Jennifer Fulford (56) was kidnapped and stabbed and suffocated to death

[raisedbywolves]

This is an interesting case kind of local to me. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...lh4-story.html

The trial of Scott Edward Nelson, the man accused of kidnapping an Altamonte Springs woman from her employer?s home and killing her, will begin this morning at the Orange County Courthouse.

A jury was seated Friday in the first-degree murder case after a two-plus-week selection process. Opening statements are expected when the case resumes 9 a.m., after which prosecutors will begin calling their witnesses.

Nelson, 55, is facing the death penalty in the killing of 56-year-old Jennifer Fulford, who worked as a personal assistant and caretaker at the Winter Park home of Reid Berman.

Fulford was reported missing Sept. 27, 2017, after she didn?t show up to pick up Berman?s son from school. Her purse was found next to a toilet at Berman?s home, but her wallet, cellphone and tablet were missing.

Fulford?s husband, Robert, noticed a suspicious withdrawal of $300 from their joint checking account and, hours later, a second withdrawal attempt that was denied. ATM surveillance video captured a man police later identified as Nelson with fresh cuts and scratches on his hands during the second attempt.

Winter Park police found Fulford?s Hyundai SUV in the parking lot of the Colonialtown Publix two days after she disappeared. A blood-stained towel, T-shirt and gold watch found in the hatchback?s trunk matched DNA from Nelson and Fulford, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Her body was found three days after she went missing in a wooded area of southwest Orange County.

The medical examiner determined Fulford had been stabbed and suffocated, court records show. Her entire face was covered in duct tape, and her wrists and ankles were bound.

Nelson, a transient on federal probation from a 2010 bank robbery, was arrested Oct. 1 by U.S. Marshals at a Jacksonville motel. A month later, he offered detectives a confession in exchange for ?better treatment in custody, including a single cell with a bottom bunk and more food or a food server job,? court records show.

Nelson?s attorneys have argued detectives coerced him into incriminating himself by promising to help, but Circuit Judge Keith White ruled prosecutors could use the police interview as evidence. The defense has raised concerned about Nelson?s mental health, but White deemed Nelson competent to stand trial.

White told jurors last Friday that he estimates the trial will continue through July 12.

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.wesh.com/article/judge-e...trial/28247240

Now that he's been convicted of murder, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the trial of Scott Nelson.

Nelson kidnapped and killed Jennifer Fulford from her employer's home in Winter Park two years ago.

Monday morning, one of the jurors was dismissed for breaking the rules, WESH 2 News has learned.

He was talking about not being able to seek the death penalty in the jury room, before the hearing even started.

Once that situation was squared away, the remaining jury members heard from the victim's family -- including her daughter and son who live in Texas.

The state says this was a calculated murder.

Nelson's defense says a history of abuse and mental illness played a role in his mental state before the crime.

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/pe...s-murder-trial

The defense cross-examined Dr. Valerie McClain, a psychologist who went over a checklist of questions she asked Nelson during their sessions earlier this year.

She explained that Nelson developed trauma growing up after he said he was physically abused by his older brothers. She said Nelson went through life-threatening events when he was young.

"I do think his ability to regulate his behavior was definitely impacted," McClain said.

Nelson later took the stand on two different occasions.

The Honorable Judge Keith White asked him if he was sure he wanted to take the stand and said if he did, comments he made could hurt the case the defense has been building.

Even with White's questions, Nelson took the stand and said, "I am a homicidal maniac."

When the state asked Nelson if he wanted to be sentenced to death, he replied, "Yes."

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/jury...nny/965674290/

After days of deliberation, jurors reached a verdict in the penalty phase of a man convicted of killing a Winter Park nanny.

The jury recommended life in prison for Scott Nelson Thursday evening, who was convicted of killing Jennifer Fulford.

Nelson told the jury earlier in the week that he wished to be executed.

A juror told Channel 9 that she believed the decision came down to one juror who refused to vote for death and could never explain why.

"This was not in reaction to him saying on the stand that he wanted to be executed," the juror told Channel 9 in a phone conversation.

Questions about Nelson's mental health seemed to dominate the jury's deliberations, indicated by notes passed to the judge.

Nelson claimed Fulford was "collateral damage" after he said she witnessed him breaking into a family's home in Winter Park that she worked for.