TX - Jonathan Foster, 12, Houston, 24 Dec 2010 - Mona Nelson charged with Murder - #9

[bessie]

From Google cache

"Harris" = Sgt. Brian Harris of Houston Police Department's homicide division

Dec. 28, 2010, 9:52PM

Initial reports that Jonathan had disappeared after running home from a babysitter's house to retrieve a video game turned out to be false, Harris said. The boy's mother eventually admitted that Jonathan was not in the care of a babysitter when he disappeared, he said.

"There was some shame and embarrassment about leaving a kid home alone, but it's not unusual for a 12-year-old to be home alone," Harris said.

Jonathan, who used to live with his grandmother, had moved in with his mother and stepfather at the Villa Nueva apartment complex in the 800 block of Oak in November, the sergeant said.

In mid-December, Jonathan and his mother moved to a nearby apartment after "mom had some troubles with the stepdad," Harris said.

The stepfather reportedly is the last known person to see Jonathan, he said.

David Davis told investigators Jonathan was at home playing video games when he went to check on the boy at 1:45 p.m. Friday.

That afternoon, someone called Angela Davis' workplace, Harris said.

"We believe Jonathan's actually on the phone and asks to speak to his mom," Harris said. A colleague who answered the phone said Angela Davis was working and would call him back.

"And then a female gets on the phone and says, 'This is an emergency,'" Harris said.

By the time Jonathan's mother picked up, no one was there, he said.

Angela Davis called the land line where she and Jonathan live, and a woman with a gruff voice answered, Harris said.

"Angela says, 'Well, this is Angela, I'm Jonathan's mother. Who are you?'" Harris said. "And the woman is heard saying, 'Is Angela your mother?' And the boy replies, 'Yes ma'am, Angela's my mother.' And then the phone went dead."

snip

A few minutes later, the mother arrived home, Harris said. Jonathan was gone, and the cordless phone was missing, he said.

Within an hour, relatives called police, Harris said.

"Patrol responds by like 3:30 p.m. and they're there from 3:30 to 4:15 or so," Harris said.

The family was told to go to HPD's station on Mykawa Road to file an official missing child report with the juvenile division. Officers there entered details about Jonathan into the national crime information center database about 9:30 p.m., Harris said.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1vDewSHZq2MJ:www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7356276.html%3FplckFindCommentKey%3DCommentKey:d6b2fcb8-1718-405e-8165-7106bb287cf4+site:chron.com+Initial+reports+that+Jonathan+had+disappeared+after+running+home+from+a+babysitter's+house+to+retrieve+a+video+game+turned+out+to+be+false,+Harris+said.&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

More on the phone calls:

by khou.com staff & The Associated Press
Posted on December 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM
Updated Thursday, Dec 30 at 10:44 AM
Since both Davis and Ennamorato had to work on Christmas Eve, Foster was to stay home by himself until his mother returned. While at work that morning, a colleague told Davis her son had called the office and was asking for Ennamorato’s number.
According to information read at a probable cause hearing, Davis then received a phone call from a woman who made threatening remarks about her son. Concerned, Davis said she called her home phone repeatedly as she drove there.
She said an unknown woman finally answered around 2 p.m. – just minutes before she made it back to the apartment.
Davis said she asked the woman if she could speak to Foster.
Davis said she heard a woman ask her son, "Is your mama’s name Angela?" And then heard Foster say, "Yes ma’am, my mama’s name is Angela," before the line went dead.

When Davis got to the apartment moments later, she said cartoons were still on the TV, and a game was up on the computer screen. But when she called for her son, she got no answer.

http://www.khou.com/news/HPD-defends-Amber-Alert-delay-112574489.html

In the past two days though, Davis has been meeting with police telling them of a strange phone call she received the day of her son's disappearance.

Detectives, according to the probable cause evidence, believe Nelson made that call.

"She made threatening remarks towards her son. Also, a witness observed a female arriving at the residence in a gray or silver pickup about the same time those threatening calls were made," read a prosecutor during the probable cause hearing.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7869821

POSTED: Thursday, December 30, 2010
UPDATED: 3:38 pm CST December 31, 2010

Jonathan called his mother, Angela Davis, at work at about 2 p.m., police said. He spoke to one of her co-workers, who told her about the call.

"The mother finds out about it, gets a little concerned," Detective David Gott said. "It's about time for her to go home; she calls the house. That's when she speaks to the woman with kind of a raspy voice. She gets disconnected, she immediately goes home and Jonathan is gone."Davis looked around the area for Jonathan, but couldn't find him. The police were called at about 3:45 p.m., officials said.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/26319669/detail.html

 

[pinkzebra]

Just wondering.....did the SD change his story? I don't remember reading that....although I do remember the mom changing hers a couple of times. Not saying she's guilty of anything, I'm just curious because of some posters saying SD changed his story, or implying that.

 

[claudicici]

" Why would anyone outside of the family feel that its odd that the SD checkon on Jonathan? Maybe the mom asked him to, maybe he did it every day. Other family members, as I've stated before, didn't see anything odd about it. If they consider it normal, then I can't imagine why it would be questioned by anyone who didn't know the family dynamics. "
I find it odd because AD supposedly left to live with SE (who has an extensive criminal record,as we now know) because there was violence against Jonathan by DD.Why would you have the same person that was the reason you left check on your child?
Again I'm not implying that I think they are guilty of anything just that he was exposed to an environment he didn't need to be in.He had aunts and uncles and grandparents that loved him so much .

 

[Patty G]

Just in case anyone missed the posts by Jonathan's aunt (Reneeloveyou) and the neighbor of Grandma (LovingMom), here are the links:

Aunt (Reneeloveyou)

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/search.php?searchid=3747289

Neighbor and son played with Jonathan (LovingMom)
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/search.php?searchid=3747295&pp=25&page=2

 

[georgiajean]

" Why would anyone outside of the family feel that its odd that the SD checkon on Jonathan? Maybe the mom asked him to, maybe he did it every day. Other family members, as I've stated before, didn't see anything odd about it. If they consider it normal, then I can't imagine why it would be questioned by anyone who didn't know the family dynamics. "
I find it odd because AD supposedly left to live with SE (who has an extensive criminal record,as we now know) because there was violence against Jonathan by DD.Why would you have the same person that was the reason you left check on your child?
Again I'm not implying that I think they are guilty of anything just that he was exposed to an environment he didn't need to be in.He had aunts and uncles and grandparents that loved him so much .

I didn't think it was odd. If SD was trying to fix the damage he had caused in their family unit (by his slapping JF), he would be doing everything he could to connect with JF, and help AD. I can see how AD and SE may have been talking about the difficulty of Christmas Eve, because they both had to work, and as they figured out what to do with JF, SD could have volunteered, "Hey, I have to come home at 1 for lunch, I can go check on him." I can't see why AD would think this was wrong.

 

[Openmind]

If MN used a stun gun...why go through the ruse of the phone calls?

I think the stun gun was in her truck and, truthfully, I don't know what happened with the phone calls. She may have just hung up and demanded he go with her. I don't think she entered the home with the stun gun.

 

[claudicici]

Jonathan lived with his granny for a year. I would assume he was around DD frequently during this time. JMO

Possibly but during the 5 years he lived with his aunt and uncle she only visited once.Even though the grandma lived a lot closer we don't know how much time he actually spent with his mom(who was practically a stranger) and his stepdad ,who was even more of a stranger...

 

[pinkzebra]

IF mom or anyone thought it was odd for SD to check on Jonathan, they never said that, even when he was a "suspect".....and I assume they would have at that time. Especially the grandmother or uncle. Once again, no one is priviledged to know that family's dynamics. Perhaps he was trying to work on his relationship with Jonathan and his mom. I think this needs to be laid to rest. NOBODY has said it was strange that SD checked on Jonathan. End of story.

 

[amysmom]

I'm not accusing the DD or AD of anything....however, AD moves out of DD's presumably one of the reasons was that he slapped JF. Why in the world would AD even allow DD to be around JF thus allowing him to "check" on him at 145pm?.

sbm

Is there any PROOF that DD ever "slapped" J? I don't believe so..It's only been reported by MSM & we all know how reliable they've been covering this story. Just a thought!

 

[Patty G]

IF mom or anyone thought it was odd for SD to check on Jonathan, they never said that, even when he was a "suspect".....and I assume they would have at that time. Especially the grandmother or uncle. Once again, no one is priviledged to know that family's dynamics. Perhaps he was trying to work on his relationship with Jonathan and his mom. I think this needs to be laid to rest. NOBODY has said it was strange that SD checked on Jonathan. End of story.

BBM

Did LE ever state that DD was a "suspect" OR is this when many felt DD was a "suspect"?

 

[x_files]

She is a welder.
That starts to fall under muscle memory.

I couldn't weld drunk, but I can cook my *advertiser censored* off, or type a 100 words a minute, etc.... those things are familiar and routine, muscle memory to me.

Welding is not a new skill to her.

Being heavily intoxicated to commit such a horrid and intimate act of disfigurment makes me think it is not something that *enjoyment* was the primary motivation. Would want her wits about her, to be in the moment, easily could have kept him longer like so many of these sadist do so they can rape their victim repeatedly before killing them

Not buying "I was too drunk" excuse/line. It's an excuse. Was she intoxicated when she returned to the apt? My guess is no. If you are so drunk you don't know you just dropped off a burned body randomly in a ditch then she would have been completely blacked out and would have been out cold.

 

[jjenny]

Yes, truth is what matters. What is the truth?

The autopsy has ruled out any trauma on the child's body. There were no broken bones or any signs of strangulation or head wounds.

Why didn't it stop there? The rest is guessing, not truth.

So why, for the sake of the family... can they not simply assume the quickest, least painful form of murder unless they can disprove it. Until they can prove that he was burned alive? They could have stuck with the autopsy results, no trauma. Unknown cause of death. End of story.


I am not talking about the theories discussed here. I am talking about law enforcement and media headlines.


Imagine reading about your 12 year old nephew, or son complete with a picture of him.... as you prepare for his funeral in 4 days...

Police Believe Child Was Killed With Welding Torch

Homicide investigators say they think a 12-year-old boy's death was extremely painful and grisly.


They BELIEVE and they THINK and that is enough to put the family through that?

...



:banghead:

I am not understanding you. What would be the quickest less painful form? They have no evidence of anything that would have killed him except the body is badly burned. There is no evidence of trauma, and no evidence of strangulation so how can they assume strangulation? What is that they are supposed to assume absence any evidence of such a thing occurring?

 

[jjenny]

Just wondering.....did the SD change his story? I don't remember reading that....although I do remember the mom changing hers a couple of times. Not saying she's guilty of anything, I'm just curious because of some posters saying SD changed his story, or implying that.

Don't know about the step-father's story. Never heard any information that it changed in any way. Apparently the mother was concerned that she left the 12 year old alone so initially she came up with a story that he was with a babysitter. Maybe she didn't know that it's not illegal to leave the 12 year old alone.

 

[Patty G]

I would prefer that LE not state "I think" or "I believe" until they have the autopsy report in their hands that confirms, "IF possible" the cause of death.

The autopsy report would be their "link" to an actual COD, just like with us, we can't use "I think this is the person" without providing a link. Post #1

 

[amysmom]

I agree somewhat but 6,000 degrees is extremely hot. We are talking about a flame so hot that it will cut through thick metal. Even funeral homes do not cremate bodies at that high degree and iirc correctly even house fires don't reach to such extreme degrees.

I am sort of perplexed why she decided to use the welding torch for it is used to really make a fine cut most of the time. Of course she could have widened out her flame by adjusting the tip but still the entire thing is not only sadistic. barbaric but such a bizarre thing to do.

I don't think I have ever read about someone purposefully burning a body up using a welding torch.

IMO

It sounds like LE has never seen such a horrific act either.

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet (or even 100% accurate) but last night there was a debate re: what type of welding torch was used..I have since found this:

*During the search of Mona’s house it was discovered she was a welder and had welding equipment, including acetylene cylinders, at her home*

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2010/1...ress-conference-covers-timeline-and-evidence/

Re: was J alive during the burning or not..Isn't there some way the ME can determine that? Many xs I've read they know what's pre vs post mortem..But maybe not in a case like this? My guess is the ME has never seen one exactly like this (TG!) but surely an autopsy has been done on someone that suffered from such burns at least on a portion of their body..There must also be recorded documentation to refer to if he has not.

 

[jjenny]

I would prefer that LE not state "I think" or "I believe" until they have the autopsy report in their hands that confirms, "IF possible" the cause of death.

The autopsy report would be their "link" to an actual COD, just like with us, we can't use "I think this is the person" without providing a link. Post #1

Not always possible to confirm the cause of death. Sometimes a cause of death is arrived to by exclusion of other possible causes of death.

 

[BeanE]

Dec. 31, 2010, 5:24PM


- Police believe Nelson kidnapped Jonathan from the cottage - where she found him home alone around 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve - and killed him at a two-unit garage apartment in the 8800 block of Allwood, in northeast Houston, later the same day.

- Prosecutors said Nelson admitted to police that she dumped the boy's body in a ditch in the 9900 block of East Hardy.

Footage from surveillance cameras at a business nearby shows Nelson's silver pickup pull up at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, a few hours after Jonathan disappeared, police said. The video shows Nelson taking the boy's body out of the truck bed and placing it in the ditch, they said.

- Investigators also found burned carpet at Nelson's apartment, twine that appeared to match the string used to bind Jonathan's hands, and a stun-gun in the glove compartment of Nelson's truck, Miller said.

Arson dogs detected no accelerant on Jonathan's body, he said, adding that Nelson possibly used welding torches at her home. An autopsy found no soot in the boy's lungs, so Miller said Jonathan likely was not alive when he was burned.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7359495.html

 

[JenRen]

This interests me, because it says whatever was on Jonathan's body linked Nelson - not her home, or her car, etc, but her - and whatever it was gave LE that link with no extensive and time consuming forensic testing.

All I can think is that it must have been something highly personal of hers, that they could quickly prove was hers.

I would almost think her hair, but that would have to be tested.

Any ideas on what else this linking evidence on Jonathan's body may have been?


Police tell us Mona Nelson is an acquaintance of Jonathan's mother and stepfather and that evidence on Jonathan's body linked Nelson to the crime.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7869821


I think this evidentiary item may be the smoking gun. LE went to the DA and got charges for capital murder, in what has to be record time. Whatever evidence they have must be impressive. They slam dunked her arrest. No small feat for capital murder.

BeanE, you bring up good points. I wonder if she has left behind some sort of "calling card", that maybe she has left behind with other victims in the past? This may be why LE seemed so adamant about stating there may be other victims.

Also, I wonder where Jonathan's stuffed animal is? I wonder if she took it with them to keep as a trophy of some type? Which leads to me to wonder if she had other "trophies" in her home.

Perhaps I watch too much Dexter, and read too many scary books.

 

[NSS]

What do you think "weren't involved" means? And why do names need to be mentioned if as police say "she acted alone."

LE did say she acted alone.

LE also stated (upon discovery of the child) that he was dead before being burnt.
Now (upon further investigation and a prelim autopsy) they feel he may have been burned as COD.

An investigation is a fluid thing, it changes with new information.

LE used more emotion than fact during the initial presser, and whilst I can absolutely understand their horror, I don't want them to stop investigating just because they can place MN there, because IF others are involved I want them punished too.

BTW --- I am a believer in the 'gut instincts' of LE, but lets not disregard the fact that this particular LE agency waited some 6 hours to even log this child into the missing database.

I want to see MN pay for whatever she did here, but I can (currently) see any lawyer saying, someone else brought the child to her, already dead and she was the disposer (and burner) of the child. That doesn't mean she isn't all the cold angry things stated, but there may be others involved.
At this point we have proof of her being at the home at 12.30pm (witnesses), but Jonathan was seen alive by SD after this time.

We could use some proof that she returned, took a phone call, subdued, and removed a 12 year old child without being seen and within 15 minutes, because if I were her lawyer, I'd argue that someone else killed him and delivered him to me.

If we believe MN has no motive except her evilness to commit this crime, then surely we should apply the same criteria to others.


With all the info they had on MN and her visit, and her truck being seen etc, it took several days for LE to get around to interviewing her, so long that the arrest could be made at the same time.

 

[Patty G]

Not always possible to confirm the cause of death. Sometimes a cause of death is arrived to by exclusion of other possible causes of death.

True, however, I doubt the ME would put in the autopsy report "I think, or I believe" as a COD.

Although, the ME may say at trial, my professional determination is this or that etc.