Ohio Man Found Guilty of Murder and Obstruction of Justice Following Jury Trial

He will be sentenced Oct 26th

Jefferson County, IN — 36 yo Nigel Thomas AKA l “Nati Bang”  of Oxford, Ohio, was convicted of Murder and Obstruction of Justice on September 22, 2026 following a weeklong jury trial in the Jefferson Circuit Court.

The case was tried by Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney David Sutter and Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mary Jean Stotts.

Thomas was charged with Murder, for the April 12, 2025, killing of Hanover, Indiana woman 35 yo Wilma Robertson. Thomas was also charged with Obstruction of Justice, Level 6 felony for creating fake social media profiles under the name Shawn Bailey, that he used to frame him for the murder.

The investigation into Robertson's death began on April 14th after Robertson’s coworkers were concerned when she did not show up to work. Coworkers and neighbors went to Robertson’s residence and observed Robertson lying on the floor of the residence through a window. Town of Hanover Police Officer Kyle Pence responded to the residence and found Robertson deceased. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Yancy Denning and Indiana State Police Crime Scene Investigators responded and processed the crime scene. 

An autopsy of Wilma Robertson was performed at the direction of law enforcement and Jefferson County Coroner Josh Webb. Coroner Webb testified at trial that Robertson had sustained a 6 ½ inch deep stab wound to the back and her death was ruled a homicide.

The investigation initially focused on an individual, Shawn Bailey, who investigators learned had been in relationship with Robertson. An individual reported to law enforcement that they had received a video sent by an account under the name Shawn Bailey. The message included a video depicting Robertson's deceased body, with the Chris Brown Song “Stutter” playing in the background. The video was sent along with a message further implicating Shawn Bailey.

Based on the information known to law enforcement at that time, a probable cause affidavit was submitted to the Court which then issued a warrant for Shawn Bailey's arrest. Bailey was taken into custody in Louisville, Kentucky.

Following Bailey's arrest, Robertson’s cousin received messages from “Shawn Bailey” accounts, prompting investigators to continue examining the digital evidence. The Indiana State Police Technical Services Unit (TSU) assisted extensively with cellular and social media analysis. ISP Detective

Wade Heiny testified at trial that based on the records received the Shawn Bailey’s actual device had not been in the vicinity of the homicide, and 
digital evidence showed the Facebook account under investigation had been accessed from Oxford, Ohio while Bailey was incarcerated in Louisville. 

Law enforcement identified Nigel Thomas as being connected to the social-media activity. Thomas, an aspiring rapper, who goes by the stage-name “Nati Bang”, had written multiple songs about Wilma Robertson.

ISP Digital Forensic Examiner, Chris Howell testified at trial regarding the phone extraction data of Thomas and Robertson's devices. Exhibits were entered into evidence that showed Thomas had sent hundreds of messages to Robertson that went unanswered, and that Robertson had blocked multiple accounts associated with Thomas over a period of several weeks. 

Lab Analyst, Jade Prince, testified during trial, that the DNA testing completed by the Indiana State Laboratory of the knife recovered from Robertson's residence, excluded Bailey as a contributor to the DNA found on the knife. She initially found an unknown male’s DNA on the knife and ran it through CODIS. A CODIS match to the DNA found on the knife came back to Nigel Thomas. 

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Indiana State Police, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Nigel Thomas was located in Oxford, Ohio and arrested on April 25th, 2025. Indiana State Police Detective Joe May and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Yancy Denning conducted two separate interviews with Nigel Thomas. 

Thomas originally denied any involvement and repeatedly suggested that Shawn Bailey and Wilma Robertson’s ex -husband were involved. Thomas told detectives multiple different versions of how the stabbing occurred. Throughout his interviews, Thomas indicated that Wilma wanted him to kill her and that he could speak to her telepathically.

Indiana State Police obtained a search warrant for a DNA sample from Nigel Thomas, which was then submitted to the Indiana State Laboratory upon collection for DNA comparison. Nigel Thomas’ DNA was included as a contributor to the DNA found on the knife, revealing the results showed it was 920 Octodecillion times more likely that the DNA found on the knife handle originated from Nigel Thomas than from another unrelated 
individual.

Thomas took the stand in his own defense and testified that he acted in self-defense and also characterized the stabbing as an accident. He further indicated that he recorded a song after her death entitled “Evil Soulmate”. The jury returned guilty verdicts for both Murder and Obstruction after deliberating for approximately 1 ½ hours