Joshua David Nelson

Case record

Background

Joshua David Nelson was convicted in Lee County, Florida, for offenses connected to the plan to murder Tommy Owens and steal Owens’ vehicle.

The offence

Joshua Nelson and Keith Brennan constructed a plan to murder Tommy Owens, a peer, and steal his vehicle in order to leave the city of Cape Coral. With the knowledge that Owens kept a baseball bat in his car, Nelson and Brennan lured Owens to a remote street under false pretenses on the evening of 03/10/95. After convincing Owens to exit his car, Nelson struck Owens with the baseball bat. Owens fell to the ground after a number of blows and then had his arms and legs tied by Nelson and Brennan. Even though Owens pled for his life and offered to forfeit his car, Nelson and Brennan conferred and decided that, in order to avoid capture, they should kill Owens.

Brennan used a box cutter and tried to slice Owens’ throat. Owens, however, was still conscious when the stabbing began, and he begged Nelson to hit him with the baseball bat so as to render him unconscious before Brennan continued the stabbing. His request was granted, and Brennan continued the stabbing. Nelson and Brennan continued to strike Owens with the bat a number of times before dragging his body to nearby bushes. Owens later died.

Nelson and Brennan picked up Tina and Misty Porth in Owens’ car and the four left the city. They left the state and drove to New Jersey after stopping in Daytona. Nelson and Brennan informed Tina and Misty over the course of the trip that they had murdered Owens. Tina and Misty both testified at the trial.

Investigation

After law enforcement officers apprehended Nelson and Brennan in New Jersey, Nelson gave both a video- and audio-taped confession. Nelson gave his detailed account of the murder both at the place of the bat’s discovery and at the crime scene, in his confession. The taped video confession was played at the trial for the jury.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst gave testimony that a match to Owens DNA was found on Nelson’s blood stained shoes, the box cutter, and the pair of underwear wrapped around the box cutter.

Trial

Nelson and Brennan were tried together. The date of the offense, 03/10/95, was eight days prior to Brennan’s eighteenth birthday.

Indictment

04/04/95 Indicted as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Premeditated Murder
• Count II: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon

Verdict and recommendation

11/07/96 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment. 11/07/96 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.

Sentencing

11/27/96 Sentenced as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Premeditated Murder – Death
• Count II: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon – 15 years, 9 months

The sentencing judge was the Honorable William J. Nelson. The trial attorney was Harold M. Stevens – Private Attorney. The direct appeal was Paul C. Helm – Assistant Public Defender. The collateral attorney was Terri L. Backhus & Paul Kalil – CCRC-S.

Appeals

Nelson filed a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 12/16/96. Some of the issues raised included:

1. the trial court erred by failing to properly determine the admissibility of testimony by the State’s DNA expert Darren Esposito;
2. the trial court violated Nelson’s right to confrontation by admitting evidence of his non-testifying codefendant’s out-of-court statement.

The Court found all of these claims either without merit or harmless and affirmed the conviction and sentence of death on 05/27/99.

Nelson filed a petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on 11/18/99, which was denied on 01/18/00.

Nelson filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 01/05/01, which is currently pending.

Other details

• Florida Supreme Court opinion 89540
• DC# 989102
• DOB: 01/16/77
• Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Lee County
• Case# 95-911 CF-A
• Date of Offense: 03/10/95
• Date of Sentence: 11/27/96
• Codefendant Information: Keith Michael Brennan (DC# 989103)
• Brennan and Nelson were tried together.
• On 03/20/97, Brennan was sentenced to life for first-degree premeditated murder and 13 years, 4 months for robbery with a deadly weapon (CC# 95-911).