A sex offender is in custody after being charged in the murder of his 12-year-old victim’s aunt. Nicholas Cunningham, also known as “Sapphire” or “Saphire,” was arrested in November in connection to the death of 44-year-old Gena Wade of Smith Township, Ohio.
Wade was first found dead in her home on October 26 by a young relative who was arriving home from school, with the youth reportedly seeing blood throughout the home. Smith Township Police immediately suspected homicide, and launched an investigation with the assistance of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s office. After two weeks of gathering evidence, Cunningham, 33, was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and two counts of violating a protection order.
While details on the case are limited as the proceedings are ongoing, police and court records have confirmed that Cunningham and Wade were known to each other, and that Wade had successfully filed for a restraining order against Cunningham in March of 2023.
In the application for the order, Wade revealed that Cunningham had been stalking her 12-year-old niece and sending disturbing threats to both her and the girl’s mother via text and Facebook.
Cunningham had reportedly become obsessed with the minor, and was determined to see her despite the objections of her family. While a hearing was scheduled for March 31 and Cunningham’s presence was requested before a judge, he never showed up, resulting in the court granting Wade her order.
The order stated that Cunningham had to stay away from Wade and her family, and was not to “abuse, harm, attempt to harm, threaten, follow, stalk, harass, force sexual relations upon or commit sexually oriented offenses against the protected persons named in this order.” He also had to turn in any weapons he owned.
At the time of the protection order, Cunningham was already known to authorities as a registered sex offender stemming from a 2015 conviction for the sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13. During the trial, Cunningham attempted to claim incompetency, and a psychiatric evaluation was conducted by the court.
While one psychiatrist found Cunningham was competent, another disagreed and argued that Cunningham had an IQ of approximately 53.
He was also addicted to drugs, and had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. While some debate surrounded Cunningham’s competency, another assessment found that Cunningham scored “much higher than the average mean score for defendants with mental retardation that were found competent to stand trial.”
Cunningham was ultimately sentenced to 3 years in prison, and was ordered to the sex offender registry for life. In his sex offender profile, “Sapphire” is provided as his alias, though his sex is still marked as “male.” On a now-barren Facebook believed to belong to Cunningham, his listed “gender” is “female.”
In the case of Wade’s death, Cunningham has once again pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and an evaluation has been ordered.
According to Vindy, a new filing submitted by Cunningham’s attorney states that the predator “is not competent and does not presently have sufficient ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.” Cunningham’s lawyer has also said he does not “have a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.”
Cunningham is being held in the Mahoning County jail on a $500,000 bond. His next appearance in court is scheduled for January 22.