A Colorado Springs student who shot his roommate and wife in a campus dorm had previously threatened to kill him for not taking out the trash – weeks before the heinous crime.
Nicholas Jordan, 25, was charged with first-degree murder, felony menacing and committing a crime of violence in the Feb. 16 slayings of his roommates, Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26.
Knoff, a talented musician who lived in the Crestone House campus dorm at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, had been arguing heatedly about the cleanliness of his dorm room.
A month before the fatal shooting, Jordan Knoff threatened that he would “kill” him if he was asked to take out the trash again, according to court documents released Friday.
A report was filed with campus police and housing officials about several conflicts between the couple, including the recent threat. However, according to court documents, there was no indication that university officials made any attempt to remove the suspect from the room.
Public defenders William Patrick and Nick Rogers represent 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan on Friday, February 23, 2024, in the El Paso County 4th Judicial District Court in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Nicholas Jordan, 25, appears for a hearing Friday in El Paso County 4th Judicial District Court in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Jordan was arrested on Monday, February 19, in connection with the deaths of his roommates Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Sam Knopp, a senior music student, had complained about his new, random roommate, Nicholas Jordan, and wanted to move out the day he died
Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, was the victim of the double murder
Chris Valentine, a spokesman for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, said that because of the ongoing investigation and federal student privacy laws, the university “cannot provide additional information about the individuals involved in this incident.”
The new details about the shooting and threat were contained in an affidavit unsealed by a judge after charges were filed against Jordan during a court hearing Friday in El Paso County 4th Court
Jordan's lawyer, Nick Rogers, objected to the release of the document, in part because he said his client – a young accounting student – would continue to be “prosecuted in the media.”
Rogers did not address the allegations against Jordan during the hearing and unsuccessfully attempted to have his client released from jail without paying bail.
In addition to the littering incident, a third roommate who lived with Knopp and the suspect told investigators that he and Knopp had both made several complaints about Jordan's “cleanliness in the living area” and his marijuana and cigarette smoking, the document said.
Jordan submitted a request to withdraw from the university about 14 hours before the fatal shooting. According to court documents, his dorm room was empty when police arrived.
An electronic access number assigned to Jordan was used twice to enter the residence hall building on Feb. 16, once just before 4 a.m. and a second time at 5:42 a.m. A few minutes before 6 a.m., a surveillance camera captured someone running from the dorm building, the affidavit said.
The arrest warrant for Jordan was issued on the first day of the investigation, but he was not publicly identified as a suspect until his arrest Monday in a residential area of Colorado Springs, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from campus.
The Crestone House dorm where the shooting occurred on February 16th
In addition to a gun that prosecutors said was found in Jordan's car, authorities recently learned he also had a fully loaded AK-47, Robert Willett of the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office told Judge David Shakes.
Jordan had a temporary job and appeared to have all of his belongings in his car when he was arrested, Willett said, arguing that Jordan was a flight risk.
According to police, the other roommate reported the shooting early on Feb. 16, leading to the discovery of the bodies of Knopp and Montgomery at Crestone House, a residence hall in a complex that provides apartment-style housing for students.
Knopp was a senior and a popular member of the Fine and Performing Arts Department. “He was an accomplished guitarist and an extremely talented musician,” university Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said in a statement Sunday. Montgomery was not a student at the university.