Kriti Mehrotra
It was on July 18, 2016, that the entire world for the Morelos family turned upside down as 45-year-old former Marine official Nicolas “Nick” Morelos was found shot to death in his home. After all, as carefully explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Stone Cold,’ it was evident that whoever took his life knew him personally and did so in a fit of rage because they’d once aimed straight for his forehead too. His brother John Morelos knew he had his fair share of enemies owing to his intimidating demeanor at work as well as his relatively messy personal life, yet he could have imagined it would result in his murder.
John Morelos Was the One to Break This Case Wide Open
Born to Susan and Nicolas Morelos in 1969 as one of their four children, John knew from an early age precisely who he wished to be — a proud patriot, loving family man, and kind individual. He and his siblings — Nick Morelos, Jason Morelos, and Jesika Carrasco — had grown up seeing their father and grandfather serve the nation, so they wished to follow in their footsteps, too. Therefore, upon graduating from Marana High School, the former enlisted in the Army National Guard. While Nick joined the Marines later, Jason ultimately decided he also wanted to be an Army man.
Therefore, by the time the mid-2010s rolled around, neither John nor his brothers were the same people they were as youngsters, owing to everything they had seen on the ground. They were still good people who genuinely cared about their loved ones, yet they were also more serious in many ways while trying to juggle all the different aspects of their respective lives. He particularly knew about the struggles of his 18-month-younger brother Nick since the latter had long evolved into the Director of Maintenance at Marana Aerospace Solutions — his workplace — but he was happy in 2016.
In fact, Nick had just gotten engaged to Kristy Trepanitis, so the fact he was shot eight times, including once in the middle of his forehead, shattered John’s heart in a way we can’t even imagine. Thus, he decided to do his own investigation alongside the police and learned through a trusted connection that one of his brother’s co-workers, who openly had an issue with him, had recently gotten a silencer repaired. He immediately contacted the authorities to relay this detail, resulting in them securing a search warrant for James LaPan’s home, where they found significant evidence against him.
John Morelos is Trying to Make the Most of His Life These Days
While there’s no denying Nick’s untimely demise shook John to the core, it also seemingly brought him and his family a lot closer as they relied on one another to deal with their grief and pain. That’s just part of why they are now consciously trying their best to spend as much time together as possible, all the while ensuring they keep the former’s legacy as well as memories alive in their hearts. Hence, they even attended James’ trial so as to bring this chapter to a close before moving forward in a way that helps them remember the one they lost for the life he led rather than the tragic way he was taken away.
Coming to John’s current standing, it appears as if this Lieutenant Colonel retired from the Army National Guard following over three decades of active service in 2020 — April 30, to be exact. Since then, it appears as if he has been keeping a relatively low profile in Pinedale, Arizona, just spending all his time surrounded by loved ones and embracing new hobbies and experiences. He is also a happily married father of five, but with all of his and his Air Force veteran wife, Kim Marie Ward-Morelos’s children now adults, they are essentially merely active dog parents.
Read More: Kristy Trepanitis: Where is Nick Morelos’ Fiancee Now?
