Suspect in double slayings at uni threatened to kill housemate over chores

24 February 2024 , 11:45

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Two university students in Colorado were allegedly killed after a row with their roommate over taking out the trash

A murder suspect allegedly killed his two roommates after making threats following a row about taking out the rubbish, a court document has revealed.

Colorado Springs students Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, were shot dead after an incident at the Crestone House accommodation on February 16. Their roommate Nicholas Trevor Jordan, 25, has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The new information comes after an affidavit was unsealed on Friday about the killings at the University of Colorado. There were allegedly several other arguments between the trio, the document claimed. It cited an interview with another roommate of Jordan and Knopp's who claimed the latter had placed garbage near Jordan's door in January, leading to a death threat.

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Samuel Knopp, 24, right, was killed in the fatal shooting (Amy Elswick Knopp/Facebook)

Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, was the second victim in the killings

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It continued: “Mr. Jordan threatened Mr. Knopp and told him that he would ‘kill him’ and there would be consequences if Mr. Jordan was asked to take out the trash again." The incident was just one of three complaints Knopp made to campus police and housing officials about his roommate.

Police were called to the dorm room at the University of Colorado on February 16 (KOAA)

The same roommate reported hearing gunfire on the day of the killings and locked himself in his room until police arrived, NBC news reports. He admitted he and Knopp had made complaints about Jordan's cleanliness in the dorm and alleged he smoked marijuana in his room and created “unsafe living conditions." Campus police and housing officials confirmed this.

It was also revealed the day before the shooting, Jordan had asked to be withdrawn from his classes and campus housing. Then, on February 16, security footage saw a man using Jordan's key card enter the complex at around 6am. Just 14 minutes later someone was seen running out of the same door. Detroit man Jordan was arrested in the Colorado Springs area on Monday and is being held on £4 million bond, according to the court.

Nicholas Jordan, 25, from Detroit, has been charged with murder (AP)

Music student Knopp was scheduled to perform at a recital on March 21. Previous videos of his performances show him onstage at the university’s Ent Center for the Arts’ Chapman Foundation Recital Hall playing a range of styles, including jazz and classic rock, on what appeared to be a hollow-body electric guitar. Montgomery was enrolled for a semester in 2020 at Pueblo Community College to study culinary arts, the institution said. Her connection to Knopp, if any, was unclear.

The case is set to be heard again on March 15 for a status hearing, with a preliminary hearing pencilled in for March 27, according to El Paso County District Court records.

Sean McPolin