Nikko Allen Jenkins was born on September 16, 1986, in Colorado. His father, David A. Magee, was a black man, and his mother, Lori Jenkins, was a white woman. Jenkin's early life was marked by trouble. When he was just seven years old, he brought a loaded handgun to school.

As a teenager, Jenkins faced legal issues. In November 2003, at the age of 17, he was convicted of armed robbery. This was not his first encounter with the law. Earlier, he had been involved in various criminal activities.

In 2009, while Jenkins was in prison, his father passed away. That same year, Jenkins and his sister Erica were temporarily allowed to leave prison to attend their grandmother's funeral. During this outing, a corrections officer uncuffed one of Jenkins's hands to allow him to use the restroom. However, Jenkins and Erica attacked the guard but were promptly restrained.

Jenkins was released from prison on July 30, 2013, after serving a significant portion of his sentence. 

At about 5:01 a.m. on August 11, 2013, police found two bodies in a white Ford pickup truck. The truck was parked near a swimming pool in Spring Lake Park. The victims were identified as Juan Uribe-Pena and Jorge C. Cajiga-Ruiz. They had each been shot in the head with a shotgun, and their pockets were turned inside out. Investigators later learned that the victims had been lured to meet two women for a sexual encounter. This double murder marked the beginning of the killing spree, which occurred less than two weeks after Nikko Jenkins was released from prison.

On August 19, around 7 a.m., the body of Curtis Bradford was found outside a detached garage at 18th and Clark Street. He had one gunshot wound to the back of his head and another wound from a shotgun slug. Curtis Bradford was the only victim known to Jenkins. The two had met in prison shortly before Bradford was killed. It is believed that Jenkins and his sister, Erica, tricked him into coming out by claiming they wanted to rob him.

Jenkins' fourth victim was Andrea Kruger. Her body was discovered on August 21 at about 2:15 a.m. A deputy sheriff found her lying in the road near 168th and Fort Street. She had four gunshot wounds, two to her face, one to her neck, and one to her shoulder and back. Andrea Kruger was returning home after working a bartending shift. Surveillance footage showed her locking up a lounge shortly before her murder. Later, her SUV was found abandoned in an alley, and it appeared that someone had tried to set it on fire.

On August 29, 2013, Jenkins was arrested on a separate charge of making terroristic threats. By that time, investigators had gathered enough evidence against him. They had footage of a woman buying specific ammunition used in the murders at a gun shop. During an eight-hour interview on September 3, Jenkins confessed to all four murders. He claimed he committed the killings as sacrifices to a deity called Apophis.

Jenkins was charged with four counts of murder. On November 3, 2013, he expressed his desire to plead guilty in letters to the media and legal authorities. He later filed a lawsuit against the State of Nebraska, claiming he was wrongfully released from prison and that his mental health issues were ignored.

A psychiatric evaluation found that Jenkins had an antisocial personality disorder and was faking mental illness symptoms. Despite this, he was allowed to represent himself during the trial with advisory attorneys. Jenkins exhibited strange behavior in court, including speaking in tongues and laughing at inappropriate times while details of the murders were recounted.

On April 16, 2014, Jenkins was found guilty of all four murders. He was scheduled to be sentenced, but the date was postponed as the court determined if he understood the proceedings. In May 2017, he was sentenced to death, along with a lengthy prison term for weapon charges related to the murders.

Throughout the legal process, Jenkins engaged in self-mutilation and had to receive medical treatment. On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, upholding his conviction and sentence.

During the investigation, several of Jenkins' family members were arrested for their involvement in the crimes. His sister, Erica Jenkins, was sentenced to life in prison for her role in one of the murders. Other relatives received various sentences for related charges.