Attorney: Murder suspect incapable of forming intent

Sept. 27--LE CENTER -- A teen who is facing first-degree murder charges for allegedly shooting his father to death at their home near Montgomery was too mentally ill to form intent for the shooting, according to his attorney.

Jonas David Nelson, 18, is to appear in court Tuesday with his attorney, Richard Lea, who plans to argue a motion to keep a jury from hearing Nelson's statement to police. His written motion to suppress the evidence only says the statement wasn't provided voluntarily.

In another document filed to answer a prosecutor's disclosure request, Lea disclosed Nelson's likely defense at trial. Nelson is "suffering from complex post traumatic stress disorder of a moderate severity" that made him "incapable of forming intent," Lea said.

That document also said Lea plans on Tuesday to call Dr. Harlan Gilbertson, who completed a mental health evaluation for Nelson.

Nelson called 911 to report the death of his father, 47-year-old Richard Nelson, at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 6. He was told to wait in a pickup truck where he was eventually interviewed by an investigator.

He initially told the investigator he was in his second-floor bedroom and heard a gunshot before going downstairs to the living room and finding his father dead on the floor. Nelson later told the investigator he had taken a rifle from a gun case and shot his sleeping father in the head. His father had been sleeping on the living room floor next to a wood stove.

Prior to a hearing in July, Nelson had written a letter to Le Sueur County District Court Judge Terrence Conkel saying he planned to use his portion of his father's $850,000 life insurance payout to hire private attorneys. Assistant Attorney General William Klumpp addressed the letter during the July hearing and said he would object to that because it is illegal in Minnesota for someone to benefit financially from the murder of someone else.

Nelson had found his father's will on a computer in the house prior to the murder, according to investigators. They reported recording a phone conversation where Nelson told his mother, Kristina Singer, about the will before she told him to only talk about it with his attorney.

Nelson's younger brother, Kabe, is the only other beneficiary on the will. Singer received a court order in Scott County allowing her to handle Kabe Nelson's financial affairs. He is living with her in Prior Lake.

In the order granting conservatorship, District Court Judge Rex Stacey said Kabe Nelson could potentially inherit the entire $850,000. He also ordered that Singer not provide any of the money to Jonas Nelson.

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