Mystery at Eagle Creek

Summary

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48 Hours: Mystery at Eagle Creek

Host: CBS News
Date: March 12, 2026

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Overview

This episode of "48 Hours" dives into the enigmatic case of Rhonda Casto’s death on Oregon’s Eagle Creek Trail in 2009, examining whether it was a tragic accident, suicide, or murder at the hands of her fiancé, Stephen Nichols. Through gripping interviews, recorded confessions, and insights from those closest to Rhonda—and Nichols himself—the episode explores the tangled web of love, suspicion, family conflict, and justice, asking whether the troubling verdict and plea deal truly served justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Relationship: Love, Tension, and Red Flags

• Stephen Nichols and Rhonda Casto’s relationship began in 2005 when Rhonda (then 20) and her mother Julia both rented from Nichols.
• Nichols describes falling "immediately in love" and praises Rhonda’s intelligence, not just her looks.

  “People always are surprised...No, you can't be super beautiful like her and be intelligent at the same time. I'm like, actually, she was wicked smart.” (Stephen Nichols, 01:49)

• Family and friends, notably Rhonda’s mother Julia Simmons and friend Jessica Colburn, allege the relationship became abusive and controlling.
• Rhonda confided in close friends about fear for her safety, including chilling warnings:

  “She said, he's either gonna propose to me or kill me.” (Jessica Colburn, 03:07)
  “She said he’s either going to give me a ring or he’s going to throw me off a cliff.” (Julia Simmons, 12:31)

• Irreconcilable differences began to build:
  • Rhonda wanted to leave, citing fights and alleged abuse.
  • Nichols maintains there was no problem, calling their time together the “closest we ever were.”

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2. The Fatal Day: Eagle Creek Trail Incident

• On March 16, 2009, Nichols and Rhonda go hiking, reportedly as part of a fitness plan.
• Nichols’ account: Rhonda put a towel around her like a cape (“Supergirl”), ran down the slick, rain-soaked trail, and “went off the trail” (03:37).
• Nichols claims Rhonda asked him, “If anything ever happens to me, do you promise to watch our daughter?” multiple times (02:27, 16:23).
• Nichols’ explanations shift: Early on, he refuses comment on how Rhonda fell. Later, he floats suicide or accident, then later—hypothetically—euthanasia (“putting someone out of their misery”) (43:05).

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3. The Investigation: Evidence, Motive, and Suspects

• Initial reaction: Authorities did not immediately treat Rhonda’s death as homicide; that changed the following morning (29:49).
• Autopsy: Rhonda’s injuries (pelvis and legs) indicated a feet-first fall, supporting either a leap or accidental slip (29:59–30:21).
• Toxicology: Only marijuana and prescription anxiety/depression meds; family disputes Nichols’ claims of chronic drug use (19:20).
• Motives explored:
  • Life insurance policies: Both took out $1 million policies on each other just months before. Julia Simmons claims Nichols stood to gain due to significant trading losses (16:32–17:13).
  • Recent relationship rupture: Rhonda knew about Nichols’ alleged affair with her underage sister, Melanie, and texted angrily about it hours before her death (“He used you to hurt me,” 33:12).

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4. Stephen Nichols' Past: Patterns of Abuse and Sexual Offenses

• Allegations and convictions:
  • Indicted for 2005 sexual abuse of Melanie Casto (two counts of rape, three of sodomy; 31:40).
  • Pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse with Melanie Casto—though he now says the plea was false, taken to avoid prison and regain custody of his daughter (32:11–32:45).
  • Separately, convicted of sending sexually suggestive messages and a shirtless selfie to a 13-year-old girl (34:21–34:42).
  • Prior domestic violence allegations: Ex-wife claimed he attempted to suffocate and throw her off a balcony in China; another accuser documented bruises before Rhonda's death (35:05).

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5. The Legal Proceedings: Arrest, Extradition, Bail, and the Plea Deal

• 2015: Nichols returned to the U.S. to remarry; arrested upon arrival due to a secret grand jury indictment secured in 2014 (27:35).
• Held for 14 months; bail was reduced from $2 million to $250,000 (06:06–06:17).
• Defense attorney Mike Arnold pushes for accident theory; prosecution pushes murder/alleged coercion (14:16–30:55).
• With both sides wary about the circumstantial nature of the evidence, the case stalls.
  • Eventually, Nichols accepts a plea to criminally negligent homicide and coercion—escaping more serious charges but preventing a full jury trial (38:44).
  • Motivation for plea: Nichols states he acted solely to regain (or keep hope of regaining) custody of his daughter, citing time pressure (40:09).

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6. Family Fallout & Aftermath

• Rhonda’s mother Julia is devastated by the plea deal, feeling justice was not served:

  "No, it's not justice. I felt like it happened out of nowhere." (Jessica Colburn, 39:29)
  “You destroyed my whole family… I'll just bide my time and wait until you screw up or when you die. Because I know you're gonna go to hell for what you did.” (Julia Simmons, 39:49)

• Nichols remains on parole until 2020, isolated, contemplating suicide if not reunited with his daughter (41:12–41:21)
• Julia Simmons fears for her granddaughter’s welfare if Nichols regains custody, citing emotional and physical abuse concerns (41:52).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Rhonda’s forebodings:

  “I have dreams all the time that I am dead before 25.” (Stephen Nichols quoting Rhonda, 02:27)

• On motive:

  “He had lost a bunch of money the year before… and then four months later, she’s dead.” (Julia Simmons, 17:13)

• On Nichols’ shifting narrative:

  “Either I pushed her, she jumped of her own accord, or she slipped.” (Stephen Nichols, 15:39) “If it’s a suicide, life insurance doesn’t pay out, so our daughter would have gotten nothing.” (Stephen Nichols, 24:00)

• On relationship with Melanie Casto:

  “She was 15.” (Jessica Colburn, 31:36)

• On the plea deal:

  “People take pleas for all sorts of reasons… in this case, this is Mr. Nichols purchasing insurance. There’s now a zero percent chance that Steve goes to prison for murder.” (Mike Arnold, 38:53)

• Julia’s final words in court:

  “…how you could take a mother away from their child like that by killing her. That’s just horrible, Steve...I know you’re gonna go to hell for what you did.” (Julia Simmons, 39:49)

• Nichols’ war analogy and chilling “hypothetical”:

  “If you shoot your war buddy because you see how much pain he’s in, is that murder?...Technically it is homicide. But it’s justified.” (Stephen Nichols, 43:05)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:49] – Nichols describes his relationship with Rhonda
• [03:07, 12:31] – Friends and family recall Rhonda’s fear and foreshadowing
• [14:16] – Defense attorney Mike Arnold visits Eagle Creek Trail
• [16:32] – Life insurance motive introduced
• [19:20] – Autopsy and toxicology reports
• [29:49–30:21] – Medical examiner on evidence of fall
• [31:40–32:45] – Melanie Casto rape allegations and Nichols’ guilty plea
• [34:21–34:42] – Conviction for sexual harassment of a minor
• [38:16–40:38] – Nichols’ plea deal, reactions, and consequences
• [43:05] – Nichols makes war/buddy “euthanasia” hypothetical
• [39:49] – Julia Simmons' final court statement

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Episode Tone & Language

• Serious, investigative, and often emotionally charged. The tone reflects a sense of loss, anger, and disbelief from Rhonda’s family and friends, while Nichols’ language is at times evasive, cold, and rationalizing.
• Noteworthy is the podcast’s commitment to featuring all sides’ voices—including Nichols’ own, even as his justifications become slippery and disturbing.

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Summary

Through testimony, evidence, and firsthand accounts, “Mystery at Eagle Creek” paints a portrait of a fractured relationship ending in tragedy, marred by shifting stories, legal ambiguity, and deep pain for those left behind. The episode concludes with Nichols free, on parole, insisting on his innocence—while the truth of Rhonda Casto’s final moments may remain forever obscured by his refusal to give a straight answer, and a justice system forced to settle for a lesser conviction.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Jessica Colburn]

Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right?

[Julia Simmons]

And the best part? They accept Discover.

[Jessica Colburn]

Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer.

[Stephen Nichols]

Oh, yeah, huh?

[Julia Simmons]

Discover is accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Jessica Colburn]

So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.

[Julia Simmons]

These are making a comeback, I think.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Stephen Nichols]

I want people to know that Rhonda wasn't just beautiful. Bye, Daddy. People always are surprised when they hear this. Like, no, you can't be super beautiful like her and be intelligent at the same time. I'm like, actually, she was wicked smart, Very in love. We planned on getting married in the summer. That was my timetable.

[Jessica Colburn]

They did look at wedding rings.

[Stephen Nichols]

I think she wanted one that was around 35,000. And I was thinking more. 15,000 was my range.

[Interviewer]

And you and Rhonda, did you like to get outdoors all the time?

[Stephen Nichols]

We loved hiking. We played a lot of Frisbee golf. So, yeah, we were outdoors most of the time. We woke up early, she opened the drapes and we saw, ah, it's a beautiful day. Okay, so we are going to go hiking. One of the things she asked me on the drive over, she said, if anything ever happens to me, do you promise to watch our daughter and take care of her? And I go, what are you talking about? She goes, I have dreams all the time that I am dead before 25.

[Interviewer]

Did Rhonda ever tell you that she was sensing something bad was going to happen to her?

[Jessica Colburn]

She said that he's either gonna propose to me or kill me. She wasn't happy. She just fell out of love with him. And they were fighting all the time. She had mentioned wanting to take the baby and leave. Steve

[Stephen Nichols]

started pouring down rain and thunder came. And so she just started bolting down, like at a full sprint running down the trail.

[Interviewer]

And what unfolded before your eyes?

[Stephen Nichols]

I don't know how far down it was, but she went off the trail.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A man hiking with Ron De Casto says that she fell off a cliff last night.

[Interviewer]

Did she take a step and her feet went out in front of her? Did she tumble forward? What did you see?

[Stephen Nichols]

Next question. I'm Steve Nichols, and In February of 2015, I was charged and arrested for the murder of Ronda Casto, my fiance.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We're in Hood River, Oregon. It's been six years, one month, and 26 days since Rhonda fell off that trail to her death. And for the first time, Stephen Nichols will enter a formal plea.

[Interviewer]

Accident or murder?

[Julia Simmons]

Murder. Murder.

[Interviewer]

And from a mother's heart and mind. You are certain of that?

[Julia Simmons]

I am 100% certain of that. He's evil. He's totally evil.

[Stephen Nichols]

I think I've just left a path of destruction. I'm atila the Hun, basically. Going through women.

[Mike Arnold]

When you have a case where someone's falsely accused, you can't really separate yourself from work and home life.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For defense attorney Mike Arnold, Mr. Nichols

[Stephen Nichols]

is here with his lawyer.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Representing Stephen Nichols gives new meaning to the phrase full time job.

[Mike Arnold]

You know, while I'd prefer to be coming home doing farm chores and listening to wildlife, instead I'll be thinking about my closing argument or what the next step of the case is.

[Stephen Nichols]

We are on the record in Hood River county, state of Oregon versus Steven Wagner Nichols.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols was arrested for murder in February 2015, accused of pushing his girlfriend Rhonda Casto, off this trail in Oregon six years earlier.

[Stephen Nichols]

To that charge, what's your plea? Not guilty.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bail was set at $2 million. Nichols would spend the next 14 months in jail awaiting trial.

[Stephen Nichols]

I try to just take it one day at a time. I read a lot. I play chess, but really, when it comes down to it, I miss my daughter. So that's the hardest part.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But in April 2016, with a trial date nowhere in sight, Judge John Olson reduced Nichols bail to $250,000. Mike Arnold set out on a frantic mission to gather the 10% needed in cash to free his client. So the farming defense attorney becomes a personal banker.

[Mike Arnold]

People have taken off work to be there to get them out. So it sounds like a small price to pay to be there when my client gets to see freedom for the first time in a year. So wish us luck.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Arnold would need more than luck.

[Mike Arnold]

We can't get the client build out until tomorrow morning.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He'd need an extra day to arrange for the ankle monitor required for Nicol's release.

[Mike Arnold]

So hold on tight to this and go get some supper.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The next day, it was a little

[Mike Arnold]

unexpected overnight trip in Hood River. I want recycled clothes. I'm looking forward to get home to my family. It's my son's first birthday today. Presumption of innocence, ladies and gentlemen.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Mike feeds the cash into the bail machine.

[Mike Arnold]

I'm very excited to see Steve for that for the first time outside in the fresh air.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Two more hours and Arnold gets his wish.

[Stephen Nichols]

I want to cry, actually. I'm so happy. But it's a bittersweet victory. We will continue to fight until I've proven my innocence.

[Mike Arnold]

There's still a long fight ahead, but now I've got him out with me so we can work on this as a team. So this is a big deal.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But how exactly did Nichols and his attorney end up at this moment? It all started 11 years earlier when a stunning 20 year old woman knocked on Nichols bedroom door at his home just outside Portland, Oregon.

[Stephen Nichols]

Then I turn around and I look at her and my tongue pretty much hit the floor. Up until that point, she's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And she's like, hi, my name is Rhonda.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In 2005, Nichols, who was 10 years older than Rhonda and recently divorced, was working as a day trader.

[Stephen Nichols]

I had a three bedroom condo and the other two rooms were just empty.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So he decided to get a roommate.

[Julia Simmons]

I first met Steven Nichols through the Internet. I was looking for a place, a

[Narrator/Reporter]

room to rent, who turned out to be Rhonda's mother, Julia Simmons.

[Julia Simmons]

He can be very charming and you know somebody that's really nice.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Rhonda's best friend, Jessica Colburn, wasn't surprised. Steven was instantly attracted to Rhonda, who was an aspiring model. Tell me about this.

[Jessica Colburn]

That was part of her modeling portfolio. I just love it because she just looks amazing in all of those pictures.

[Stephen Nichols]

Everything about her was impressive and I just immediately fell in love with her.

[Interviewer]

And what were you sensing from Rhonda?

[Stephen Nichols]

I felt she was into me too. I could tell that she valued Intelligence. And I've always thought that that's one of my strongest assets.

[Julia Simmons]

I think she was attracted not so much to his looks, but to his what he had. His condo, his money, his, you know, his status.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Soon, Rhonda joined her mother, Julia, in the condo, not as a roommate, but as Steven's girlfriend. Rhonda's younger sister, Tessa, was just 9 years old at the time.

[Jessica Colburn]

When I first met Steve, he was really fun because I was a little girl.

[Julia Simmons]

He was playful, you know.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Three years into their relationship, Rhonda and Nichols living together but not married and became parents.

[Stephen Nichols]

Don't Daddy help you a little, honey? Got this for you.

[Julia Simmons]

Did you see her face? She's all.

[Stephen Nichols]

When our daughter was born, it meant everything to her. She became the focus and the center of her life.

[Julia Simmons]

I loved having a niece.

[Jessica Colburn]

I was always over there. And she loved playing with jewelry just like Rhonda did.

[Julia Simmons]

She's just like her mama.

[Stephen Nichols]

She loves jewelry.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Rhonda loved being a mom, but hoped to restart her modeling career.

[Stephen Nichols]

She had gained quite a bit of weight from having our daughter. She was the heaviest she had ever been, and she felt really disgusting.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So. Stephen says the couple came up with an adventurous plan to lose weight.

[Stephen Nichols]

We made it a pact that we would hike 20 or 25 of the top trails in Oregon. We'll just start crossing them off the list.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Jessica says Rhonda told her about only one planned hike.

[Jessica Colburn]

She was so happy that he was finally planning something. And all the years they had been together, he had never put any effort into planning anything for her,

[Narrator/Reporter]

including those plans to get married.

[Jessica Colburn]

The proposal never happened. Things were tough after the baby was born. He wasn't around as much. I think she held on for. For longer for the sake of the baby.

[Stephen Nichols]

Daddy gonna open it for you.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jessyca says Rhonda had grown unhappy and that the relationship had taken a dangerous turn.

[Jessica Colburn]

She told me that he had, in the recent months, been physically abusive to her.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Nichols claims just the opposite was true.

[Stephen Nichols]

We wouldn't argue at all. We were spending a lot of time together, so I would think that would be the closest we ever were.

[Interviewer]

So when Stephen is telling us that they were planning their future together and everything was great and it was a lovey dovey relationship. Is he lying to me?

[Jessica Colburn]

He's absolutely lying to you. I've witnessed their fights. I was on the phone a couple of times when they were in a physical fight, actually.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And Julia claims Rhonda made a chilling statement to her. Just before the hike.

[Julia Simmons]

She said he's either going to give me a ring or he's going to throw me off a cliff.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On March 16, 2009, Rhonda and Steven would set out on that fitness hike and Rhonda would not live to see the end of the day.

[Stephen Nichols]

There's a smile. Bye Daddy.

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[Mike Arnold]

This is probably the most hiked area in the Columbia River Gorge for several reasons. One, the sheer beauty of the hike.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Three months after Stephen Nichols arrested in 2015, his attorney, Mike Arnold took his own investigative team up the Eagle Creek Trail where he believes Ronda Casto slipped and fell to her death.

[Mike Arnold]

Inclement weather hits and disaster happens. Between the physical evidence and the science, there won't be much dispute about this being a tragic accident on a dangerous trail.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stephen Nichols says this is how the tragedy unfolded. They are heading down the trail. Rhonda was in a great mood and jokingly she put a towel around her shoulders and was calling herself Supergirl. She broke into a run and according to Nichols, at this very point she slipped on the wet path and fell more than 150ft to her death. That was his story in 2015.

[Stephen Nichols]

I'm not going to comment on that.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When Nichols was forbidden by his attorney from discussing details of Rhonda's deadly fall. With 48 hours until now, his only account was the one he gave to police the day of the tragedy.

[Stephen Nichols]

Again, something I'm not going to comment on.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But in 2017, Stephen Nichols broke that silence.

[Stephen Nichols]

Either I pushed her, she jumped of her own accord, or she slipped.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He sat down and spoke to us about the day Rhonda Casto died.

[Interviewer]

Let's get in that time machine and go back to March 16, 2009.

[Stephen Nichols]

We woke up early.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Steven says Rhonda seemed focused on the future. As they dropped drove to Eagle Creek Trail.

[Stephen Nichols]

She says, I desperately need to lose weight because they want to use me as the Maria Sharapova look alike model. I'm like, yeah, you really do look like her.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But then Nichols claims Rhonda asked him a startling question completely out of the blue.

[Stephen Nichols]

She said, if anything ever happens to me, do you promise to watch our daughter and take care of her? And I said, of course.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Steven says the question unnerved him, especially since three months earlier, he claims Rhonda had demanded he buy life insurance.

[Stephen Nichols]

She was adamant about it. I said, why do you want this life insurance? And she goes, because I want to leave our daughter something in case I die.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So both Stephen and Rhonda had each taken out a $1 million policy on the other.

[Julia Simmons]

He planned the whole thing was premeditated. The whole thing.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Rhonda's mother doesn't believe a word of Nichols story, saying the insurance was all his idea and that Nichols, the day trader, had an ulterior motive.

[Julia Simmons]

He had lost a bunch of money the year before. He lost like a quarter of a million dollars, his insurance. And then four months later, she's dead.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The couple got to the trailhead where Rhonda snapped this photo of Steve, later found on her cell phone.

[Stephen Nichols]

The weather was excellent, actually.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Steven says Rhonda was acting strangely.

[Stephen Nichols]

I asked her, are you okay hiking on this trail? And she goes, I used to come up here with a bottle of vodka and a bag of weed. She goes, I'll be fine. So I said, okay.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They hiked up a few miles.

[Stephen Nichols]

I remember we kissed for a little bit. I remember she wanted to have sex, and I said, no. Like, I'm very prim and proper. I didn't want to do that.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Then Nichols says Rhonda once again asked him that unsettling question.

[Stephen Nichols]

She asked me if anything ever happened to her, which would I promise to take care of our daughter.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Rhonda may have been thinking about more than their daughter.

[Interviewer]

What are you saying, Stephen?

[Stephen Nichols]

I mean, I think anyone with an ounce of intelligence can fill in the blanks. You would have to look into how many times in her past she committed suicide. Attempted suicide, yeah, of course, attempted.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I mean, Nichols says Rhonda was depressed and shockingly, that she had tried to take her own life at least three times before he even met her.

[Julia Simmons]

She's never attempted Suicide?

[Narrator]

Never.

[Julia Simmons]

He's lying. But you know what people that have to make up lies are. You know, you can obviously tell that they're guilty.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And there's more. Nichols claims that Rhonda had long struggled with a serious drug problem.

[Stephen Nichols]

She's never been off drugs since the age of 12.

[Interviewer]

What kind of drugs?

[Stephen Nichols]

Everything. Everything.

[Interviewer]

Alcohol, cocaine, all of them, marijuana, crystal

[Stephen Nichols]

meth, all of them heroin.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Rhonda's autopsy would show that she only had traces of marijuana as well as prescription drugs for anxiety and depression in her system. Jessica Colburn says Rhonda did suffer from. From postpartum depression.

[Jessica Colburn]

She was in therapy, and that's why she was on the prescription medications.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nicol says they didn't linger on the trail for long.

[Interviewer]

And who decides, hey, let's head back.

[Stephen Nichols]

I was decided by the weather started pouring down. Rain and thunder came, and so she just started bolting down, like at a full sprint, running down the trail.

[Interviewer]

Now, I've been on that trail. It's a narrow trail.

[Stephen Nichols]

It is very narrow.

[Interviewer]

Did you yell at her? Hey, what are you doing?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stop.

[Interviewer]

Walk. We're walking down.

[Stephen Nichols]

I don't think I screamed anything at her.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols says the steep trail became slick.

[Stephen Nichols]

I hugged the right wall pretty much on the way down. This was cascading rain. Like, you can actually just see the water flowing down the trail.

[Interviewer]

And so take me to the time of the fall. What do you remember?

[Narrator]

Mm,

[Stephen Nichols]

that part I'm not going to take you through, because she did fall off, and I can say I had absolutely nothing to do, either directly or indirectly with her falling off.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But what Nichols seems to be suggesting to 48 Hours is that Rhonda may have chosen to go off that cliff.

[Interviewer]

Did she tumble forward? What did you see?

[Stephen Nichols]

Hmm.

[Interviewer]

Next question was a large skid mark on the. On the path where she had slipped and went off.

[Stephen Nichols]

No, that's just a footprint.

[Interviewer]

Just a footprint?

[Stephen Nichols]

Mm.

[Interviewer]

Steve, look at me. What you're saying is she jumped. She was going down at almost a run pace. There's a single footprint, you're telling me, at the edge of the cliff, and she goes over. That's a jump.

[Stephen Nichols]

I've laid everything out there. People can reach whatever conclusion they want.

[Narrator/Reporter]

While not saying it in so many words.

[Stephen Nichols]

She did fall off, and I can say I had absolutely nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with her falling off.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Steven Nichols, mind games.

[Stephen Nichols]

There's definitely a lot more to the story, but I'm not going to say it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So manage to drop a bombshell.

[Interviewer]

Well, you've led me Down a path to believe this was a suicide. And I don't think you can look me in the eye and say, well, Peter, you're wrong. Can you?

[Stephen Nichols]

No.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Suggesting that Rhonda Casto chose to jump to her death from Eagle Creek Trail.

[Stephen Nichols]

What was her point in going up there? How to say this. She knew she wasn't living past the age of 25. She knew that for a reason. She just wasn't a happy person. And she thought that having our daughter would bring her happiness, and it didn't.

[Julia Simmons]

She had a nine month old baby at home that she loved dearly and she loved her family. So that's just another one of his lies to take the heat off of himself.

[Narrator/Reporter]

After Rhonda went off the trail, Steven says he hiked down the deep ravine.

[Interviewer]

What'd you do when you got to her?

[Stephen Nichols]

Well, I hauled her. That's the first thing I did when I got there.

[Narrator/Reporter]

With no cell service to call for help, Nichols says he made his way back to the trailhead and dialed 911.

[Stephen Nichols]

The police never once asked me if it was a suicide. They never even brought up suicide. I just answered the questions that they asked.

[Interviewer]

Why didn't you tell them back in the day that suicide was something she was contemplating?

[Stephen Nichols]

Would it have made a difference? Do you really think?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols may have had a million reasons why to keep suicide a secret.

[Stephen Nichols]

If it's a suicide, life insurance doesn't pay out, so our daughter would have gotten nothing.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Is Steven being self sacrificing? Having said nothing about suicide until now, even as he stands charged with murder,

[Interviewer]

you were willing to essentially take a

[Narrator/Reporter]

bullet for that, or is he self serving?

[Julia Simmons]

I think Steve is just throwing all these ideas out to throw people off. The fact that he pushed her, oh, well, she killed herself because she wanted to make a better life for her daughter.

[Narrator/Reporter]

An investigation into Rhonda's death was immediately launched and a memorial was held.

[Interviewer]

Rhonda's family claims that you were not grieving, that you seemed unmoved by Rhonda's death.

[Stephen Nichols]

The exact opposite. I was crying nonstop. When I'm really, really sad, I just. I close down. That's just the way I deal with pain.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Shortly afterward, Stephen moved across the state with his daughter to live with family

[Stephen Nichols]

for about three months after Rhonda died, I completely shut down.

[Narrator/Reporter]

By 2013, four years had gone by and no charges had been filed against Nichols. He decided to start a new life in a new land.

[Interviewer]

So how does a kid from Oregon end up in China?

[Stephen Nichols]

I had been there before and I liked China.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stephen packed up.

[Stephen Nichols]

I was telling my daughter, this is our new life. Let's make it work.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And headed here to Wuxi, about 75 miles from Shanghai.

[Stephen Nichols]

I decided when I got to China, this is a whole fresh start. I was like America all the past.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stephen got a job teaching English to Chinese businessmen.

[Stephen Nichols]

My daughter was absolutely thriving a little over two months, and she was fluent in Mandarin. She had dance lessons, she was taking taekwondo, she was learning to play the piano.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And Steven began to thrive too, falling in love with Landi Yinyan.

[Stephen Nichols]

She's beautiful, of course, but she's the deepest, funniest person I've ever met.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Steven says Landee became like a mother to his daughter.

[Stephen Nichols]

And I can say this with being with so many American women, Chinese women, all inclusive are better partners. Sounds so insulting to American women, but they just, they make better partners. They make better wives.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And so Stephen decided to make Landy his wife. After a year of dating.

[Stephen Nichols]

I had actually proposed to her right before I came back to America.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stephen flew back to the US with his daughter in February 2015 to get married. Landy would follow a few days later.

[Stephen Nichols]

We were planning on getting married both in America and China, to make it official.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What Stephen didn't know is that the entire time he was out of the country, investigators stayed on Rhonda's case and Julia stayed on theirs.

[Julia Simmons]

I kept calling and asking why nothing was happening.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But something did happen. In April 2014, a secret grand jury heard evidence and indicted Nichols for the murder of rhonda casto. So 10 months later, when Steven and his daughter arrived in San Francisco, they

[Stephen Nichols]

said something was wrong with my bags. I was like, that's interesting.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Instead of catching his connecting flight to Oregon, Stevens says authorities separated him from his daughter.

[Stephen Nichols]

I'm like, what is going on here? Something's fishy. And then, yeah, that's when they arrested me. And I could hear my daughter in the other room crying. And she goes, I want to be back with my dad.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stephen would be extradited to Oregon and his daughter would be sent to live with Rhonda's family.

[Stephen Nichols]

I was shocked. It's one of those things where you think you're in a dream and you're going to wake up at any time. I'm like, okay, I'm going to wake up in China. My daughter will be nudging me. I'll be back to normal. But that never happens.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Back in Oregon. It was like a dream.

[Stephen Nichols]

40 year old Stephen Nichols was arrested,

[Narrator/Reporter]

one that had come true for Rhonda's loved ones.

[Julia Simmons]

And I just, I was busted out crying. It was amazing. I couldn't believe it. I was just like, after all this time, time. Finally.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For years, Gone south has been a podcast about crime in the American South. But for our new season, we're widening the lens. Through deeply reported narrative driven stories. We're digging into the myths, scandals and power structures that still shape the south and in a lot of ways, the country itself. Follow and listen to Gone South Season 5, An Odyssey podcast, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.

[Stephen Nichols]

We are on the record in a

[Narrator/Reporter]

state of Oregon versus for months following his February 2015 arrest for murder. When you're ready, Mr. Arnold, Stephen Nichols faced pretrial hearings on a slew of issues from evidence to motive.

[Stephen Nichols]

The state is present, represented by Kerry

[Narrator/Reporter]

Rasmussen, including whether there should even be a trial. Since the defense considers Ronda Casto's death an accident, both sides called witnesses.

[Prosecutor/Kerry Rasmussen]

Was this immediately investigated as a murder?

[Interviewer]

No.

[Mike Arnold]

And when did it become a homicide investigation as opposed to an accidental fall?

[Stephen Nichols]

Pretty much the next morning.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I can tell that based on the

[Interviewer]

injuries that she has, she landed predominantly

[Narrator/Reporter]

on her legs and her pelvis. Medical examiner and forensic pathologist Dr. Christopher Young says Rhonda's injuries were mostly below the waist. The pelvis was essentially shattered. The defense argues the location of her injuries indicate Rhonda left the trail feet first, not tumbling head over heels from a push. It's a theory that could support Nichols new suggestion of suicide.

[Prosecutor/Kerry Rasmussen]

When you look at the relationship that the defendant then had with Rhonda Casto,

[Narrator/Reporter]

notes from a therapist Rhonda had been reveal she was depressed but not suicidal from her relationship with Stephen, which she described as loveless.

[Prosecutor/Kerry Rasmussen]

What the state has to prove in this case is the defendant did a criminal act.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Prosecutors hope the judge will allow them to tell jurors about some bad acts in Stephen Nichols troubled past at his upcoming murder trial, it is something that

[Mike Arnold]

obviously is titillating and interesting.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The first one, a shocking love triangle involving another of Rhonda's younger sisters, Melanie, that may have provided a motive for murder.

[Interviewer]

Do you believe that Stephen was in love with Melanie?

[Jessica Colburn]

Yes, I do.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jessyca says Rhonda learned that Stephen was having sex with Melanie.

[Interviewer]

And did Rhonda ever tell you how young her sister was when she first had sex with Stephen?

[Jessica Colburn]

She was 15.

[Interviewer]

15 years old.

[Jessica Colburn]

Yes.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In fact, just after his arrest for murder, Stephen was indicted on two counts of third degree rape and three counts of third degree sodomy for allegedly having sexual relations with an underage Melanie back in 2005.

[Julia Simmons]

He did rape my daughter, and I didn't want to believe it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In October 2016, while awaiting his murder

[Interviewer]

trial, you agreed to plead guilty to two counts of sexual abuse with Melanie Casto.

[Stephen Nichols]

Mm.

[Interviewer]

And you signed your name under this statement. I had sexual intercourse with Melanie Casto twice.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Steven insists his admission was false.

[Interviewer]

Did you have sex with her?

[Stephen Nichols]

No. I'm like, well, can I take a plea? And then just say, obviously, it never happened? And I was told later. Nope. In order to pass the sex offender treatment, you have to admit that even

[Narrator/Reporter]

though he'd be a registered sex offender, the law would allow Stephen to still fight and regain custody of his daughter, who is in the care of the state.

[Stephen Nichols]

I became desperate. I wanted my daughter back. You'll be amazed at what you're willing to sign to stay out of prison.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But investigators believe there really was a relationship between Steven and Melanie, One that continued on and off for four years, right up to that fateful last hike. Just a few hours before her death, Rhonda, who had learned of the affair, sent this text to her sister. I don't know what to say.

[Interviewer]

Besides, he's a piece of. He used you to hurt me. I won't let him screw us up again. When you need me, I am waiting. This Rhonda sounds like somebody that doesn't care much at all about you. She's angry with you.

[Stephen Nichols]

Does sound like she's angry. I have no idea why she sent

[Narrator/Reporter]

those, but Julia says she knows why.

[Julia Simmons]

She loved her sister, and she knew that Steve was trying to drive a wedge between them, and she. I guess she figured it all out and realized what he was doing.

[Prosecutor/Kerry Rasmussen]

On the night of Rona Casto's death, the defendant didn't run to where his daughter was, didn't run to his parents. The first person to whom he went was Melanie. Melanie Casto.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And it's not the only allegation Nichols has faced involving a minor. Less than six months after Rhonda's death, he was charged with five counts of sex abuse for allegedly touching a 13 year old girl on the buttocks. He claims that didn't happen, but something else did.

[Interviewer]

You sent sexually suggestive texts to her and a selfie with your shirt off, and you agreed to a plea deal in this case.

[Stephen Nichols]

Yeah, that was definitely. I was in the wrong on that one. In terms of sending the photo, that was.

[Interviewer]

No kidding. That's terrible. It's disgusting.

[Stephen Nichols]

It is.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols pleaded guilty to one count of sexual harassment.

[Stephen Nichols]

I Have been emotionally abusive at times to people, but I've never physically hurt anyone.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Prosecutors don't agree and want a jury to see this picture taken by Rhonda showing red marks left from an alleged physical encounter with Nichols.

[Julia Simmons]

Right before they went on their hike. They had a little scuffle on the stairs, and he put some bruises on her back, and she took pictures of them in the mirror.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And there are allegations of another physical assault of a woman with eerie similarities to what Nichols stands accused of now. Allegations made by his ex wife.

[Julia Simmons]

He did try to push his wife

[Narrator/Reporter]

over a balcony in China in November 2003. Stephen was still married to his ex, an American woman, and living in China for the first time when his spouse accused him of trying to suffocate her and throw her over the railing of their 8th floor apartment.

[Stephen Nichols]

We were both holding onto each other's clothing and we were both yelling.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols denies the claim and was not charged with a crime in China. But Oregon court documents show a witness confirmed Nichols ex wife's account. As Nichols awaits trial in the death of Rhonda Casto, he has some pleasant distraction.

[Stephen Nichols]

My Chinese fiance, Landy is arriving here in about an hour. I'm nervous. I'm excited.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Visits from his fiance.

[Stephen Nichols]

Hello. Today I had my first court appearance. The case was involving my daughter.

[Narrator/Reporter]

At our request, Stephen Nichols has kept a video diary while out on bail.

[Stephen Nichols]

Blue sky, many, many big trees, including

[Narrator/Reporter]

Landy hiking to that fateful spot on Eagle Creek Trail.

[Stephen Nichols]

Very beautiful, but a little dangerous.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And on the eve of his trial,

[Stephen Nichols]

we're at the top of Spencer Butte in Eugene. Love the hike. This is one of the happiest days of my life.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A defiant Nichols is convinced there will be many more happy days ahead.

[Stephen Nichols]

I had nothing to do with Ronda Casto's death. I had nothing to do with Rhonda Casto's death.

[Interviewer]

You didn't push her?

[Stephen Nichols]

No. What is it? What is it? What is it?

[Interviewer]

So you're telling us you are completely innocent of these charges?

[Stephen Nichols]

Yes. There's a smile.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In May 2017, following several hearings about what evidence could be used against Stephen Nichols, which would include his plea to having sex with Melanie, it looked like his true day in court was finally on the horizon.

[Julia Simmons]

And then I got a call from Kerry Rasmussen, the prosecutor, and she slowly told me the news about him taking a plea.

[Narrator/Reporter]

To Julia's shock and horror, there had been a settlement conference with the prosecution and the defense agreeing to allow Nichols to plead guilty to lesser charges.

[Julia Simmons]

I started to cry. I got really Upset? I just said I was screaming on the phone to Carrie. No. No, you can't do this. Please don't. Don't plead out.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But prosecutors knew their case against Nichols could fail.

[Prosecutor/Kerry Rasmussen]

For years, the district Attorney's office has believed that Mr. Nichols is responsible for the death of Rona Casto. But this case is not about belief. It's about the facts that can be presented to a jury at trial.

[Stephen Nichols]

What is your plea to the charge of criminally negligent homicide? Guilty. And to the charge of coercion? Guilty.

[Mike Arnold]

People take pleas for all sorts of reasons. Most of the time, innocent people plead guilty in order to gain an advantage or meet a goal. In this case, this is Mr. Nichols purchasing insurance. There's now a zero percent chance that Steve goes to prison for murder. That a jury gets it wrong.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols was given credit for time served while awaiting trial. He remains on parole for three years. His ankle monitor was removed, and his days behind bars are over.

[Interviewer]

This plea deal, is it justice to you?

[Jessica Colburn]

No, it's not justice. I felt like it happened out of nowhere. I'm still completely blown away by the decision that was made in this.

[Julia Simmons]

You destroyed my whole family.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Still firmly believing Nichols is a murderer. Rhonda's mother, Julia, was allowed to address the court.

[Julia Simmons]

I don't see how you could do that. How you could take a mother away from their child like that by killing her. That's just horrible, Steve. I'll just bide my time and wait until you screw up or when you die. Because I know you're gonna go to hell for what you did.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Nichols claims he took the deal for just one reason. Time was running out to regain custody of his daughter.

[Stephen Nichols]

If I waited over a year to go to trial, I probably had a zero percent chance.

[Mike Arnold]

There's some problems with the juvenile court system that the longer you wait, the harder it is to get a child returned to parent.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But having now admitted to inappropriate behavior with a 13 year old girl, pleading to having sex with Rhonda's underage sister, and playing a role in Rhonda's death, Nicol's chances of regaining custody of his daughter are in jeopardy.

[Stephen Nichols]

I think I've just left a path of destruction. I'm Attila the Hun, basically going through women.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Unable to leave Oregon until his parole expires in 2020, Steven broke up with his fiance who had returned to China.

[Stephen Nichols]

I'm alone about 99% of the time. I never go out. I have nobody.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Then for the second time in our 48 Hours interview, Nichols brings up the topic of suicide. But this time he's not speaking about Rhonda.

[Stephen Nichols]

If I don't have my daughter, then it's pretty much game over for me. I'm checking out.

[Interviewer]

So you're saying you'll take your own life?

[Stephen Nichols]

I hate all the suicide questions. I'm not going to answer that. But like I said, if I don't get my daughter back, I'm done. I'll just say that.

[Julia Simmons]

Yeah, right. I doubt that. He's too narcissistic.

[Stephen Nichols]

Egotistical

[Julia Simmons]

sociopath. There's no way he would take his own life. He's just said that to get sympathy.

[Interviewer]

And if your granddaughter were to be placed back into his custody, what do you think would happen?

[Julia Simmons]

She would not be a normal child. She would be emotionally and mentally abused and possibly physical.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And then, just when we thought this story had come to an end, our interview with Nichols took a turn into the surreal.

[Stephen Nichols]

I'm trying to think of a way to think of this.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For the first time, he talks about what may have happened in Rhonda's last moments of life that day in 2009. Comparing her to a wounded soldier.

[Stephen Nichols]

Let's say you're in a war situation and you're with your buddy, and, I don't know, he takes a landmine or a grenade or something, you're 100% certain this guy's gonna die?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Remember, Nichols climbed down 150ft to where Rhonda's broken body lay.

[Interviewer]

Was she alive when you got to her?

[Stephen Nichols]

An hour. And that's the part I'm not going into.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Is Stephen Nichols about to admit something?

[Interviewer]

Did you put Rhonda out of misery that day?

[Stephen Nichols]

Let me ask you, if you shoot your war buddy because you see how much pain he's in, is that murder?

[Interviewer]

What do you say?

[Stephen Nichols]

I say no, of course not. So to me, that's a justified. I don't want to say homicide, but technically it is homicide. But it's justified. As of that point, you are putting someone out of their misery that essentially has zero chance of survival.

[Interviewer]

And is that what you did?

[Stephen Nichols]

Of course that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying.

[Interviewer]

Well, you brought this up.

[Narrator/Reporter]

You've brought up this whole it seems a dangerous word game. Nichols stood on the cliff's edge, then took a step back. A final twist in a tragedy where only Nichols knows the real ending.

[Stephen Nichols]

It's all hypothetical because I'm telling people, you know, think. Think outside the box. Like there's always other options there. Me and my brother we grew up off the grid.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A new Paramount plus original documentary explores the wild true story of two brothers.

[Julia Simmons]

They were dubbed the Wild Boys.

[Interviewer]

There's no driving records, nothing tangible.

[Stephen Nichols]

What's their story?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Who shook a small town after they emerged mysteriously from the Canadian wilderness?

[Stephen Nichols]

Are they criminals?

[Prosecutor/Kerry Rasmussen]

Maybe they're in a cult.

[Stephen Nichols]

Who are these guys? Why are they here? It's not my job to tell you the truth.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Wild Boys, Strangers In Town now streaming on Paramount plus.

[Jessica Colburn]

Can you keep a secret?

[Julia Simmons]

Dad?

[Interviewer]

It turns out I hadn't died.

[Advertiser/Promo Voice]

Now streaming on Paramount plus.

[Julia Simmons]

The money from your dad's life insurance finally came through. Please, this is fraud.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A new original series.

[Stephen Nichols]

You have to give the money back.

[Julia Simmons]

What sort of friend blackmails their own mates? We're a crime family.

[Stephen Nichols]

Oh, don't be silly.

[Julia Simmons]

We're just a bit complicated, like the Beckhams.

[Stephen Nichols]

Can you keep a secret?

[Advertiser/Promo Voice]

New series now streaming on Paramount plus.