Woman indicted for 1st-degree murder in death of 82-year-old could face death penalty
HENDERSONVILLE - A woman accused of killing an elderly woman in her Clear Creek community home last month will now stand trial for first-degree murder, according to Henderson County Clerk of Superior Court documents.
Amber Nelson, 35, was indicted Aug. 16 for first-degree murder in the death of 82-year-old Patricia Moniz, who was found dead in her home at 116 Regency Loop Drive on July 6 by Henderson County Sheriff's Office deputies. Nelson was also indicted for felony larceny of the motor vehicle owned by Moniz.
Nelson is scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 7 in Superior Court at the Henderson County Courthouse. District Attorney Andrew Murray told the Times-News on Aug. 21 that his office cannot comment on a pending case.
According to the July 5 incident report from the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, Nelson's alleged weapon was "a knife/cutting instrument." At her first court appearance on July 7, Nelson, who was accompanied by Dennis Maxwell of the public defender's office, said she will have a court-appointed attorney for the trial.
The indictments listed Nelson as "homeless" for an address.
Rebecca White, Moniz's daughter, previously told the Times-News that the family realized her mother was missing on July 5, the day after her mother's birthday. Calls to her mother's house were going unanswered and no one had seen or heard from her in more than 24 hours, said White, of Hendersonville. So she called 911.
"They put a silver alert out, and family and friends went looking for her," White said.
Later that evening, White said she and her husband went inside her mother's house and found her dead.
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"We found out she was staying with my mom that night to get a shower and stay until the next day when friends from church were going to drive her to a rehab center near Charlotte," White said of Nelson. "My mom would’ve driven her there I know, but due to a restricted license couldn’t drive on highways."
At Nelson's July 7 court appearance, Judge James Marshall explained to Nelson her charges and told her the first-degree murder charge was a capital offense. He said she would either receive the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Woman indicted for first-degree murder in Hendersonville NC stabbing
