LAS VEGAS—A Clark County District Court jury found former adult film star Nikki Fairchild, 47, guilty of first-degree murder. The verdict was issued Friday, and now she faces up to life in prison for bludgeoning to death and then decapitating her ex-boyfriend, Johnathan Willette, inside their Henderson, Nevada, home in August 2023.
Sentencing is set for a later date. The jury of 12 members and two alternates deliberated for two hours, reaching a guilty verdict, local CBS affiliate KLAS 8 reports.
Henderson Police Department arrested Fairchild on August 15, 2023. Police allege she killed and decapitated her late husband, Johnathon Willette, 46, in their home in Henderson on August 7 of that year. She initially pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in 2024.
As a part of that deal, she would have been eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. Fairchild, according to reports, attempted to revoke her plea deal and argued that she was innocent of the charges. This led to the current jury trial. However, the prosecution was able to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
She tried to shift the blame for Willette's death onto his son, Deviere Willette. Motivation for the murder, prosecutors argued, was to eliminate Johnathon so that she could live what she said would be a stable life with her children, including the stepson with whom she engaged in a romantic relationship.
Deviere and Fairchild married in 2021, despite her having children with Deviere's father and being his stepmother, as noted.
Robert Draskovich, the attorney who defended Fairchild, told the jury on day one of the trial that Deviere was the killer. While never named as a suspect, the officers investigating the case interviewed Deviere several times. Draskovich said to the jury at the time, "Look at the motivations, and find her not guilty."
Fairchild was active in porn from about 2000 to 2012. She has starred in scenes for brands and studios including Elegant Angel, Reality Kings, Adam & Eve and Wicked Pictures.
