Nicholas Michael Velazquez, 38, was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the chest on the hallway floor of a cousin’s home in Douglas, Wyoming, after an evening of drinking on the night of September 13, 2023. A decorated Green Beret and Douglas High School wrestling state champion, Velazquez had returned to his hometown by fall 2023 and was visiting his cousin, 43-year-old Mark Coleman Helms, at a Charles Street residence when the shooting occurred.

Helms told investigators his memory had blacked out, later admitted firing the gun, and said he didn’t know who he was shooting at; his wife said he came into the bedroom in a panic mentioning that he had killed someone and then grabbed a rifle. The Converse County Sheriff’s Office treated the death as a homicide and Helms was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. In November 2023 he pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental illness and was ordered to undergo an in-patient evaluation.

Velazquez’s family, friends, and fellow soldiers are left with many unanswered questions about what happened that night. If anyone knew Nicholas, attended Douglas High, served with him, or has information about the events at 8 Charles Street on September 13, 2023, please share what is known.