Son, On Killing Dad: 'Relieved Not To Have To Deal With Him Anymore'
LE CENTER, Minn. (WCCO) -- The 18-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his father in their rural Montgomery home told police he was "somewhat relieved he would not have to deal with him anymore."
Police said 48-year-old Richard Joseph Nelson was shot at about 10:30 p.m. on Monday at his home on the 10600 block of Le Sueur Avenue.
The victim's son called 911 call from inside the house where the shooting took place. Police said that Jonas David Nelson said that his father had been murdered.
Officers arrived to find the victim dead of a gunshot wound to the head. Jonas Nelson told investigators that he had been upstairs watching movies in his room when he heard what sounded like a gunshot through the window, "like on TV." He said he went downstairs and found his father lying on the floor; he said the victim had been sleeping on the floor of the living room because his bedroom was cold.
According to the complaint, investigators continued to interview Jonas Nelson, who said living with his father had become difficult, because "his dad was blaming his mother for the divorce, when actually it was his dad's fault," that his father's religious views "screwed him up as a parent," and that his father had become "very harsh when he wants to be."
Officers told Jonas Nelson that if there was anything that happened between him and his father that evening, he needed to tell them. He then admitted that he had shot his father, and didn't know for sure why.
He told authorities he had never been driven to such rage in his life, and he "just snapped."
Police asked him if he had ever considered murdering his father before that evening, and he said no: "It started tonight."
Jonas Nelson was taken into custody and has been charged with second-degree murder.
Bail has been set at $2 million.
