Brian Nichols
| Brian Nichols | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Brian Gene Nichols December 10, 1971 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Criminal charge | Murder, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, battery, theft, carjacking, rape and escape. |
| Criminal penalty | Life Imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Brian Gene Nichols (born December 10, 1971) is known for his escape and killing spree in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 11, 2005. Nichols was on trial for rape when he escaped from custody and murdered the judge presiding over his trial, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy and later a federal agent. Twenty-six hours after a large-scale manhunt was launched in the metropolitan Atlanta area, Nichols was taken into custody. The prosecution charged him with committing 54 crimes during the escape; and he was found guilty on all counts on November 7, 2008.
Nichols grew up in a middle class household in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Cardinal Gibbons School.
He later attended Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, from 1989 to 1990, where he played football and was known for having a "knack for trouble". Nichols dropped out of college and moved to Georgia in 1995, where he worked for Hewlett-Packard and later UPS.
Nichols was later arrested on multiple charges for the rape, kidnapping, and assault of a former girlfriend after discovering that she was dating a minister from the church that they both attended. The first attempt at a trial ended with a mistrial and a hung jury. While awaiting a second trial, friends and family members of Nichols expressed concern that he would attempt to escape and that Nichols had tried to formulate an escape plan with a friend.
On March 11, 2005 Nichols overpowered a sheriff's deputy while changing clothes, stealing her gun, and beating her into a coma. Reports stated that Nichols had previously attempted to sneak "shanks" into the courtroom via his shoes. Nichols then changed into civilian clothes originally intended for use during the trial and entered the courthouse, where he entered the chambers of Judge Rowland Barnes.
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