Background: The Butte County Superior Court in Chico, Calif. (Google Maps). Inset: Jessica Rose Nichols (Butte County District Attorney).
A California woman pleaded no contest to shooting her husband dead in his sleep in 2020 — now she will spend the next few decades behind bars.
Jessica Rose Nichols, aged 27, recently pleaded no contest to charges of first-degree murder and using a firearm during a crime. The Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release that on Tuesday, Nichols was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for the murder of her husband, 22-year-old Mateo Lange, while he was asleep on the morning of November 6, 2020.
The District Attorney’s Office reports that Nichols initially told police that Lange had “charged at her” during a confrontation. However, audio evidence from the night contradicted her account entirely.
Close to five years ago, authorities were called to the shared apartment of Nichols and Lange after a neighbor dialed 911, having heard two gunshots. The neighbor saw Nichols exiting the apartment with a stroller carrying their 22-month-old child. Nichols handed the neighbor the child, along with a note containing the contact details of the child’s paternal grandmother, before returning inside.
After hearing a third gunshot, the neighbor called 911.
When officers arrived, Nichols was found on the porch. She claimed self-defense, saying Lange had threatened her. However, forensic experts from the California Department of Justice determined that Lange had been shot while lying on the floor, disproving Nichols’ statement about him charging at her.
Further investigations exposed Nichols as the more aggressive party in the relationship, evident from her text messages and selfie videos. According to the District Attorney, these messages showed Nichols admitting to throwing objects at Lange, damaging his belongings, and even attempting to harm him by putting household cleaner on his pillow.
Regarding the argument Nichols mentioned before the shooting, surveillance audio from the front of their apartment revealed there was no dispute before the gunshots. The recordings did capture a disagreement the night prior, during which Lange expressed plans to leave Nichols and end their marriage the following day.
Lange was shot twice in the head and once in the chest at close range.
Nichols pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree murder, for which she was sentenced to 25 years to life. She was handed another 10 years for using a firearm while committing a crime.
