being an accessory, according to reports.

Prosecutors allege the pair went to Riverside Drive on April 13, 2024, because one of the suspects intended to confront one of the victims. Investigators say Nicholson masked himself, chased the teens and shot them to death, while Whitten drove the getaway car from the neighborhood near the Napa River.

Tisher ruled prosecutors met the threshold for premeditation, pointing in part to a 10- to 20-minute gap between an earlier fight and the shootings — a span the court found could support allegations the killings were planned, the Press Democrat reported.

Prosecutors also argued Whitten aided and abetted the killings, linking her to threatening Instagram voice messages allegedly sent to Villasenor hours before the shooting, including warnings that prosecutors say foreshadowed violence, according to the Press Democrat.

Defense attorney Lance Hafenstein challenged that evidence, arguing the audio clips were pulled from a broader heated exchange and taken out of context, the Press Democrat reported.

The ruling pushes the case toward jury trial, where prosecutors will seek to prove the killings were deliberate and coordinated, the Press Democrat reported, while defense attorneys are expected to challenge both the planning allegation and Whitten’s role in the shootings.

The Napa Valley Register reported that a third co-defendant may testify against the couple at a trial that could send Nicholson and Whitten to prison for life.

An arraignment is scheduled for June 24, when a trial date is expected to be set.