Details On Two Arrests In Connection With Alleged Murder Of Wrestler Kevin Nikel (Ivan Warsaw)

Details surrounding the death of Kevin Nikel.

In July 2025, wrestler Kevin Nikel a.k.a. Ivan Warsaw/Knuckles Madsen was shot in Arkansas. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

There’s a story up on 5NEWS about Nikel’s murder, which includes comments from his mother. Two suspects have been arrested in connection with Nikel’s death.

On November 17th, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Michael Hogue and Amanda Penny. Hogue was charged with first-degree murder, and Penny was charged with being an accomplice to first-degree murder. Both Hogue and Penny are also facing firearm charges.

Nikel’s mother, Susan Kinderman, was interviewed by 5NEWS and spoke about the arrests. She said all she knows is that there was an argument that led to her son’s murder.

“We still don’t know exactly what happened when he got shot. The detectives have been pretty close lipped on that, which is good, but we’d still like to know exactly what happened and who did what.

There was some kind of an argument. Maybe there was texting going back and forth. I think they enticed Kevin to meet up with them. I was told by the detectives that there was some kind of altercation. Shots were fired, and Kevin was killed, and that’s all we really know,” Kinderman said.

Kinderman confirmed that Amanda Perry is her son’s ex-wife. Court records show that Penny and Nikel separated after 10 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized just days before Nikel was shot. Kinderman shared that her son and Penny were high school sweethearts who met in the year 2000.

“She was his first friend that he met in high school. They were dating, then they got married. They were happy for a long time, and then I guess they started to grow apart. And, you know, neither one of them were happy. Kevin took a job where he could be gone two weeks at a time, and things just progressively got worse, until they divorced,” Kinderman said.

After Nikel’s death, his mother filed a custody case, and she claimed that Michael Hogue was the “cohabiting romantic partner” of Amanda Penny. Investigators believe Hogue pulled the trigger.

A bond hearing for Michael Hogue and Amanda Penny was held. Although Penny is the alleged accomplice, in the state of Arkansas, her charge is functionally the same as a murder charge, and it’s a distinction without a difference, per prosecuting attorney Josh Robinson.

Due to the nature of the case and Hogue’s criminal history, he was given a $750,000 bond, and Penny received a $500,000 bond.

Prosecutor Josh Robinson stated that an argument broke out involving Nikel, Hogue and Penny. Nikel was shot, but was able to get control of the gun and sought help from people down the road, but was not able to survive the shooting. Robinson added that before Nikel died, he told the people who helped him to the hospital that he was shot by Hogue and that he took the gun from him.

Hogue and Penny’s next court date is January 5th, 2026.