Female crime scene investigator targeted for execution

who wanted Nicki Lenway dead? This was the question asked by the police on the evening of April 20, 2022. Around 7:30 p.m., Lenway had pulled into the parking lot of the FamilyWise parenting center to pick up her 5-year-old son, Callahan. While he was in the middle of his car, he was ambushed from behind and shot multiple times at close range.

Lenway miraculously survived, telling “48 Hours” reporter Erin Moriarty: “I fell to the ground. … And the shooter is standing over me and keeps shooting.” Mystery of who tried to kill Lenway solved “Who Wanted Nicki Lenway Dead?” A 30-minute replay will air at a special time on Saturday, November 22 (10:30/9:30c) following the NWSL Championship on CBS and on Paramount+.

The attacker, who shot at Lenway and then shot him in the arm and neck, ran away. Bleeding and having trouble breathing, Lenway called 911, but when the operator answered, Nicki realized she couldn’t speak.

Nicki Lenway was no stranger to violence. The 33-year-old was working crime scenes for Minneapolis Police. But he never thought he’d find himself on the other side of an investigation. “I knew it could happen… but I didn’t want to believe it would happen,” he tells Moriarty.

Across the street from where Lenway was shot, Emilie Clancy He was in his car at a red light and witnessed everything. “One person ran towards another person. … I heard two explosions and the other person collapsed to the ground,” he said. When the light turned green, Clancy pulled up next to Lenway. Clancy took over the 911 call and put Lenway in the front seat of his car. He took off his jacket and put it around Lenway’s neck to help stop the bleeding.

While the two women waited for help to arrive, they shared a powerful moment that Clancy will never forget. “I just looked into her eyes… And I said, ‘Nikki, we got this. We got this. Just stay with me…’ I just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone in this… And if that was the only thing I could give this poor girl, that would mean something to me.” Within minutes, first responders arrived and Lenway was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

The police launched an investigation by searching for clues in the area to determine who carried out the suspicious attack. They learned that Lenway had gone to FamilyWise to pick up her son, who had a scheduled visit with his father and ex-boyfriend Tim Amacher. Officers spoke with Amacher in the lobby of FamilyWise and learned he was in the building with his son at the time of the shooting.

The first major breakthrough in the case came when officers discovered something had happened there. security footage From FamilyWise and two surrounding buildings. In the first footage, Nicki is seen coming to pick up her son and someone dressed in all black with a mask on his face is seen running down her from behind. Another camera from a bank across the street recorded the dramatic moment the shots were fired. The attacker was then seen fleeing on foot and driving away in a black Dodge Ram truck. However, the truck had no license plate and police did not know who was behind the wheel.

The next day, police were able to question Lenway at the hospital. They asked him if he had any ideas about who might want to kill him. Without hesitation, he told them he was convinced Amacher was involved. Amacher was a much-loved local taekwondo instructor. It didn’t make sense for the police that Amacher was the attacker. They knew Amacher was inside Family Wise at the time of the shooting and could not have pulled the trigger.

Still, Lenway told police she and Amacher had a long, rocky history that included allegations of abuse — “One night he grabbed me by the neck and threw me against a wall” and a bitter custody battle for their son that eventually went to trial in the fall of 2020. When it was over, the judge awarded Lenway sole legal and physical custody. Tim was allowed only one supervised visit per week. For the police this was a clear reason.

So what about Amacher’s excuse? Can police connect him to the shooting? One of the detectives at the scene asked Amacher what cars he owned. Amacher told him he owned the Jeep he was driving and a Dodge Challenger sedan. But the detective didn’t just take his word for it and made a shocking discovery when he contacted Driver and Vehicle Services. Tim Amacher also had another vehicle: a black Dodge Ram truck, the same truck the shooter was seen running away from.

If it was Amacher’s truck, who was driving it? Police turned to the FBI for assistance, and technologist agent Richard Fennern was assigned to the case. Amacher’s truck was a newer model, and Fennern learned it had Wi-Fi, which created a digital trail just like a cell phone. “We can track it like a cell phone,” Fennern said.

Using data from Tim’s truck and cell phone records from the day before the shooting, Fennern concluded that the black Dodge Ram truck in which the shooter was riding was in fact the same truck that Tim Amacher had previously driven. It was a huge break. But the police still had the same question in mind: Who was the masked person who shot Nicki and then took her away from the scene?

Police were going to question Amacher, and he said Colleen Larson was the only person who had access to his truck. Larson was younger than Amacher; She had been his taekwondo student since he was a teenager. When she was 18, she moved in with the taekwondo master and their relationship turned romantic over time. Neighbor Charlie Dettloff told Moriarty: “She called him Master… and he ended up being kind of like a maid or maid to him.”

Police questioned Larson twice. He denied involvement the first time, but in the second recorded conversation he broke down and admitted: “I got in the truck and drove over there… and then I shot him.” Larson admitted to pulling the trigger, but said the whole thing was Amacher’s idea.

RESEARCHER: Well, he asked, “Would you have shot Nicole for me if you felt comfortable?”?

COLLEEN LARSON: Yes.

RESEARCHER: Yes.

Larson told police that she got rid of the black clothes she wore to hide her identity after the shooting, but Amacher disposed of the gun.

COLLEEN LARSON: He just said he’d take care of it.

RESEARCHER: He just said he would take care of it. …And you have no idea what he’s doing with the gun?

COLLEEN LARSON: Not exactly, no.

Despite what Larson told police, Amacher denied any involvement before or after the attack. Tim Amacher was tried on November 3, 2022. He was convicted of attempted premeditated murder and aiding his accomplice, Colleen Larson, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. A few days later, Larson pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide. He was sentenced to 16 and a half years in prison.

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