New 'gruesome' details revealed about Liberty County man who killed his wife
Nicholas Kassotis was arrested in May 2023, charged with dismembering his wife, Mindi
www.wjcl.com
“This case, as the court knows, is incredibly gruesome in a way that I believe will create additional trauma,” said Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Laurie Baio.
Kassotis has been in custody since May 2023 for the murder of his wife, Mindi Kassotis, in the fall of 2022.
Prosecutors revealed that her body was found in four pieces, with tool marks present. Both the prosecution and defense agreed that crime scene photos should not leave the courtroom.
“It is my intention, your honor, not to be gruesome but rather to be strictly and solely forensically informative to the jury,” Baio said.
The court also debated whether testimony from one of Kassotis’ ex-wives should be allowed.
Prosecutors noted that just months before Mindi Kassotis’ death, the ex-wife had won a $1.5 million divorce judgment against Nicholas. They allege that Kassotis and his wife went on the run to avoid paying the judgment.
However, the defense argued that the couple was fleeing from someone else — an individual named Jim McIntyre, who allegedly controlled their finances.
“They were living, moving every few days, few weeks, few months, under control of this person we’ll keep calling Jim McIntyre,” said Doug Weinstein, Kassotis’ attorney. “While the state says that that’s a fabrication, it’s clearly not a fabrication that he makes up after the fact. Because he and Mindi told people about what was going on, why they were on the run, and everything else.”
Prosecutors dismissed the Jim McIntyre story as a “CIA, conspiracy theory type argument.”
They also requested the judge allow a Target receipt as evidence.
“There is a Target receipt that the defendant purchases on his way to meet with Samantha Colsmith, his third wife. Where he purchased condoms and Old Spice within days of his wife being deceased,” Baio said.
Weinstein countered, “I don’t know the relevance of Mr. Kassotis, other than color, the relevance of Mr. Kassotis buying condoms and Old Spice, but I’ll get to that at that point in time.”
Kassotis’ trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 4 and is expected to last two to three weeks. Prosecutors plan to call at least 35 witnesses"
