Remember Teddy Joseph Von Nukem, one of the most prominent faces from the 2017 neo-Nazi, White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville?
On March 17, 2021, Customs and Border Protection agents discovered 15 kilograms of fentanyl pills hidden behind the seats and floor compartment of his 2019 Nissan Pathfinder and took the Nazi into custody. He was paid a whopping 4,000 Mexican pesos (around $215) to smuggle the pills into the country.
But on January 30, the day his trial should have started, Nazi Von Nukem never showed up for trial in Arizona; U.S. District Judge Rosemary Marquez immediately issued a warrant for his arrest. Instead of attending his hearing, Von Nukem killed himself behind a shed on his property in Missouri. His wife found his body “still warm—lying in the snow behind the shed. He still had “a faint pulse” when a sheriff’s deputy and paramedic arrived, according to the coroner’s report. Marie Lasater, the coroner in Texas County, Missouri, checked with the Department of Justice to confirm his identity.”
“Suicide notes were found at the scene, left for law enforcement and his children, however handwriting was somewhat inconsistent,” the coroner’s report states.
Last week, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the case and Judge Marquez closed it the next day.
Von Nukem was originally named Teddy Landrum. He changed his name in 2012 to honor his German heritage and the video-game character Duke Nukem.
According to an obituary, Von Nukem left behind a wife and five children aged under nine. “Some people knew Ted and understood he was a different type of fellow and had different views of things,” it noted.
