A rural Wisner man has been sentenced to mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole for shooting his father to death at their southern Wayne County home in 2022, capping a case stretched across four years by repeated competency battles. Carl Ruskamp, 34, was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of 65-year-old Gerald Ruskamp, who was shot at the family's home at 320 Y Road and later died at a Wayne hospital.
Judge Michael Long handed down the sentence, which included an additional 10 to 20 years for a separate conviction of possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, according to 1011now.com. A Wayne County jury had found Ruskamp guilty on July 29, as KTIV reported. The Norfolk Daily News reports dispatch received a 911 call shortly after 7 p.m. about Gerald's gunshot wound.
A Story That Didn't Hold Up
Ruskamp initially told investigators he was outside when he heard a gunshot, then saw a person in black clothes and a black mask before going inside and finding his father bleeding. Court testimony recounted by the Daily News described investigators finding a spent .22-caliber shell casing inside the living and dining area and another casing on the ground outside the house, along with a .22 rifle found in another bedroom.
Authorities also found .22-caliber cartridges on Carl Ruskamp's bed and in a dresser in his room. According to the same account, Gerald Ruskamp's blood was found on Carl Ruskamp's shirt, and authorities determined the rifle recovered at the scene was the weapon used to shoot him, with Carl's DNA reportedly found on it, per the KTIV report.
Searches, Texts and a Motive Over Money
Investigators who searched Ruskamp's cellphone extracted emails and text messages, and the Daily News reported he had conducted internet searches on topics related to headshots, bullets and the brain just days before the killing, on Sept. 3, 2022. Ruskamp and his father had argued over money to rent an apartment.
Defense attorneys raised questions about whether another suspect could have committed the killing.
Years of Competency Fights Before Trial
The case took an unusually long path to trial. Ruskamp was arrested in connection with a marijuana growing operation investigators said they found on the Ruskamp property; Duane Ruskamp was arrested in that case as well. Prosecutors charged Ruskamp with murder. He was declared incompetent in September 2024 and spent about a year in that status before being found competent a second time in August 2025 following treatment at the Lincoln Regional Center, according to KTIV. After Ruskamp's murder conviction in July, prosecutors moved to dismiss the separate marijuana manufacturing charge, the Daily News reported.
The defense told the court that Nebraska's mental-health system had failed Ruskamp.
Family Speaks
At sentencing, Beth Beninato said the killing was a completely senseless and tragic situation that destroyed the family and took Gerald Ruskamp's life, according to the Daily News.
