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Teen Acquitted of Murdering Dad, Now Grandmother Is Afraid

By David Meyers | ABC News – Tue, Feb 7, 2012

There was no question what happened one night back in April 2009 in a Houston, Texas, suburb. A 12 year-old girl walked into her father's bedroom and shot her dad while he slept.

But a jury that deliberated for four day acquitted the girl of murder charges Monday and now her grandmother says she is in fear of her life.

During the three week trial the defense team for the girl, who is now 15, said that earlier that night in 2009, the girl's father Mark Nelson was watching his daughter bathe and that she had asked him to leave the bathroom. She told authorities that her father warned her darkly that she would regret that demand.

The defense attorneys argued that after years of both sexual and physically abuse, the girl now feared for her life. So, she took her father's .38 caliber revolver and shot him.

The prosecution contended that Nelson's death was cold blooded murder and that his daughter did it because her father was too strict. They argued that if it was self-defense, why didn't she report the alleged abuse before or even after the murder?

But Houston psychiatrist and expert witness for the defense, Dr. George Glass, testified that it's not uncommon for a child to lie about physical and sexual abuse.

The girl, who is not being named because she is a minor and allegedly a victim of sexual assault, could have been sentenced to 40 years in prison if convicted of murder.

"We just looked at the evidence. The evidence was what brought us to the decision of self defense," juror Yvette Cardenas told ABC News affiliate KTRK.

The girl was released to her mother. "I was excited. I was scared, very scary. I get to take her home. I'm OK," said the girl's mother, Miranda Jackson.

Mark Nelson's mother does not feel the same way. The girl's paternal grandmother says she now fears for her own life now that her granddaughter has been acquitted.

"She's been set free so she can do whatever she wants on the streets," Leona Nelson to KTRK. "That was the best defense in the world for a little girl to accuse your father of abusing you because people do not want to believe that a 12-year-old child would go in there and kill her father unless he abused her."

The teenager looks to move forward with her life. She is taking advanced placement classes at a high school. After the verdict, she told KTRK that maybe a career as an attorney is in her future.

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88 comments

Mike • 3 mths ago
OK, she said her father was watching her bathe. We really will never know for sure what happened because the only one who could defend those accusations is dead. Killed in his sleep.
- Tonya 3 mths ago
  I know if my teen was being abused in anyway by anyone more then once i would be satisfied with this outcome, and all who dont understand it apparently have never experienced that horrible feeling.
- Mike 3 mths ago
  Tonya, my point was that this child killed the man while he was sleeping. What kind of proof do we have that he was sexually abusive to her other than her word. Watching her bathe would be awfully hard to prove, don't you think? No physical evidence. Just her word and he can't defend himself because he is dead. I've been around way too many teenagers who "hate" their parents because they have rules. Just because someone is strict does not make it okay to shoot them in their sleep.
John Qpublic • 3 mths ago
A 15 year old boy just killed his parents in Oakland Ca. I bet he is wishing he came up with the sexual abuse defense as well. He is being tried as an adult.
Honey Bee • Shreveport, Louisiana • 3 mths ago
To: A-Nonne-Moose, You are so right!!! That is what children do, thay lie to protect there parents, no matter what. I know that for sure.
Picky PK • 3 mths ago
I hope they fact check better than they proofread their articles. Geeez. Atrocious journalism.
mike • 3 mths ago
All she had to do was go to the police, DCFS, etc. and get immediate results. You don't blow somebody away. The claim of abuse by women and minors who kill seems to be a get out of jail card. What a ridiculous country we're becoming.
- Teresa 3 mths ago
  she is a victim..she may well have been taught that this is what all daddy's do to there little girls. She was 12 for goodness sake, she was afraid, he fed her and clothed her and was daddy....sometimes mommies and daddies are monsters
mandy • 3 mths ago
There must have been a lot of evidence for the jury not to find her guilty after deliberating for 4 days.
BethV • Moline, Illinois • 3 mths ago
wow my heart gose out to the 15 year old gurl and the grandmother should be scared because she knew what her son was doing the #$%$ should be ashamed of her self,hsr son is a sick human being
- Keith Barnum 3 mths ago
  That's exactly what I was thinking. Another poster asked why was the grandmother scared and my first thoughts were because the little girl knows the grandmother knew and might retaliate on her for that.
IdiotObamaVoter • Wentzville, Missouri • 3 mths ago
Why did the father have custody of the kid? Was mom a crack-head? Dad was stupid to leave a loaded gun lying around.
John Qpublic • 3 mths ago
Was a test ever done to confirm she was abused sexually of if she was in fact still a virgin? I hope there was some physical proof that girl was abused if indeed she was.
- R 3 mths ago
  Um gee so if her hymen is still intact then no abuse took place? Welcome to the 21st century - hymens dont always break with penetration and penetration isnt the only form of abuse
- IdiotObamaVoter 3 mths ago
  Is a bullet to the head abuse?
Brianna • 3 mths ago
I dont know about you, but when i was 12 i didnt think about killing just for fun. I believe what the girl said because even if you dont lock the bathroom door, its weird for a father to go in and not immediately apologize and leave. She might have been terrified. Im not saying it was the right thing to do because it wasnt, but she panicked and did a bad thing. Like i said before, she was only 12.
But yes there should be tests to see if she was really sexually abused.
I also think the Grandma is just trying to get attencion..
mikeyvdog • Quincy, Massachusetts • 3 mths ago
getting real tired of reading about child abuse, these lowlifes forget about, life after death! have fun satan!
uncle bob • 3 mths ago
"But Houston psychiatrist and expert witness for the defense, Dr. George Glass, testified that it's not uncommon for a child to lie about physical and sexual abuse.", [whether it happened or not] "accuse your father of abusing you because people do not want to believe that a 12-year-old child would go in there and kill her father unless he abused her."
Victor • Durham, North Carolina • 3 mths ago
She could get forty for that?!
And that teenager that brutally murdered that nine year old girl gets 30 with possibility of parole?
There is definitely something wrong in this country.
- Cynthia 3 mths ago
  Actually, the other girl is getting life with possibility of parole.
- night 3 mths ago
  I think studies have show a lot of sentencing disparity with regard to race.
- Kate 3 mths ago
  Yes, she could have gotten forty as the maximum sentence, if convicted of FIRST DEGREE MURDER. Of course that crime carries a heavy sentence. Hello! Also, Bustamante got life with the possibility of parole (minimum of 30-35ish years) because she did a plea deal type thing, so she was only sentenced for second degree murder, not first. That's how the law works. Don't turn everything into a racist issue.
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LMHtfd • Hartford, Connecticut • 3 mths ago
Grandma's "scared for her life" probably because her granddaughter disclosed the abuse to her at some point but she refused to believe it or help her.
Kraven • 3 mths ago
So where was Mommy Dearest when Daddy was sexually assaulting her daughter for years and watching his daughter in the tub that night? The courts let this kid go home to the woman that allowed this abuse to take place for years?
A_Nonny_Moose • 3 mths ago
When I was in high school, I knew a young girl who would defend her father to her last breath. She would even admit to hating him, but would still defend him against all my criticism (he sounded abusive to me). Even so, it turned out he was sexually molesting her for years. Children are raised to defend their parents against all criticism - even parents who repeatedly rape them.

The police raided his home for internet child porn. What they found was years of pics and video of him with his daughter. Oddly, he collected all kinds of kiddy porn, but never shared what he produced using his own daughter.
Teresa • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • 3 mths ago
Why is Gram afraid? did she know what her son was doing to his daughter and did not help her?
if so..maybe she should be afraid..Mom is taking her home why isn't she afraid?
J • 3 mths ago
The girl was released to her mother. "I was excited. I was scared, very scary. I get to take her home. I'm OK," said the girl's mother, Miranda Jackson... the hell does that mean
Teanna West • 3 mths ago
Less talk and more action is what is required to get a handle on some situations. If what is stated is true..She was justified...
observation • 3 mths ago
As much as we don't want to admit it, there are some kids this young who would murder in cold blood and not care what they were doing. Of course, such a child would make up lies to "justify" the murder.

People are so gullible that they think all children are innocents. That is simply not true. Adult murderers and abusers were kids once, and I'll bet people excused the awful things they did then, so the behavior was never corrected.

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