Left: David Nemyier (Citrus County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Kyle Pazian (Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office).
A Florida man who reported finding his father-in-law dead was charged with murdering the older man, whom authorities said died days before he was “found.”
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 43-year-old David Nemyier on April 13 in connection to the shooting death of his father-in-law, 67-year-old Kyle Pazian. On Wednesday, the state attorney’s office stated that Nemyier had been indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges. The charges were a culmination of events that began on the morning of April 9, when his wife — Pazian’s daughter — had an argument with her father and the day allegedly took a violent turn.
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According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Nemyier initially told police that after not being able to contact Pazian at his home on the morning of April 11, he and his wife went to conduct a welfare check. Upon arrival, the couple found Pazian dead on the living room couch with “blood all over his face.”
The affidavit stated that Nemyier and his wife and son had been living with Pazian in the same home at the time. That morning, Nemyier was at work while his wife and son were at the home, but according to the affidavit, police said the couple’s stories about what happened had “numerous discrepancies.”
One story allegedly relayed to police by Nemyier was that Pazian was involved in a “tense, ongoing feud” with a Black drug dealer named “Mike,” to whom he apparently owed money.
Nemyier’s wife also initially told police that she and her husband had an argument that morning during which he said he was going to “leave her.” Hours after he went to work, she awoke to find a “knot” on her head. When she asked her father if he knew who could have done that to her, she told police that he reportedly “became frustrated” with her, and she left for the restaurant where Nemyier worked.
The affidavit noted, however, the interactions between Nemyier and his wife, including recordings at the police station where he can allegedly be heard telling her “don’t tell them anything.” When the family was released from the station after questioning, the affidavit said that Nemyier’s wife “was concerned for [her son’s] safety” upon learning that Nemyier had been free to leave. She also reportedly asked an officer for his contact information before she left with Nemyier and their son.
After the medical examiner conducted an autopsy on Pazian, Nemyier’s story began to fall apart. According to the affidavit, the medical examiner told police that by the time Pazian was found on April 11, he had been dead for two days. His date of death was listed as April 9, with the cause and manner of death listed as a gunshot wound as a result of homicide.
Police reviewed security camera footage from the restaurant where Nemyier worked that was taken the morning of April 9. In that video, Nemyier was seen changing his shirt in the parking lot. A witness who worked with Nemyier also told police that on April 10, another employee showed her a bullet that was found “in the direct vicinity” of where Nemyier was captured on video changing his shirt.
On April 13, Nemyier’s wife contacted police, “urgently” wanting to speak to them. She and her son were taken by police to the sheriff’s office, where the affidavit said both were “very distraught” and the son began “vomiting.” Nemyier’s wife stated that she wanted to tell police what “really happened” on the morning of April 9.
According to the affidavit, Nemyier’s wife said that while she and her father did have an argument, she admitted that she had “chugged” part of a bottle of vodka and was heavily intoxicated. When she got a ride to the restaurant and her husband saw the “knot” on her head, he asked if Pazian had done that to her. She stated that she didn’t know how it happened, to which Nemyier responded that “nobody is going to hurt my wife.”
Nemyier then took his wife back to the home so he could confront Pazian. After Nemyier parked the car, his wife lay down on the center console and he went inside. When he returned, she told police that after asking Nemyier if her father was OK, he allegedly responded, “He’s dead.”
She then reportedly apologized to police for not telling them the truth sooner, explaining that there was a “building history of domestic violence” between the couple. On the morning of April 9, she said Nemyier was allegedly “high on crack” and held a “small black gun” to her head.
Police eventually tracked Nemyier down at the hotel where his wife and son were staying and arrested him on suspicion of murder. He was indicted by a grand jury of premeditated first-degree murder on Wednesday. Nemyier has been held without bond since his arrest on April 13.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
