TX - Mark Nelson, 38, shot to death, Katy, 29 April 2009

Grace1984

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Harris County prosecutors said Thursday they will ask a juvenile judge to continue the detention of a 12-year-old Katy girl charged with murder in the shooting death of her father.

Mark A. Nelson, 38, died Wednesday evening after being shot in the back of his head as he lay in bed. Police recovered a .38-caliber revolver at the home

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6399995.html
 
:eek:

What's up with all these kids shooting their parents??
Why do parents even let their kids know where their guns are?
Or did she get the gun herself from somewhere?
 
Reading the "comments" section after the article--assuming it is true, check the first comment...the person says :
"next door neighbor said that she often came over with bruises around her neck. wouldn't that raise a flag to find out what was going on??????"
 
I live near this area. There have been many people saying this girl was abused.

My kids know where our guns are. Of course they are all locked up in the gun safe. Our 10 yr old and 12 yr old both have deer hunting rifles and they are excellent shooters. If you teach your kids gun safety and keep your guns locked up they know to respect the danger. The people you have to worry about are the ones who don't teach their kids and have guns sitting in closets. JMO
 
I live near this area. There have been many people saying this girl was abused.

My kids know where our guns are. Of course they are all locked up in the gun safe. Our 10 yr old and 12 yr old both have deer hunting rifles and they are excellent shooters. If you teach your kids gun safety and keep your guns locked up they know to respect the danger. The people you have to worry about are the ones who don't teach their kids and have guns sitting in closets. JMO

Thank's jnTexas, I was wondering about that, but didn't want to offend anyone.
 
I live near this area. There have been many people saying this girl was abused.

i don't know specifically about this girl, but my Criminal Justice (or maybe my Social Psych?) book has some interesting statistics about parenticide. Almost all are not accidental, and almost all are because of abuse, physical or emotional. When people outside of the family don't notice what's going on, they feel that they have no other choice.

Certainly I believe this girl should be tried (and given major counseling away from society - she obviously has some major emotional issues), but it's hard to imagine sentencing some of these kids as adults and locking them away for life.
 
i don't know specifically about this girl, but my Criminal Justice (or maybe my Social Psych?) book has some interesting statistics about parenticide. Almost all are not accidental, and almost all are because of abuse, physical or emotional. When people outside of the family don't notice what's going on, they feel that they have no other choice.

Certainly I believe this girl should be tried (and given major counseling away from society - she obviously has some major emotional issues), but it's hard to imagine sentencing some of these kids as adults and locking them away for life.

Welcome to Websleuths kittenish & ty for your insight. I live a mile or so from this and did not hear about it until today. It is very sad and I cannot imagine what this girl may have gone through to decide to shot her father. I hope prosecution will not fail her if she was abused. :(
 
Hi
I'm new around here, but am rather familiar with the site (okay, I've been lurking since the Shawn Hornbeck case broke!). :blushing:

I just wanted to add my .02 to the discussion. Reading this article gave me chills, it reminded me so much of my own experience as a girl. I grew up with a physically abusive father, and I remember one night (when I was 12 years old, actually) things got particularly bad. I have never in my life wanted to kill someone like I wanted to that night. It was like an explosion of emotion. I wanted to shoot him and kill him in his sleep--I remember thinking that I wanted to get him in the kneecaps first, play with him for a while. (I know, I know! Sounds terrible!) I knew he had guns--a military guy into hunting and such. What saved my father's life (and my own, I guess) is the fact that I simply didn't know where the guns were stashed.
I was a very shy, very quiet girl then, and I grew up to be a non-violent person, a primary school teacher, and a devoted parent and wife. And even today, I don't have the greatest relationship with my father, and I probably never will, but I have to say that he has softened so much with age. IOW, I'm glad I didn't kill him. lol

I guess my point is that an abusive situation creates such emotional upheaval in a child that she will consider choices that are not in keeping with her personality at all. Abuse evokes a fight or flight mentality. As an adult, it's best to get out and be done with it. But as a child, where can you go? You are captive to your abuser. She probably thought, "It's either him or me."

I really hope that the authorities approach this case with sensitivity to the fact that she is a child and that she was abused. I don't want to see her life ruined for what comes down to self-defense. I know that she wasn't being attacked at the time, as she shot him in his sleep, but when you know for sure that tomorrow is going to be just like today and yesterday, and all the yesterdays before that, then you take your advantage when you can get it.
 
If it's true that this girl frequently had bruises around her neck, then I feel it should be self defense. No one should have to be abused and live with being choked and no telling what else. If she truly was abused then she probably now feels safe for the first time in her life.
 
Hi
I'm new around here, but am rather familiar with the site (okay, I've been lurking since the Shawn Hornbeck case broke!). :blushing:

I just wanted to add my .02 to the discussion. Reading this article gave me chills, it reminded me so much of my own experience as a girl. I grew up with a physically abusive father, and I remember one night (when I was 12 years old, actually) things got particularly bad. I have never in my life wanted to kill someone like I wanted to that night. It was like an explosion of emotion. I wanted to shoot him and kill him in his sleep--I remember thinking that I wanted to get him in the kneecaps first, play with him for a while. (I know, I know! Sounds terrible!) I knew he had guns--a military guy into hunting and such. What saved my father's life (and my own, I guess) is the fact that I simply didn't know where the guns were stashed.
I was a very shy, very quiet girl then, and I grew up to be a non-violent person, a primary school teacher, and a devoted parent and wife. And even today, I don't have the greatest relationship with my father, and I probably never will, but I have to say that he has softened so much with age. IOW, I'm glad I didn't kill him. lol

I guess my point is that an abusive situation creates such emotional upheaval in a child that she will consider choices that are not in keeping with her personality at all. Abuse evokes a fight or flight mentality. As an adult, it's best to get out and be done with it. But as a child, where can you go? You are captive to your abuser. She probably thought, "It's either him or me."

I really hope that the authorities approach this case with sensitivity to the fact that she is a child and that she was abused. I don't want to see her life ruined for what comes down to self-defense. I know that she wasn't being attacked at the time, as she shot him in his sleep, but when you know for sure that tomorrow is going to be just like today and yesterday, and all the yesterdays before that, then you take your advantage when you can get it.


((((((((((celeste)))))))) :bighug: So sorry about your abuse. Thank you for giving your insight and sharing your story. I'm glad that you survived.
 
Thanks, Lovejac!

But perhaps I jumped the gun with my response. I had not seen this article: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6785280

LE has been unable to find markings on the girl to prove that she was abused, and the victim's best friend is alleging that the girl made up the claims of abuse because she didn't get her way:

Lollies says the girl made up the assault after her father took away her cell phone and Internet privileges.

"He found out about the MySpace page and took it down and took back her cell phone and stopped letting her use the Internet, " said Lollies. "That's when she said, well, 'He choked me',"


Please don't tell me that this is about suspended cell phone privileges!
 
Thanks, Lovejac!

But perhaps I jumped the gun with my response. I had not seen this article: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6785280

LE has been unable to find markings on the girl to prove that she was abused, and the victim's best friend is alleging that the girl made up the claims of abuse because she didn't get her way:

Lollies says the girl made up the assault after her father took away her cell phone and Internet privileges.

"He found out about the MySpace page and took it down and took back her cell phone and stopped letting her use the Internet, " said Lollies. "That's when she said, well, 'He choked me',"


Please don't tell me that this is about suspended cell phone privileges!

wow! i thought someone had seen the marks.
 
Thanks, Lovejac!

But perhaps I jumped the gun with my response. I had not seen this article: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6785280

LE has been unable to find markings on the girl to prove that she was abused, and the victim's best friend is alleging that the girl made up the claims of abuse because she didn't get her way:

Lollies says the girl made up the assault after her father took away her cell phone and Internet privileges.

"He found out about the MySpace page and took it down and took back her cell phone and stopped letting her use the Internet, " said Lollies. "That's when she said, well, 'He choked me',"



Please don't tell me that this is about suspended cell phone privileges!

Thank's for that article. I am very interested in the CPS report. I'm with you, we definitely need to get more information.
 
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090501_jj_12-year-old-murder-suspect.c170d48.html

Her stepmother said that she loves her stepdaughter and is coming to terms with the loss of her husband.

Katy police arrived at the home in the 3300 block of Jan Court shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday and found Mark A. Nelson, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Neighbors said Nelson and his daughter were often seen playing basketball outside of their home.

“They seemed like they were getting along,” said neighbor Jeremy Lorino.” Nothing [appeared] out of the ordinary.”

interesting comment at the bottom of the article, FWIW

Duck22 5 hours ago wrote:
I am the brother of the gunshot victim.My brother loved my niece with all of his heart. Alot of people are talking about how she was abused and mistreated. This is an outright "LIE". Most people making these comments don't know anything about my family. The reason their is no evidence of abuse, is because there was no abuse of ANY KIND.And to the uncle on the mother's side who made the comment about you all calling CPS to get my niece removed from her father and step mother... If her biological mother was not "UNFIT" as found by CPS her biological mother would not have lost her. She was having problems taking care of the kids she already had, and my niece was being mistreated by her own mother. So my brother fought his *advertiser censored** off to get his daughter removed from her UNFIT *advertiser censored** biological mother. To people trying to question my brother's parenting skills and integrety, if you didn't know my brother, you really have no grounds to judge him or anyone else you don't know.What i speak is the truth.For those that offer simpathy and keeps me and my family in their prayers; THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
 
http://nwahomepage.com/content/fulltext_news?cid=85571

12 Year Old Faces Murder Charges
Reported by: Jay Dillon
Friday, May 1, 2009 @07:06am CST

A 12 year old girl in Katy, Texas, is charged with murder after police say she shot her sleeping father in the head. Police found the girl sitting calmly in front of the house, waiting for officers to arrive. Police believe her father was sleeping after working a night shift. One investigator says the girl showed -quote- "no remorse" - when arrested.
 
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090501_jj_12-year-old-murder-suspect.c170d48.html



interesting comment at the bottom of the article, FWIW

Duck22 5 hours ago wrote:
I am the brother of the gunshot victim.My brother loved my niece with all of his heart. Alot of people are talking about how she was abused and mistreated. This is an outright "LIE". Most people making these comments don't know anything about my family. The reason their is no evidence of abuse, is because there was no abuse of ANY KIND.And to the uncle on the mother's side who made the comment about you all calling CPS to get my niece removed from her father and step mother... If her biological mother was not "UNFIT" as found by CPS her biological mother would not have lost her. She was having problems taking care of the kids she already had, and my niece was being mistreated by her own mother. So my brother fought his *advertiser censored** off to get his daughter removed from her UNFIT *advertiser censored** biological mother. To people trying to question my brother's parenting skills and integrety, if you didn't know my brother, you really have no grounds to judge him or anyone else you don't know.What i speak is the truth.For those that offer simpathy and keeps me and my family in their prayers; THANK YOU VERY MUCH.


I can appreciate the words from this man. My only personal problem with it is that it could have been written by my own mother's brother. They would have said the very same thing. No one knew what went on in my home. Not even her brother.

So unless they lived under the same roof as the brother, I'm not sure how anyone would truly know the nature of the person. I only hope what he (brother) is saying was true. Which makes this a much more horrific story because it would seem the murder was essentially unprovoked.

I also hope this is much more thoroughly investigated and the charges not just based on the 'lack of emotional response' from the child.


KHOU link from above:

Estella Olguin, a Child Protective Services spokeswoman, said the agency has no public record of investigating Mark Nelson’s family for allegations of abuse, but Assistant Police Chief Tim Tyler said his department was following up on rumors.

“We hear people saying it,” he said, “But we don’t have any actual proof of abuse. I think it’s, unfortunately, the trend of the times. I think young kids are being exposed to too much violence.”


CPS is not telling the truth, imo - see below. I know I saw neighbors on the news talking about their concerns for this child, it wasn't just on myspace. And if kids are being exposed to too much violence, isn't it the parents responsibility to change that? To me, there's much more to this story than what's being said.

Yet ABC link SHOWS there to be a CPS investigation, so why are they denying there was a record of investigation?
Two weeks ago, police say the girl told people at school her father had tried to strangle her. The case, they say, was investigated out at Carter Middle School by CPS. CPS says it cannot discuss the investigation or say how it ended.


From ABC link:
"Police say the girl shot her father in his sleep on Wednesday. The 38-year-old does have a criminal record that includes an assault in 1997."

The man was capable of violence. I wish I knew if this criminal record 'assault' was against the mother of this girl?! "Includes assault' mean there were other convictions..wonder what other convictions this man has? Sorry, not going to believe this was NOTHING the father did until I see much more info.
 
Hi
I'm new around here, but am rather familiar with the site (okay, I've been lurking since the Shawn Hornbeck case broke!). :blushing:

I just wanted to add my .02 to the discussion. Reading this article gave me chills, it reminded me so much of my own experience as a girl. I grew up with a physically abusive father, and I remember one night (when I was 12 years old, actually) things got particularly bad. I have never in my life wanted to kill someone like I wanted to that night. It was like an explosion of emotion. I wanted to shoot him and kill him in his sleep--I remember thinking that I wanted to get him in the kneecaps first, play with him for a while. (I know, I know! Sounds terrible!) I knew he had guns--a military guy into hunting and such. What saved my father's life (and my own, I guess) is the fact that I simply didn't know where the guns were stashed.
I was a very shy, very quiet girl then, and I grew up to be a non-violent person, a primary school teacher, and a devoted parent and wife. And even today, I don't have the greatest relationship with my father, and I probably never will, but I have to say that he has softened so much with age. IOW, I'm glad I didn't kill him. lol

I guess my point is that an abusive situation creates such emotional upheaval in a child that she will consider choices that are not in keeping with her personality at all. Abuse evokes a fight or flight mentality. As an adult, it's best to get out and be done with it. But as a child, where can you go? You are captive to your abuser. She probably thought, "It's either him or me."

I really hope that the authorities approach this case with sensitivity to the fact that she is a child and that she was abused. I don't want to see her life ruined for what comes down to self-defense. I know that she wasn't being attacked at the time, as she shot him in his sleep, but when you know for sure that tomorrow is going to be just like today and yesterday, and all the yesterdays before that, then you take your advantage when you can get it.

Hi Celeste, thank you for your honesty and your open emotion, nothing but peace and love going out to you.
 
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The jury deliberating the case of a Katy teen accused of murdering her dad reached a not guilty verdict on Monday afternoon.

The jury seemed to struggle with this case, taking four days to finally reach their verdict. After nearly 24 hours of deliberations spread out over four days, it was the verdict the teen had been hoping for. The jury tells us they thought the 12-year-old girl acted in self-defense.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8533218
 

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