Trial begins for man accused of posting murder confession on Facebook after killing

IDAHO FALLS – The trial for a man who allegedly confessed on Facebook to the murder of a 23-year-old man began with opening statements Tuesday.

Mark Bent, 43, is charged with the first-degree murder of killing Nikolas Todd Bird, 23, on Sept. 3, 2022.

District Judge Michael Whyte is presiding over the trial, which is expected to last into next week.

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Bonneville County Deputy Prosecutor Steven Haderlie opened the state’s arguments, calling Bent “frustrated, resentful, and bitter.”

Harderlie told the jury that Bent had joined a local car club called “The Castaways” that Bird had also been in. Rumors began to spread about Bent that he was an “undercover cop,” which angered him.

“He wanted to make a mark, do something that would be meaningful, and it just wasn’t happening,” said Haderlie. “So, as he became increasingly angry, the evidence will show that he decided to do something. And what he did was kill a man.”

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Bent reportedly shot Bird 17 times in the street near his home on Saturn Avenue.

After the alleged murder, Haderlie says Bent texted his parents, “I am really sorry to tell you this, but I have just committed murder. I tried to talk myself out of it.”

Bent then drove to the Albertson’s parking lot on 17th Street, where he allegedly posted his plans to kill Bird on Facebook.

According to Harderlie, Bent called 911 to turn himself in about 30 minutes after the murder.

Bent reportedly stated, “I need to turn myself in, “I shot someone,” and said, “His name is Nikolas Bird.” Idaho Falls Police then arrested him.

Bent’s father also called 911 to report that his son told him that he had killed someone.

Bent’s attorney, Serhiy Stavynskyy, then provided opening arguments for the defense, briefly asking the jury to pay close attention to the evidence.

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Before beginning testimony, Stavynskyy raised an issue, saying the state was going to call Bird’s father, Todd Bird, as a witness, but he was not listed on the witness list given to the defense.

Ultimately, Whyte decided that Bird could not testify because the defense was not told that he would be testifying ahead of time.

Testimony begins

The trial’s first witness was Bird’s girlfriend, Korbee Anderson, who told the jury that Bird was shy and kind.

“He just wanted to have fun. He wanted to smile, listen to the type of music that we loved, and just be happy,” said Anderson. “We went to concerts together, he was a DJ, so he liked to mix music.”

According to Anderson, they woke up on the day of Bird’s death, went to lunch, and the rest of the day “didn’t go so well.”

“I picked a fight at lunch. I can’t recall what it was over, but he decided to walk home. He didn’t want to fight,” said Anderson. “I tried to get him back in the car. I tried to follow him, but he wasn’t confrontational.”

Anderson said she called and texted Bird multiple times later that day, but he didn’t respond until just minutes before his death when he told her he didn’t want to argue over the phone.

Bird answered the phone briefly, but Anderson says she left work to go find him at his apartment. When she arrived, she said she saw “what looked like a million cop cars” and police tape on the street.

She went to his apartment and couldn’t find him, so she returned to work. She did not know the cops were there for Bird.

“I could’ve never imagined that that was Nik,” said Anderson.

The state then called Mark Breidenbaugh, Bird’s neighbor, to the stand.

Breidenbaugh says he was playing video games around 8 p.m. on the night of Sept. 3 when he heard gunshots from outside. He says he looked out the window and saw “the silhouette of somebody standing in the street and another individual lying on the ground in the middle of the street.”

Breidenbaugh says the person walked away from the body, got in a truck, and drove away. Breidenbaugh then called 911.

Defense attorney Stavynskyy then asked Breidenbaugh if it was possible that he actually heard gunshots on his video game. Breidenbaugh responded, “That is impossible.”

The next witness was Bishop (California) Police Detective Robin Ludovico, who was an Idaho Falls Police officer at the time of the shooting.

She told the jury that she was the first on the scene.

“When I first arrived, it was very eerie because there was nobody else around,” said Ludovico. “I saw a vehicle stopped or parked, but the lights were on, and I could see a person lying on the street just outside the vehicle.”

Ludovico says she did not see the shooter, so she was concerned it was a “set up” and someone was waiting to shoot whoever responded to the incident.

“I didn’t go directly out into the street…” says Ludovico. “I tried to stay on the curb line as much as I could until I got up to the victim.”

Prosecutors showed Ludovico’s body camera footage from that night, where Bird is seen lying in the road, covered in blood. The officer asks him his name, and he slightly nods but does not speak.

Ludovico is heard calling out to him, “I’m with you man, I’m with you. What’s your name? Medics are coming.” The detective told the jury that Bird “appeared to have agonal breathing,” meaning that he was most likely taking his last breaths.

“There were so many wounds, that the only thing I could think to do at that point was to cover as many as possible, so I covered two with my hands,” said Ludovico. “The amount of damage I saw on his body…I thought it was very likely he was going to die, and I wanted him to know that somebody was there with him.”

Bird was then taken by ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

Stavynskyy then questioned Ludovico, seemingly insinuating that she decided Bird was “the victim” before she had evidence. Ludovico responded, saying that he was lying in the road, covered in blood, so she identified him as the victim of a shooting.

Bent’s father, William Bent, then testified over Zoom for the prosecution, stating that he cares for his son and would protect him if necessary.

William said his son, Mark Bent, called him on the night of the shooting and said, “I shot somebody.” William says Mark told him he wanted to commit suicide, but he told him not to and instead to set the gun down and call the police.

William then said he did not call the police, as Haderlie said he did during opening statements. Stavynskyy did not have any questions for William.

The next witness called was Nathaniel Derby, a former friend of Bent. Derby said he used to ride on “off-roading trails” with Bent.

Derby told the jury he saw a Facebook post from Bent’s account on the night of the shooting, allegedly saying he planned to kill Nik Bird. Derby told the jury that after he saw this, he had called 911 to report it.

The 911 call was played in court, where Derby read the Facebook post to the dispatcher.

Derby also said Bent spoke to him and others from a jail phone about the Facebook post. Bent reportedly told him that the post detailed exactly what happened, that he lost his job and decided to kill Bird.

The last witness of the day was Britney Stoller, an emergency dispatcher for the Idaho Falls Police Department.

Prosecutors played the call where Bent’s father, William, reportedly called dispatch and told Stoller that his son had shot somebody.

Court is expected to continue Wednesday at 9 a.m.