Tuesday, February 02, 1999
Murderer's apology to no avail
Vanover gets maximum time for killing boyfriend
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Melissa Vanover didn't hesitate to say she was sorry Monday when she spoke to the judge who was about to sentence her to prison for murder.
The words came less easily, however, when the victim's daughter demanded a personal apology.
“I would like you to look at me and say it to my face,” said Nikki Nieman, whose father was shot to death in June.
“I did say I was sorry,” Miss Vanover responded.
Although the convicted killer eventually apologized, Miss Nieman said her hesitation showed why she deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison.
Judge Thomas Nurre of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court obliged a few moments later when he imposed the maximum sentence of 28 years to life in prison.
Miss Vanover, 27, was convicted of aggravated murder two weeks ago for crawling into bed with her 49-year-old boyfriend, Michael Nieman, and shooting him in the back. Less than an hour later, she and several friends opened Mr. Nieman's safe and ran off with $350,000 in cash and jewelry.
During her trial, prosecutors portrayed Miss Vanover as a desperate stripper who allowed Mr. Nieman to support her and her four children while she cheated on him with a younger man.
When she feared he might leave her, they said, she planned the murder and robbery.
Defense attorneys said Miss Vanover was abused by Mr. Nieman and killed him only because she feared he was going to shoot her.
At the trial, police officers testified that they suspected Mr. Nieman was involved in criminal activity. Defense attorneys have described him as a drug dealer, and authorities have seized $750,000 in assets, claiming they are the product of illegal activity.
Judge Nurre said nothing could excuse Miss Vanover's actions on the night of the murder.
“This was a man who everyone agreed was supporting you,” he told her. “In spite of all that, you took a gun and
you shot him at very close range in the back.”
He sentenced her to 23 years to life for the aggravated murder and five additional years for the theft that followed.
Miss Nieman, one of Mr. Nieman's three children, cried as she confronted her father's killer.
“I don't know how cold-hearted a person you could be,” she said. “How could you sit there at dinner all those times and tell my father you loved him? When you killed my father, you killed a big part of me.”
Miss Vanover would have been eligible for the death penalty, but the jury determined she did not kill Mr. Nieman so she could then rob him. An aggravated robbery conviction would have made the offense a death penalty case.
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