A Nebraska man murdered his ex-fiancée the day after posting $75,000 bail — just weeks after she filed a protective order following a brutal assault on her and her daughter.
Jamie Hagen thought the legal system would protect her. She had the protective order. She had reported the threats. But on the night of Feb. 8, 2025, Casey Kindt — free on $75,000 bail posted just the day before — broke through her front door and shot her dead inside her own home.
Her daughter, who was inside the house, was the one who called 911.
“He’ll never see the light of day or freedom ever again. Justice served. It is enough.”— Jamie Hagen’s stepmother, at sentencing
This week, a Nebraska judge handed Casey Kindt, 55, a sentence of at least 88 years and six months in prison — with the possibility of life behind bars. The ruling closed out three separate cases stemming from Kindt’s months-long campaign of abuse, threats, and ultimately murder against the 36-year-old mother of two.
A pattern of violence that was documented — and ignored at bail. The story of Jamie Hagen’s death is also a story about warning signs that were clearly on the record. In late December 2024, Kindt shoved Hagen into shelving, doors, and walls in front of one of her daughters. He told her, “I will f—ing end you.” He was arrested. Then he bonded out.
Days later, while out on bail, Kindt contacted Hagen through a third party — sending messages that read like thinly veiled threats, hinting that he could report her for alleged benefit fraud unless she made his charges “go away.” Police arrested him again. He posted $75,000 bond on Feb. 7, 2025.
⚠️ Timeline: Bond posted Feb. 7 — Jamie Hagen shot and killed Feb. 8.
Nebraska State Patrol troopers arrived at Hagen’s home on North 2nd Street in Seward just before midnight after a disturbance call. They found her in a bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kindt had also shot himself in the head in an apparent suicide attempt. Investigators said he survived only because the bullet fragmented on impact with his skull — though part of it lodged in his brain. He was found outside the home and taken into custody.
A plea deal, a mountain of charges, and a life sentence in all but name. In February 2026, Kindt pleaded no contest to eight felony counts and three misdemeanors. Under the terms of his deal, prosecutors reduced first-degree murder to second-degree murder. The judge found him guilty of murder, three firearm counts, two child abuse counts, burglary, witness tampering, terroristic threats, domestic violence, and violating a protective order.
At 55, with a minimum of 88 and a half years to serve, Kindt will almost certainly never leave prison.
Hagen worked as a Developmental Support Specialist and was remembered by those who knew her as deeply tied to the Seward community. Her obituary noted that she “considered the entire community of Seward to be her family” — and that the most important part of that family were her two daughters, who now must grow up without her.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (available 24/7).
