The live-in boyfriend of Irene Gakwa was sentenced Wednesday to up to six years in prison and ordered to pay more than $13,000 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from her in the weeks after she vanished more than a year ago in Wyoming, according to the Gillette News Record.
At his sentencing hearing, Nathan Hightman was given three- to six-year prison sentences for felony theft and unlawful use of a credit card, the News Record reported. The sentences are set to run concurrently. He was also sentenced to three years of probation.
Hightman, 39, had shared a house in Gillette with Gakwa, a Kenyan immigrant who’d moved to the United States in 2019 to go to nursing school. She was 32 years old when she disappeared in late February 2022, and her family suspects foul play.
Advertisement
Hightman has not been charged in Gakwa’s disappearance. He pleaded guilty in March to three financial crimes: one felony count each of theft, unlawful use of a credit card and crimes against intellectual property.
As part of his plea deal, prosecutors dropped two related charges.
Hightman had faced up to 23 years in prison at his sentencing before District Judge James “Mike” Causey.
Hightman told police Gakwa came home one night in late February, packed her clothes in two plastic bags and left in a dark-colored SUV, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He said he hadn’t seen or heard from her since.
In the weeks after Gakwa went missing, Hightman withdrew nearly $3,700 from her bank account and spent $3,230 on her credit card, court documents show. Hightman told investigators he withdrew the funds to force her to contact him when she ran out of money following her disappearance.
Advertisement
Investigators said Hightman changed Gakwa’s banking account password and deleted her email account.
Gakwa moved from Kenya to attend nursing school in the Boise, Idaho, area, where her two older brothers live. She met Hightman on a Craigslist forum and moved to Gillette with him in July 2021.
Gakwa’s family last saw her on a video call on February 24, 2022, and reported her missing about a month later after they could not reach her for weeks via video calls, her favorite form of communication.
In April 2022, Gillette police issued a statement naming Hightman “a person of interest” in Gakwa’s disappearance, saying, “He has not made himself available to detectives” looking for answers.
During searches at Hightman’s home, investigators recovered a shovel and boots he had bought at a Walmart in late February 2022 using Gakwa’s Visa card, according to court documents.
Advertisement
Gillette police arrested Hightman in May 2022 and charged him with the financial crimes. Police have largely declined to provide details about Gakwa’s disappearance, citing the ongoing investigation.
For more than a year, Gakwa’s family has sought answers about what happened to her.
CNN has reached out to Hightman’s attorney and Gakwa’s family.
A chance of rain in parts of Wyoming on Sunday and mostly sunny in other areas. Breezy. Highs from the upper 50s to the lower 80s. Lows in the 30s and 40s.
Central:
Casper: There’s a slight chance of rain after 1 p.m. and overnight. Otherwise, look for it to be mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 39 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.
Riverton:It should be sunny and breezy today with a high near 74 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Overnight it should be breezy and clouds should increase with a slight chance of rain after 4 a.m., a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph.
Advertisement
Shoshoni: Expect it to be sunny and breezy today with a high near 74 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Overnight it should be breezy and clouds should increase with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.
Southwest:
Evanston: Expect it to be sunny and breezy today with a high near 62 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow after midnight, a low near 37 and wind from 12-17 mph.
Green River: It should be mostly sunny and breezy with a high near 67 today and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a slight chance of rain after midnight, a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.
South Pass: Look for it to be sunny and windy today with a high near 61 and wind gusts as high as 47 mph. Overnight it should be windy and clouds should increase with a chance of snow mainly after 1 a.m., a low near 36 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph.
Advertisement
Western Wyoming:
Pinedale: Look for it to be mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 56 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 31 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph.
Alpine: It should be mostly sunny today with a high near 58 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy with a low near 33.
Big Piney: Expect it to be mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 60 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 30 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph.
Northwest:
Advertisement
Dubois: Expect it to be mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 56 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy and breezy with a slight chance of snow after 4 a.m., a low near 30 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.
Jackson: It should be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 57 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy and breezy with a low near 30 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park: There’s a chance of snow today and overnight. Otherwise, look for it to become sunny today with a high near 48 and be mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 25.
Bighorn Basin:
Thermopolis: It should be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 72 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Overnight it should be breezy and clouds should increase with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.
Advertisement
Cody: Look for it to be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 57 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a slight chance of rain between 9 p.m. and midnight, a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.
Worland: Expect it to be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 69 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.
North Central:
Buffalo: Look for it to be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 62 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.
Sheridan: There’s a slight chance of rain after 3 p.m. today and before midnight tonight. Otherwise, expect it to be mostly sunny today with a high near 68 and wind from 15-20 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy with a low near 37 and wind from 15-20 mph.
Advertisement
Story: There’s a chance of rain after 3 p.m. today and mainly before midnight tonight. Otherwise, it should be mostly sunny today with a high near 65 and wind from 15-20 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy with a low near 37 and wind from 16-21 mph.
Northeast:
Gillette: It should be mostly sunny and breezy with a high near 72 today and winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy and breezy with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.
Sundance: There’s a chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m. today and there’s a slight chance of rain overnight. Otherwise, expect it to be mostly sunny today with a high near 71 and winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.
Hulett: There’s a slight chance of rain after noon today and overnight. Otherwise, look for it to be mostly sunny today with a high near 76 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.
Advertisement
Eastern Plains:
Torrington: There’s a slight chance of rain today and overnight. Otherwise, expect it to be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind from 10-20 mph. It should be partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind from 10-20 mph.
Lusk: There’s a chance of rain today and a slight chance overnight. Otherwise, it should be mostly sunny today with a high near 76 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 40.
Kaycee: There’s a flood advisory due to snowmelt in effect until 11 p.m. There’s a slight chance of rain after 1 p.m. today, otherwise look for it to be mostly sunny and breezy with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.
Southeast:
Advertisement
Cheyenne: There’s a chance of rain today and a slight chance overnight. Otherwise, expect it to be partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 76 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy and breezy with a low near 41 and wind from 20-25 mph.
Laramie: There’s a chance of rain today and overnight. Otherwise, it should be partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy with a low near 39.
Pine Bluffs: There’s a chance of rain today and tonight before midnight. Otherwise, look for it to be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Overnight it should be partly cloudy and breezy with a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.
South Central:
Rawlins: There’s a chance of rain today and a slight chance overnight. Otherwise, look for it to be mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 69 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.
Advertisement
Encampment: There’s a chance of rain today and overnight. Otherwise, expect it to be partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy with a low near 38.
Wamsutter: There’s a chance of rain mainly before 1 p.m. today and there’s a slight chance of rain after 11 p.m. overnight. Otherwise, it should be mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 64 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph. Overnight it should be mostly cloudy and breezy with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph.
A DNA analyst enters her area of the Wyoming State Crime lab with a digital key card, dons her lab coat, goggles and gloves, sterilizes her work bench and pulls a bagged pair of underwear from the evidence locker.
She’s sterilized her work bench with bleach and cleaned it off with ethanol, the two scents that hang about her like an aura. She spreads a fresh swatch of paper onto her desk and lays the evidence bag on it. If the bag is sealed and free of tampering, she’ll open it.
She writes notes: observations on the size, color, brand and staining of the garment. She screens it for body fluids with a special light. If she finds any stains of interest – blood, saliva, body fluid – she’ll report back to the investigator who sent the garment to her.
That investigator might be working for the public defender’s office trying to clear a defendant. He might be a police detective trying to put one in prison.
Advertisement
That doesn’t matter, but the science does.
If the investigator thinks the substance matters, the analyst shaves off a 5 millimeter by 5 millimeter flake of it and puts it in a test tube with an enzyme that breaks the DNA free from its other components. She separates the other cell debris, such as cotton.
If enough DNA remains, she amplifies it by putting it in an advanced heater called a thermocycler along with primers, loose nucleotides and an enzyme found in the Yellowstone Hot Springs just a half day’s drive to her northwest.
When warm, the thermus aquaticus enzyme loves to replicate DNA exponentially, turning one strand into millions, which the analyst will then pipe through a cramped tube with 15,000 volts of electricity.
Smaller “peaks” or identifying markers emerge from the tube quicker, while larger ones take longer, enabling her to see the size of each one.
Advertisement
It’s like echolocation, on a nanoscopic scale.
Later, she’ll plug the DNA profile into a database to see who left it behind.
Lindsey Human is a forensic drug chemist at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne. There’s close to $1 million worth of equipment in this lab, including six machines that separate and identify various chemicals. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Kim Ley, a forensic analyst at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne, works in the Screening Room, where evidence and items are analyzed for the types of substances that may be on them. This machine uses various types of light to show different bodily fluids that could be on something. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Amber Smith, a forensic analyst at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne, demonstrates how this Hamilton aparatus works. It can process nearly 90 individual DNA samples at a time. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
A detail view of the Agilent 8890 GC System, right, combined with the Angilent 5977B GC/MSD, left, that work together to process and analyze samples to identify their chemical makeup. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
The various laboratories at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne each specialize in a different science that helps identify substances, fingerprints and other clues that help solve crimes. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Top Six
Down the hall, fingerprint analysts are performing their own nuanced rituals. Ballistics experts are measuring grooves on metal shards. Chemists are scrutinizing murky powders and toxicologists are searching for tranquilizers in urine samples — as a stray example.
For performing these tasks with a more than 90% efficiency rate in using money and personnel, the Wyoming State Crime lab received the prestigious 2023 Foresight Maximus award earlier this month.
“We didn’t know we were going to get an award,” Scott McWilliams, Crime Lab director for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.
He and two lab staffers attended a May 1 meeting for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors in Birmingham, Alabama, months after sending a rigorous accounting of the Wyoming lab’s staffing, costs, uses and output to that group.
Advertisement
“We did this to see where we have inefficiencies and where we can make ourselves better,” said McWilliams.
When the forensics group presented the Wyoming lab with an efficiency award that only 16, or 7.6%, of the 211 applicants earned, McWilliams and the two staffers were “just shocked and really honored.”
The other 15 forensic labs awarded span another 12 American states, Puerto Rico, Costa Ric and Auckland, New Zealand.
“These 16 laboratories stand as beacons of innovation and efficiency, representing the very best in forensic science laboratories,” said ASCLD President Timothy Kupferschmid in a press release. “Congratulations to each winner for their outstanding achievements and unwavering dedication to the pursuit of scientific truth.”
It’s Been Half A Century
The Wyoming State Crime Lab began with the inception of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) in 1973. The statewide agency works drug and organized crime cases, officer-involved crime investigations, and any other investigations to which it’s invited.
Advertisement
In the early days in 1973, analysts were called “scientist agents,” McWilliams said, qualifying that he knows these things despite not yet having been born.
“And they did some science,” he said with a chuckle. It was basic: fingerprint analysis, some forgery and document analysis.
The lab introduced DNA analysis to its repertoire in 2002 and criminal toxicology in 2018, McWilliams said.
Eaton, Of Course
In the same year it added DNA technology, the lab crew decided to plug an old, but important, bit of DNA from a stain found on a murdered woman’s clothing into a federal database.
Lisa Marie “Li’l Miss” Kimmel had been dead for 14 years by then. Search parties found her body in the North Platte River in 1988. Her autopsy revealed she’d been repeatedly raped, stabbed and bludgeoned.
Advertisement
The federal database yielded a match to a man already in federal prison on a weapons charge, Dale Wayne Eaton.
The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office and others converged on Eaton’s former home in Moneta, Wyoming, and eventually unearthed Kimmel’s car buried on Eaton’s property. A jury convicted him in 2004.
Now, McWilliams recalls this as the most notable DNA crime bust in which the Wyoming State Crime Lab had a hand.
The entrance to the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
The Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Forensic analyst Amber Smith shows an example of a sample vile for testing DNA at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
These aren’t futuristic microwave ovens, they’re among the specialize equipment used in the DNA testing area of the Wyoming State Crime Lab. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Lindsey Human is a forensic drug chemist at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne. There’s close to $1 million worth of equipment in this lab, including six machines that separate and identify various chemicals. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
The Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Kim Ley, a forensic analyst at the Wyoming State Crime Lab in Cheyenne, works in the Screening Room, where evidence and items are analyzed for the types of substances that may be on them. This machine uses various types of light to show different bodily fluids that could be on something. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Some Zoologist
McWilliams wouldn’t join the facility until three years later, starting as a DNA analyst, progressing to unit supervisor and becoming lab director in 2021.
His University of Wyoming bachelor’s degree is in zoology and physiology, he said, adding that he’d considered going into medicine.
But a tour of the crime lab he took in college sparked his interest, and when he applied for a job later, he “got lucky and got in.”
Advertisement
McWilliams would later acknowledge that DCI runs on more than luck: applicants undergo an extensive background and character check. The agency sends hiring agents to applicants’ hometowns to talk to the people who know them best, he said.
McWilliams later earned his master’s degree in forensic science and DNA.
Let That Not Diminish …
McWilliams has to check himself in conversation so he doesn’t rhapsodize the science of DNA too much and lose his listeners, he said.
But he also credited the lab’s other study areas as important to solving crimes: naming the drugs, identifying the poison, linking latent prints to the fingers that made them and matching spent ammunition to the gun that fired it.
The Western Identification Network and Next-Generation Identification databases are to “latent print,” or fingerprint analysists, what the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is to DNA analysts, McWilliams said.
Advertisement
Most areas require a two-year training period, making it rare for an agent to cross into multiple forensics fields, he said. He deems those two years more important than the college degrees applicants receive before them.
“On-the-job training is the really critical part,” he said.
Here To Report
Also critical are lab purity, analyst accountability, DNA privacy and neutrality, he said.
McWilliams said analysts must have a laser focus on their specimens and their data.
“It’s not just about getting the bad guy, it’s about doing the right science,” said McWilliams. If the science doesn’t support an investigator’s hunch, “it sometimes disappoints people when we didn’t get what they want — but it’s the scientific truth that we’re here to report.”
Advertisement
Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
