Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The unbelievable, bizarre saga of Robin Niceta - a criminal brought to justice by a combination of a determined local politician and anonymous healthcare professionals on the medicine subreddit.
0:00 Introduction
1:02 Part 1: The Anonymous Tip
5:44 Part 2: The Brain Tumor
12:35 Part 3: r/medicine enters the chat
19:33 Part 4: A Return to Court
21:37 Epilogue
22:50 Conclusion
I'd like to thank a number of individuals for their willingness to discuss this case with me, including Ms. Jurinsky, several relevant lawyers, and a few individuals in Aurora who prefer to remain anonymous.
I appreciate that this video contains some relatively pointed criticism of a particular reporter. While that might seem harsh because he's certainly not the "bad guy" of this story, when I reached out to him about his error, he doubled down, the relevant video was removed from CBS Colorado's website without acknowledgment, his colleagues pretended his error was a good thing, and - to the best of my knowledge - he still hasn't apologized to Jurinsky.
References:
The Steffan Tubbs Show: 710knus.com/radioshow/the-steffan-tubbs-show (audio clip used with permission - thanks Steffan!)
Niceta's arrest in May 2022:
- Colorado Sun: coloradosun.com/2022/05/16/vanessa-wilson-partner-danielle-jurinsky
- Denver 7 News: denver7.com/news/local-news/affidavit-former-aurora-police-chiefs-partner-made-false-report-claiming-councilwoman-had-sexual-contact-with-child
Niceta's alleged sexual harassment of women she was investigating:
- Denver 7 News: denver7.com/news/local-news/allegations-against-former-arapahoe-county-caseworker-spark-colorado-dhs-evaluation
- People: people.com/crime/social-worker-allegedly-tried-take-kids-away-moms-rejected-sexual-advances
Jurinsky's defamation lawsuit:
- CBS Colorado: cbsnews.com/colorado/news/former-social-worker-robin-niceta-pay-councilwoman-danielle-jurinsky-defamation-lawsuit
- The Denver Post: denverpost.com/2023/01/20/robin-niceta-danielle-jurinsky-aurora-council-child-abuse-report
Kristin Nichols lawsuit:
- The Denver Post: denverpost.com/2023/01/26/vanessa-wilson-robin-niceta-lawsuit-kristin-nichols-aurora-police
- The Gazette: gazette.com/colorado-watch/colorado-child-protective-worker-investigated-for-false-claims-about-parents/article_1b9fbaf6-2336-11ed-8b87-33e873fea17a.html (the details relevant to Nichols start about halfway through the article)
Initial hearing to discuss Niceta's brain tumor and competency:
- The Denver Post: denverpost.com/2023/03/30/robin-niceta-trial-incompetent-cancer-child-abuse
Information on UT Austin Mass Murderer Charles Whitman:
- Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman
- Brainmind.com: brainmind.com/Case5.html
Charles Whitman's suicide note: schoolshooters.info/sites/default/files/Whitman_letter_wife.pdf
CBS Colorado's April 28th story revealing Niceta's medical records and MRI: cbsnews.com/colorado/news/robin-niceta-mri-images-medical-records-cancerous-brain-tumor (Note: CBS Colorado appears to have removed the video of Maass' report from their website, but it is still present on questionably legal third party news aggregator sites). The relevant clips are used here under Fair Use for commentary and criticism. See: Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015). leagle.com/decision/infdco20170825i86
Reddit thread discussing Niceta's MRI (April 28, 2023): reddit.com/r/medicine/comments/132i0jc/fake_medical_diagnosis_in_the_news_to_avoid_trial
My Twitter thread proving that Niceta's MRI was fake (April 29, 2023): twitter.com/DrEricStrong/status/1652499762594336768
Original source of the coronal glioblastoma from Radiopaedia.org (posted May 2010): radiopaedia.org/cases/glioblastoma-nos-16?lang=us
Original source of the sagital glioblastoma from Wikimedia Commons (posted Feb 2012): commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glioblastoma_multiforme_-_MRT_T1KM_sag.jpg
People v. Niceta (Case: D0032022CR001091). Motion to have the court order a competency evaluation. Submitted by DA Beth McCann. May 11, 2023.
People v. Niceta (Case: D0032022CR001091). Pretrial hearing. May 15, 2023.
CBS Colorado's follow-up story on May 15, 2023: cbsnews.com/colorado/news/robin-niceta-drops-request-delay-criminal-trial-prosecutors-question-brain-tumor
Image Credits:
Charles Whitman: Public Domain
UT Austin Observation Tower: © 1980 Larry D. Moore. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Downloaded from Wikimedia Commons, June 2023.
The unbelievable, bizarre saga of Robin Niceta - a criminal brought to justice by a combination of a determined local politician and anonymous healthcare professionals on the medicine subreddit.
0:00 Introduction
1:02 Part 1: The Anonymous Tip
5:44 Part 2: The Brain Tumor
12:35 Part 3: r/medicine enters the chat
19:33 Part 4: A Return to Court
21:37 Epilogue
22:50 Conclusion
I'd like to thank a number of individuals for their willingness to discuss this case with me, including Ms. Jurinsky, several relevant lawyers, and a few individuals in Aurora who prefer to remain anonymous.
I appreciate that this video contains some relatively pointed criticism of a particular reporter. While that might seem harsh because he's certainly not the "bad guy" of this story, when I reached out to him about his error, he doubled down, the relevant video was removed from CBS Colorado's website without acknowledgment, his colleagues pretended his error was a good thing, and - to the best of my knowledge - he still hasn't apologized to Jurinsky.
References:
The Steffan Tubbs Show: 710knus.com/radioshow/the-steffan-tubbs-show (audio clip used with permission - thanks Steffan!)
Niceta's arrest in May 2022:
- Colorado Sun: coloradosun.com/2022/05/16/vanessa-wilson-partner-danielle-jurinsky
- Denver 7 News: denver7.com/news/local-news/affidavit-former-aurora-police-chiefs-partner-made-false-report-claiming-councilwoman-had-sexual-contact-with-child
Niceta's alleged sexual harassment of women she was investigating:
- Denver 7 News: denver7.com/news/local-news/allegations-against-former-arapahoe-county-caseworker-spark-colorado-dhs-evaluation
- People: people.com/crime/social-worker-allegedly-tried-take-kids-away-moms-rejected-sexual-advances
Jurinsky's defamation lawsuit:
- CBS Colorado: cbsnews.com/colorado/news/former-social-worker-robin-niceta-pay-councilwoman-danielle-jurinsky-defamation-lawsuit
- The Denver Post: denverpost.com/2023/01/20/robin-niceta-danielle-jurinsky-aurora-council-child-abuse-report
Kristin Nichols lawsuit:
- The Denver Post: denverpost.com/2023/01/26/vanessa-wilson-robin-niceta-lawsuit-kristin-nichols-aurora-police
- The Gazette: gazette.com/colorado-watch/colorado-child-protective-worker-investigated-for-false-claims-about-parents/article_1b9fbaf6-2336-11ed-8b87-33e873fea17a.html (the details relevant to Nichols start about halfway through the article)
Initial hearing to discuss Niceta's brain tumor and competency:
- The Denver Post: denverpost.com/2023/03/30/robin-niceta-trial-incompetent-cancer-child-abuse
Information on UT Austin Mass Murderer Charles Whitman:
- Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman
- Brainmind.com: brainmind.com/Case5.html
Charles Whitman's suicide note: schoolshooters.info/sites/default/files/Whitman_letter_wife.pdf
CBS Colorado's April 28th story revealing Niceta's medical records and MRI: cbsnews.com/colorado/news/robin-niceta-mri-images-medical-records-cancerous-brain-tumor (Note: CBS Colorado appears to have removed the video of Maass' report from their website, but it is still present on questionably legal third party news aggregator sites). The relevant clips are used here under Fair Use for commentary and criticism. See: Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015). leagle.com/decision/infdco20170825i86
Reddit thread discussing Niceta's MRI (April 28, 2023): reddit.com/r/medicine/comments/132i0jc/fake_medical_diagnosis_in_the_news_to_avoid_trial
My Twitter thread proving that Niceta's MRI was fake (April 29, 2023): twitter.com/DrEricStrong/status/1652499762594336768
Original source of the coronal glioblastoma from Radiopaedia.org (posted May 2010): radiopaedia.org/cases/glioblastoma-nos-16?lang=us
Original source of the sagital glioblastoma from Wikimedia Commons (posted Feb 2012): commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glioblastoma_multiforme_-_MRT_T1KM_sag.jpg
People v. Niceta (Case: D0032022CR001091). Motion to have the court order a competency evaluation. Submitted by DA Beth McCann. May 11, 2023.
People v. Niceta (Case: D0032022CR001091). Pretrial hearing. May 15, 2023.
CBS Colorado's follow-up story on May 15, 2023: cbsnews.com/colorado/news/robin-niceta-drops-request-delay-criminal-trial-prosecutors-question-brain-tumor
Image Credits:
Charles Whitman: Public Domain
UT Austin Observation Tower: © 1980 Larry D. Moore. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Downloaded from Wikimedia Commons, June 2023.
