Bio

John L. Lotter was born on May 31, 1971. By 1993, he was living in the Falls City and Humboldt area of Nebraska and was associated with Marvin Thomas “Tom” Nissen. Lotter and Nissen became connected to Brandon Teena after Brandon moved to the Falls City area in 1993. Brandon had been living as a man and became part of a local social circle that included Lisa Lambert, Lana Tisdel, Nissen, and Lotter. After Brandon was arrested on an unrelated check-forgery matter, local people learned that he was transgender.

On Christmas Eve 1993, Lotter and Nissen forced Brandon to expose his body at a gathering. Later that night, they assaulted and raped him. Brandon reported the assault to police, but Lotter and Nissen were not immediately arrested. They later learned that Brandon had gone to authorities. This became the main event leading to the murders.

Murder Story

The murders happened in the early morning hours of December 31, 1993, in Humboldt, Richardson County, Nebraska. A few days earlier, Brandon Teena had reported that John Lotter and Tom Nissen had assaulted and raped him. Lotter and Nissen were aware that Brandon had spoken to police.

Around 1:00 a.m., Lotter and Nissen went to the home of Lisa Marie Lambert, where Brandon was staying. They forced their way into the house and demanded to know where Brandon was. Lambert refused to tell them, but Nissen searched the home and found Brandon hiding under a bed.

Also inside the home was Phillip DeVine, who was staying there at the time. Lotter and Nissen asked whether anyone else was in the house, and Lambert told them DeVine was there. Brandon Teena, Lisa Lambert, and Phillip DeVine were then shot and killed. Lambert’s toddler was inside the home but survived. Nissen later testified that after Brandon was shot, he noticed Brandon was still moving and stabbed him to make sure he was dead.

Lotter and Nissen were arrested the same day and charged with murder. Nissen later made a deal with prosecutors and testified against Lotter. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Lotter went to trial separately.

In May 1995, Lotter was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of use of a weapon to commit a felony, and one count of burglary. In February 1996, he was sentenced to death for each murder conviction. Nebraska appellate records confirm that his convictions and capital sentences were affirmed on direct appeal.

Years later, Nissen recanted part of his trial testimony and claimed that he, not Lotter, had fired the fatal shots. Lotter used that recantation to argue that his death sentence should be overturned. In 2009, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected that argument, ruling that even under Nissen’s changed version, both men were still involved in the murders and Lotter’s convictions stood.

Lotter continued filing appeals and post-conviction challenges. Federal courts rejected his habeas claims, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined review in 2012. Later Nebraska proceedings also left his death sentence in place.