Friends, family pay tribute at memorial for 2 teens killed in Napa double homicide

A makeshift memorial along Riverside Drive in downtown Napa continued to grow Tuesday as friends and family remembered the two teenagers who were killed there days earlier.

Photos of Aileen Villasenor, 19, and Sasha Donnelly, 17, were emblazoned across posters set at the memorial as two separate GoFundMe accounts were created in their names to raise funds for their families.

The two had been shot and were found around 8:10 p.m. Saturday on the road that abuts the Napa River. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital where she later died.

Officials said they would publicly release the victims’ names after autopsies are performed Thursday.

On Tuesday morning, police announced they arrested three people in connection with the fatal shootings.

John Nicholson Jr., 22, of Vallejo, was detained just after 7:23 p.m. Monday, Napa Police Department said in a news release Tuesday morning. SWAT teams with the Napa police and Napa County Sheriff’s Office were at the arrest, along with detectives from the Napa Special Investigations Bureau.

He was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and booked into the Napa County jail where he is being held without bail.

Then, about 3 a.m. Tuesday, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Jessica Whitten, 19, and Judith Adolph, 19, in Sonoma County each on suspicion of one count of aiding in a felony.

Napa police later took the two Santa Rosa women into custody. They were booked into the Napa County jail with an initial bail of $10,000 each. By Tuesday afternoon, they were being held without bail, according to jail records.

Charges still were not filed in Napa County Superior Court as of 3 p.m.

Authorities are still investigating what led to the double homicide. It is not believed to be gang-related, Lt. Chris Pacheco said Tuesday.

Several loved ones who visited the memorial were too distraught to comment Tuesday. The scene is on the edge of a residential neighborhood. Beside it is a single building and a line of homes across the street.

Two women embraced after they saw one another — their daughters were both friends with Donnelly.

One of the mothers, who identified herself as Maria from Marin County, said Donnelly had visited her house many times over the years. Maria, 60, described the girl as tough, adventurous and determined to succeed in life.

Most importantly, she said, she was loyal to friends like Maria’s daughter.

“My daughter is not doing well at all,” Maria told a Press Democrat reporter at the memorial. “This has been one of the hardest things she’s been through.”

Villasenor has a 9-month-old daughter, her aunt Leticia Moreno said in her GoFundMe.

Members of the Napa County community also visited the memorial to pay their respects. St. Helena resident Stan Knight, 71, had attended events at the Sea Scout building just feet from where the girls were shot.

He said the area is typically quiet and the shooting was an anomaly.

“We don’t want the likes of this happening,” Knight said. “There’s no place.”

The Napa Police Department is encouraging anyone who witnessed the crime, has photographic or video surveillance or has additional information to contact Detective Dustin Dodd at 707-257-9568 or ddodd@cityofnapa.org.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals. You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.