Left to right: Alexander Nicholas and Chase Cook (Tarrant County Detention Center).
Two men in Texas are behind bars after a third man was found buried in a shallow grave around Christmas, according to law enforcement in the Lone Star State.
Chase Cook, 23, and Alexander James Nicholas, 23, stand accused of murder, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
The two men were arrested several months apart in connection with the late December 2025 stabbing death of 24-year-old John Richardson.
Police believe the underlying incident occurred during the early morning hours the day before the victim was reported missing. The missing person investigation was short-lived, however, and police quickly moved to a homicide posture while investigating the case.
On Dec. 22, detectives found Richardson”s body in a wooded area of Fort Worth located in Denton County. Most of the large, sprawling city covers Tarrant County but extends into five counties total.
The victim left a party with Nicholas on Nov. 30, 2025, the last night he was seen alive, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by CBS News. Nicholas, for his part, allegedly told detectives he left the victim at a specific location while Richardson was still alive.
Law enforcement arrested Nicholas on Christmas Day.
On Tuesday, police arrested and booked Cook, according to Tarrant County Corrections Center records.
As it turned out, Richardson was supposed to be dropped off at his girlfriend’s house but never arrived, according to arrest affidavits obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nicholas would allegedly go on to say he and Richardson got into an argument during the drive, which led to the victim being somewhere between Alliance Boulevard and a Buc-ee’s truck stop in the far northern reaches of Fort Worth.
A witness cited by law enforcement recalled Nicholas showing people a silver and black handgun prior to the pair leaving the party, police said. Then, days after the party, Nicholas allegedly told the same witness: “John wouldn’t be coming around anymore.”
That friend questioned what the defendant meant, according to a copy of the affidavit obtained by Dallas-based Fox affiliate KDFW.
“[Nicholas] made his fingers into the shape of a gun, and said ‘you know what I mean,'” the affidavit reads. “When [the friend] asked him if he killed [Richardson], [Nicholas] shook his head yes and told [the friend] if he wanted to know what happened that they could go into the woods and turn their phones off.”
A second witness said Nicholas was angry with Richardson over a car accident, with the defendant blaming the victim, police claim.
As the first defendant’s story continued, he met with Cook after dropping Richardson off, police said. Cook later told police he was drunk at the time and could not remember if anyone else was in the car with Nicholas when the pair met up that night.
During an interview, Cook allegedly “teared up and wouldn’t answer” when pressed about his knowledge of Richardson’s final whereabouts, police said. Still, the second defendant never admitted to knowing where the victim’s body was dumped, authorities said.
But Cook’s girlfriend was allegedly a different story.
The girlfriend would eventually tell detectives Cook received a text message from Nicholas late on the night of the party and that he left the house saying he had to “go help Alex,” according to the affidavit. Then, when he returned the next day, Cook allegedly only revealed that he and Nicholas had gone to the woods, police said.
Days after the murder, Cook was drinking, his girlfriend said. This bout of imbibing led him to tell her he and Nicholas dug a six-foot hole in the woods on the night in question, according to law enforcement.
Detectives firmed up the allegations against the two defendants by obtaining cellphone location data that showed Richardson, Nicholas, and Cook all at or near a house in the same wooded area where the victim’s body was found, police allege.
The victim is believed to have been killed by a combination of stabbing wounds to his body and blunt force trauma to his head, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Nicholas is currently detained in the Tarrant County jail on $300,000 bond. Cook is being detained on $250,000 bond.
