Mona Nelson charged with capital murder after murdering 12 yr missing Jonathan Foster in Houston w/a blow torch. She will now spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole!

"She stated that Jonathan answered the door wearing no shirt and that she [Nelson] felt there was someone in the apartment with him. If the story of Nelson coming by and giving this story is true, this points to a very evil, sadistic person who enjoys being close to their own crime scene and manipulating the situation and people affected by that crime after the fact."
From the article above Im not sure what Val is alluding
to in this paragraph - any thoughts?

I think Val was referring to the type of criminal that enjoys returning to the crime scene to revel in the results of their "handiwork", i.e., the pain and grief being experienced by the family. For example, some arsonists like to stand around and watch the fire destroy and the effect it has on people.
This may be true of Nelson, but I think, also, that she was trying to divert attention to another possible suspect...She was admitting that she had been there that day in case someone had seen her (which indeed someone had), and planting the idea that someone else was also there with Jonathon.

That makes sense - but Mona is saying that she saw Jonathan at the apartment with no shirt and someone was with him. If this were true it isnt a revisiting of the scene as it would have been before the boy was killed. Im still confused on this one!

Now this story is reporting that Mona was a friend of the stepfathers again.

HOUSTON (CBS/KHOU/AP) A family acquaintance has been arrested in connection with the disappearance and death of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster whose badly burned body was found in a ditch in North Hudson Tuesday, police sources said.

Mona Yvette Nelson, a maintenance worker for several different apartment complexes in Houston, was taken in custody Wednesday morning and has been charged with capital murder for the death of the young boy.

Sources told CBS affiliate KHOU that the body found in the ditch not far from the suspect's home is likely that of Jonathan who was last seen alive by his stepfather David Davis on Christmas Eve.

The medical examiner is still working to confirm the identity.

The search for the boy, which was aided by Texas Equusearch, was called off Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators said the suspect met Foster's stepdad two weeks prior to the boy's disappearance, and witnesses said they had seen her around the apartment complex where the stepfather lived.

Court audio reveals that Foster's mother, Angela Davis, received an alarming phone call from a woman who made threatening remarks toward her son; when she arrived at her home shortly after the call was placed Jonathan was missing, says KHOU.

Authorities say the call was placed from the mother's residence around the time witnesses say they saw a woman matching Nelson's description pull up to the apartment complex in a gray or silver pickup.

Officers reviewed surveillance video captured near where the burned body was dumped and saw what appeared to be a woman in a gray or silver pickup with a chrome box on the bed stop on the side of the road and discard the body.

Investigators could be seen removing a large amount of evidence from the suspect's home, including burned carpet and twine which they say matched materials used to tie the child's hand together, says KHOU.

Police say Nelson admitted to discarding the body after the child was killed but did not admit to murder.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
December 29, 2010 - Jonathan Foster Missing: Woman to be Charged in Disappearance of Texas 12-Year-Old, Say Sources
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

So this woman was a maintenance worker and that is why she was around the apartment complex? This case is so strange hard to know what is true here.
She is saying she got rid of the body but didnt kill the child.

Step-dad is a freaking idiot. I'm with Uncle Glenn. They boy should never have been with Grandma, because she couldn't wait to get him back to Mama who never resolved those "issues" she had all those years. This boy never had a chance with people like that taking care of him.

He's the same age as my oldest grandson.

Thank God for video surveillance tapes.

It is so sad that he seemingly had a good life with his uncle "on the farm" but had to go back where something like this could happen to him. Wonder why he went to live with Grandma and then with mother. Did they petition the court to have him, I wonder? Was his living with uncle a consensual arrangement or a foster-type situation until she supposedly got straightened out? Was Grandma deceptive in saying that he would be living with her, but meant to get him so that she could pass him on to mother? Just so sad for this young man that never had a chance.

Interesting video of stepfather after Nelson's arrest:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That was interesting, Lisette! He does seem like a decent guy & heartbroken over his step-son's death.

I would really like proof that this "woman" (Mona Nelson) is actually a woman! (There are some men who have "boobs" too!) If she truly is a woman, I just can't fathom what her motive would be. If she was a lesbian, it is possible that she hated men/boys & took her anger out on this innocent boy.

Whatever her motive was, she was cruel & heartless! I heard on the news that LE found welding equipment in her apt. & think that she used it to burn the boy! Just sickening!!

I think that step daddy is putting on a bad act. He loves 'his' boy? His
baby? Oh . I don't believe him and wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't somehow involved. From the beginning he he's been an idiot.
This 'female' is back to being a family friend and he doesn't know her, strange. We've all read that she was an 'acquaintance', family friend, met step daddy a couple of weeks ago, it's hard to know her relation to these people at all.
This is such a strange case with the media and LE who seem to be putting out conflicting stories.
That poor little boy, I so wish he had stayed with Uncle Glen.....

I agree, raine, about the step-dad. He don't think he had even known Jonathon for very long, and during that time, had slapped him, causing the mother to take him and move out. I think that he was just blowing hot air, trying to sound like he cared--trying too hard, I think.

Nelson is no stranger to the legal system. She has a lengthy criminal record.
1984: Nelson was convicted of aggravated robbery in Harris County. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
1989: Nelson spent time in prison for trafficking Mexican nationals for $600 per person.
1997: She was convicted of theft by check in Daingerfield, Texas. She was also found guilty of theft in Mount Vernon, Texas, and served 30 days in jail.
1998: She was arrested on a charge of operating a stolen vehicle.
2001: Nelson pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. She served 29 days of a 30-day sentence.
2002: Nelson was convicted of possession of marijuana in Collin County.
2003: She was arrested in Chicago on an unspecified outstanding warrant.
2004: She was convicted of making a terroristic threat in Mount Vernon, Va.
2005: Nelson was convicted of criminal mischief in Mount Vernon, Va.
2006: Nelson was arrested on a simple battery charge in St. Charles Parish, La.
2008: She was arrested on a charge of assault on a family member in Mount Pleasant, Texas.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, has been arrested and charged with capital murder. She is being held in the Harris County Jail without bond. She was scheduled to appear in court Thursday but did not because of an undisclosed medical condition.
Jonathan Foster disappeared from his home near the Villanueva Apartments in the 800 block of Oak Street on Dec. 24. His stepfather, David Davis, was the last person to see him alive at about 1:45 p.m., police said.
Jonathan called his mother, Angela Davis, at work at about 2 p.m., police said. He spoke to one of her co-workers, who told her about the call.
"The mother finds out about it, gets a little concerned," Detective David Gott said. "It's about time for her to go home; she calls the house. That's when she speaks to the woman with kind of a raspy voice. She gets disconnected, she immediately goes home and Jonathan is gone."
Davis looked around the area for Jonathan, but couldn't find him. The police were called at about 3:45 p.m., officials said.
"At this point it looks like a missing juvenile," Gott said. "He was entered into the nationwide missing persons database that day and juvenile investigators were assigned the case. By Monday it was apparent that there was more than just a missing juvenile, that it appeared to be an abduction."
Investigators said Jonathan's burned body was found at about 10 a.m. Tuesday in a drainage ditch on Schilder Drive near East Hardy Road, about five miles away from his home. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed Wednesday that the body was Jonathan's through dental records.
Surveillance video showed that Jonathan's body was dumped in the ditch at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, about four hours after he was last seen, investigators said.
"A silver truck pulls up right next to that spot in the ditch," Gott said. "(The driver) takes a body out of the bed of the truck and places it in that ditch."
Officers spoke to Nelson close to the time the body was found. She had spoken to Jonathan at about 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, police said.
Images from surveillance video taken at a nearby business were forwarded to homicide investigators, who noticed similarities between the images and Nelson.
"(Investigators) got the picture of the truck, they notice that Mona's driving a truck that's remarkably similar," Gott said. "Obviously then, some of the focus gets a little stronger on Mona."
Nelson initially denied any involvement or that it was her vehicle, Gott said. "But she did authorize us to search her vehicle and search her residence."
Police said they showed Nelson the video and she admitted that it was her vehicle, that she was the driver and that she put the body in the ditch. She has not confessed to killing Jonathan, detectives said. Investigators said she gave them a self-serving statement.
Detectives said Nelson acted alone with total disregard for a young life.
"I've worked in the homicide division for 14 years and this is the worst case that I've been a part of," Detective Michael Miller said. "I was one of the detectives to interview Mona Nelson. I can tell you that she is a cold, soulless murderer who showed an absolute lack of remorse in taking the life of Jonathan Foster."
Police described Nelson as methodical and said she waited for an opportunity to take Jonathan.
Gott said Nelson worked as a welder and welding equipment was found in her home. There was evidence that indicated that Jonathan's body was burned there.
"Once we arrived at her house, we stumbled into a wealth of evidence," Miller said.
Police said there was burned carpet, torches and rope consistent with what was found on Jonathan's body.
"She did make attempts to cover up the evidence," Miller said.
Miller said the videotape from the business was what cracked the case.
"But for that videotape evidence, I don't know what would have happened," he said.
Nelson was arrested in the neighborhood where Jonathan was last seen, police said. She had previously worked at the Villanueva Apartments as a maintenance worker, and she frequented the area, police said.
"She was there at 12:30 that day by her own admittance," Gott said.
A woman who lives next door to Jonathan's home said Nelson stopped by the home Friday night to see what was going on.
"When I got here, Mona's truck was here," Rita Jackson said. "I only met her a couple times. Never would have thought that she would hurt a child."
Robert Nickles said he worked with Nelson and spent time with her on Friday. He said he didn't suspect anything.
"That Friday she was parked right here. We sat here and she left from here," he said. "I haven't seen her since that day."
Nelson is an acquaintance or a friend of Jonathan's family, police said. But David Davis said he did not know Nelson well.
"I don't know her. I saw her before, though. She looks like a dude," David Davis said.
Investigators said they are looking into other cases because they think she may be connected to other killings.
Jonathan's Stepfather Wants Vengeance
David Davis said the arrest does not bring him much peace because nothing will bring Jonathan back.
"What kind of monster is this? Burnt my baby in a ditch? They burnt my baby on Christmas," Davis said. "There's no more Christmas. They're done for this family. What kind of monster is that?"
David Davis said he knows exactly what he wants.
"I want vengeance for my boy," he said. "I'm sick. I don't know what I'm feeling right now. I want, I want vengeance!"
David and Angela Davis were questioned extensively in the days after the disappearance.
"They drilled me like I thought I was in Vietnam," David Davis said. "I know that's their job. 'It's you, it's you, it's you,' they kept saying. I told them just hammer me for a thousand days, a thousand nights. I love my boy."
David Davis said Jonathan was a sweet child who had many friends.
"He was just full of life," he said. "He was 12, but he wasn't on the 14 side. He didn't have his pants on the ground. He didn't play no punk. He played with all the little kids. Everybody knew him, and everybody loves him."

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

"I don't know her. I saw her before, though. She looks like a dude," David Davis said.

Wrap, Davis agrees with you.

During an afternoon news conference today, Houston Police investigators said Mona Yvette Nelson, the woman charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, may be a child serial killer.

MONA YVETTE NELSON
Officers said they are investigating whether Nelson may be involved in the deaths of other children.
HPD Homicide Detective Michael Miller described the 44-year-old Nelson as “soulless,” and said the woman had shown an “absolute lack of remorse” for the killing.
“I was one of the detectives to interview Mona Nelson, and I can tell you that she is a cold, soulless murderer who showed an absolute lack of remorse in taking the life of Jonathan Foster,” Miller said. “There are few cases that impact homicide detectives in this manner, but this is one of them.”
Miller also said Nelson had admitted to dumping the boy’s burned body in the drainage ditch, but continues to insist she did not kill him.
Detectives said their investigation suggested Nelson abducted Foster from his mother’s apartment last Friday afternoon. Witnesses reported seeing Nelson talking to the boy around 12:30 p.m. Miller described Nelson’s actions as “methodical” in the way she stalked the child before kidnapping him.
Nelson then took the fifth-grader to her apartment near U.S. 59 and Laura Koppe, where she killed him and burned the body, according to investigators.
A welder by trade, Nelson apparently used welding torches to burn the boy’s body in her apartment before dumping it in a drainage ditch on Schilder near the Hardy Toll Road. A surveillance camera from the nearby Rolled Alloys facility captured an image of Nelson dumping the body. That surveillance video led detectives to Nelson.
The location where the boy’s body was dumped is about three miles from Nelson’s apartment.
Miller said detectives had recovered “a wealth of evidence” from Nelson’s home.
“Once we arrived at her house, we stumbled into a wealth of evidence; evidence that showed Jonathan’s body was burned at the residence,” Miller said. “Evidence that showed, perhaps, the items that he was burned with; evidence that had us fairly shaken up in collecting it.”
The 14-year veteran homicide detective called the killing of Jonathan Foster “the worst case that I’ve been a part of” and at time struggled to hold back tears during the briefing.
Miller went on to describe Nelson as “bizarre” and someone who “acted alone in this crime of her own disregard for human life.”
He also said he believes Nelson may have killed other children.
“Do I believe she’s done it before? Yeah; I do,” Miller said. “I don’t believe she began and ended with the abduction of Jonathan Foster.”

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

"When you mentioned her name, I remembered instantly who she was," Judge Kay McNutt said. "It is a small town, and if you talk to some of the older law enforcement and judicial people, then you'd see that they, too, remember."
Her criminal history is lengthy, and some of the charges involve children.
In 2001, Nelson was charged with three counts of injury to a child. All of the children were under the age of 14.
According to the police report, a woman named Danita Morris said that Nelson broke into her home through a window by breaking it with beer bottles.
Morris told investigators that she tried to escape with the three children she was babysitting at the time, but Nelson caught her in the front yard and beat her.
The charges that resulted from the incident were burglary of a habitation, three counts of injury to a child and assault.
"I fell and the kids tried to help," Morris said. "She pushed them out of the way and started kicking me in the head and stomach. She banged my head on the road."
The police report showed that the children suffered injuries including a fractured foot, head trauma and a contusion on an elbow. The children were taken to a hospital by ambulance.
In the end, Nelson was not prosecuted on those charges because the district attorney said it could not be proved that the children were hurt when they were pushed out of the way to get to Morris.
Nelson has faced several other charges in the town, including assault and theft by check. In 2008, she was charged with assault of a family member. Police said she attacked her adult daughter.
Nelson has family that lives in Titus County, including a daughter, five grandchildren and an ex-husband.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Child Protective Services officials said Thursday that the family of a 12-year-old boy who police said was kidnapped and killed on Christmas Eve has a record with them.
Officials said that in December 2005 there was an allegation of neglected supervision and physical abuse of Jonathan and his half sister when they were living in Galveston County. When CPS went to investigate the claims, both children were living with other relatives and the case was closed.
In Houston in December 2006, there was a second allegation of neglect, physical abuse and medical neglect of both Jonathan and his half sister, officials said. The case was closed because Jonathan had moved to his uncle's home out of state and his half sister was living with her grandmother.
Glenn Scrimsher, Jonathan's uncle, said he offered to let Jonathan live with him, his wife and his five children because Angela Davis was having problems with drug abuse.
Jonathan lived in Missouri from the age of 6 until he was 11.
"Our oldest one took it the hardest because he would play with him more than anybody," Glenn Scrimsher said.
Scrimsher said Jonathan was an active child.
"I think he really enjoyed the freedom of being able to walk outside, work in the garden with me, ride the horses," he said.
In December 2009, Scrimsher's mother decided to bring her grandson back to Houston.
"She was hoping to rekindle the mother-son relationship there," Scrimsher said.
Scrimsher said he did not know that his sister, Angela Davis, was in Houston or that she was once again raising Jonathan.
"My power of attorney did not override my mom's," he said. "I was told that he was coming back there."
He said that in the time Jonathan lived with him, Angela Davis visited him one time and called about six times. Scrimsher said Jonathan's grandmother and grandfather visited and called often.
Scrimsher said he thought of Jonathan as a son. He said Jonathan was always there to help others.
"He would be outgoing," he said. "He liked to do things for people. He always wanted to help."
Scrimsher said Jonathan was an amazingly good child.
"He wasn't a problem," he said. "He was more of, kind of a solution."
Scrimsher said Jonathan's biological father was never really a part of his life.
Jonathan's half sister lives with her biological father in the Houston area.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

OMG, this woman (?) is a MONSTER!! Sounds like she killed Jonathon just for the thrill of it--no other motive. I just pray that he was already dead before she used the welding torches. I can't bear the thought of what he went through. She should be slowly burned to death with welding torches.

In December 2009, Scrimsher's mother decided to bring her grandson back to Houston.
"She was hoping to rekindle the mother-son relationship there," Scrimsher said.

Why did the grandmother ever interfere? Seems like he was in a safe, happy environment. DSS money perhaps?

Jonathan would still be alive if Nelson been locked up and the key thrown away. When will the judges learn?

A woman accused of capital murder in the death of a 12-year-old boy whose charred remains were found Monday is no stranger to criminal activity.
Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, pleaded guilty to fleeing the scene of an armed robbery in a hail of gunfire in 1986, then five years later trafficked Mexican nationals for $600 apiece sending her to prison for three years, according to court documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
In 1992, Nelson asked a judge to shorten her sentence to allow her to go through a "boot camp" program or even enlist in the U.S. army.
"I’m aware that I was sentenced to 10 yrs (sic) incarceration, but I would very much like to be productive," she wrote.
The request was denied.
In 1986, she pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received 10 years probation after she and a friend held up a barbecue restaurant in Houston with a rifle, according to court records.
When the robbery went sour, the pair fled as the restaurant owner shot at the car.
Police stopped the duo after a brief chase and arrested Nelson and her cohort.
On July 30, 1991, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Nelson at 4 a.m. in Kenedy County with five illegal immigrants from Mexico. One of the Mexican men told authorities Nelson had picked them up in Brownsville for a fee, according to court records.
She took the men north, stopping short of a checkpoint for the immigrants to get out and go through the woods in an attempt to circumvent the checkpoint.
Agents began watching Nelson, who was parked north of the checkpoint. The five men eventually emerged from the brush and got into the car. The group was arrested shortly thereafter.
Nelson’s probation was revoked for the violation and she served six months concurrent with the 10-year sentence imposed. She was paroled after three years.
Nelson has a lengthy criminal record in Texas. In 1986, she received 10 years deferred adjudication for an aggravated robbery-serious bodily injury case out of Harris County. She violated the terms of the deferred adjudication and was sent to prison in 1991, where she served three years.
In 1997, she pled guilty to misdemeanor theft by check case out of Daingerfield, Texas, and served 30 days in jail. In 2002, she served 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge out of McKinney, Texas.
In 2005, she was charged with making a terroristic threat to another woman and with misdemeanor criminal mischief in Mount Vernon, Texas. She served one year probation and two months in jail for the threat and a concurrent sentence for the mischief charge.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

As she wiped away tears, she told us her side of the story.
"I'm not a monster. I have five grandkids and I love kids," Nelson said.
From behind bars on the fourth floor of the jail, Nelson gave her side, telling us one of Jonathan's family members stopped her Christmas Eve outside his Oak Street home and asked her to dump a plastic container. She said he paid her $20, and she didn't know what was inside because she was drunk on vodka. She says she randomly chose a ditch in northeast Houston.
"I didn't know what was in it until they were showing me pictures in the interrogation room," Nelson said.
But the body, police say, was not found in a plastic container.
Investigators believe Nelson acted on her own. They say all family members have alibis. Eyewitnesses placed Nelson's truck at Jonathan's home at the time of his disappearance. They say they also found burned carpet and twine used to tie Jonathan's hands at her apartment along with welding equipment they believe she used to burn the body.
"I do have a cutting torch. I'm a welder. I would never do that. I have five grandkids," Nelson said.
Nelson, who attended but did not graduate from Bellaire High School, has 26-year-old twins -- a boy and a girl who live in north Texas. She was once a professional boxer and currently does maintenance work. She says she knew Jonathan's family because they all partied together.
Nelson's sister says she spent the four days after the murder, including Christmas Day, with her.
"She showed no signs of doing anything to anybody illegal," said sister Angie Johnson. "I don't believe at all she has anything to do with killing a child. That's not Mona."
Police call her a predator and say they will look deeper.
"Do I believe she's done it before? Yea, I do. I don't believe she began and ended with the abduction of Jonathan Foster, I don't," said Det. Miller.
While investigators say they have their suspicions about a motive, they are not yet releasing that information. Authorities are also not saying how Jonathan died.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Before Thursday morning, both Mona Nelson's ex-husband and ex-father-in-law say they had never heard the name Jonathon Foster.

"This just doesn't register with me at all," Mona Nelson's ex-father-in-law, Joe Nelson, said.

"That's kind of far out," Joe Nelson said. "I can't see her doing something like that."

Nelson said while he can't believe Mona would commit murder, he admits the former boxer had a violent streak. He recalls a night she attacked her husband in their home.

"He was asleep in a chair and she attacked him. She beat him on the head with knuckles. Messed his head up."

According to jail records, Mona Nelson has been in and out of jail for several small crimes in the East Texas area from robbery to misdemeanor assault.

"She has been in trouble all her life," Nelson said.

But, her ex-husband described Mona as a Christian woman, a loving mother and grandmother. He's stunned by the arrest.

"I'm heartbroken for both Jonathan and Mona. All we can do is lift them up in prayer," Michael Nelson said.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

When Houston police brought Mona Yvette Nelson in for questioning in the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, she seemed unfazed, even chatty, a veteran homicide investigator said.
She breezily signed consent forms allowing authorities to search her truck and home, Officer Mike Mil­ler said, and showed no emotion even when told she was being charged with capital murder in the slaying of Jonathan, who vanished from his northwest Houston home on Christmas Eve.
Miller has interviewed hundreds of suspects in 14 years on the homicide squad but said he saw something in Nelson's eyes that he's only seen once before — in the gaze of an accused serial killer.
It was a "dead look," the investigator said. "Anything but remorse … Stone cold without a soul."
Nelson declined an interview from a Harris County Jail cell Thursday, but police and people who know the woman - born Mona Preston on March 5, 1966 - described her as an adept plumber and welder, a boxer, an immigrant smuggler, a mother and grandmother.
Miller found her "a hard nut to crack," he said. "You just can't figure her out."
Nelson, 44, is no stranger to criminal activity.
She pleaded guilty to fleeing the scene of a 1984 armed robbery in a hail of gunfire, according to court documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
She and a friend held up a barbecue restaurant in Houston with a rifle, according to court records. When the robbery went sour, the pair fled as the restaurant owner shot at the car. Police stopped the duo after a brief chase.
High school dropout
In one document from a 1985 pre-sentencing investigation, Nelson shared her life story with authorities in hopes of a more lenient punishment.
She says she attended five Houston-area schools, earning B and C grade averages. She dropped out of Bellaire High School in 11th grade and completed her GED at Houston Community College.
She left home at age 15 and met her future husband, Michael Nelson, shortly before her 16th birthday. The couple married on May 7, 1983, when the bride was 17 and the groom 28.
Two months later, Nelson reportedly gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl - three months prematurely.
Nelson said she'd been living in Cookville in East Texas since January 1985, in a house owned by her father-in-law, Clyde Nelson, a sex offender who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl in August 1985. A probation officer who visited the home in September 1985 reported the home was clean and Nelson's children appeared well cared-for.
The family lived on the $900 per month earned by her husband, a carpenter.
Nelson said she was studying pre-med at Northeast Texas Community College with the goal of becoming a physician.
She reported working summer jobs in 1980 and '81 at the Martin Luther King Center in Houston, where she assisted with clerical duties and recreational activities and tutored at the center's day care. A supervisor there described her in court documents as a hard worker who "has demonstrated herself to be a good mother."
Border incident in 1991
The judge granted probation in 1986, but five years later border patrol agents caught Nelson trafficking Mexican nationals.
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Nelson in Kenedy County in July 1991 with five illegal immigrants allegedly smuggled in for $600 each.
She served six months concurrent with the 10-year sentence imposed and was paroled after three years.
In 1997, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft by check case out of Daingerfield and served 30 days in jail. In 2002, she served 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession in McKinney.
In 2005, she was charged with making a terroristic threat to another woman and with misdemeanor criminal mischief in Mount Vernon, Texas. She served one year probation and two months in jail for the threat and a concurrent sentence for the mischief charge.
Recently, Nelson worked in maintenance at several apartment complexes in north Houston.
An employee of the Sherwood Lane Apartments who asked not to be identified said Nelson used to fix plumbing problems there. She said Nelson had spoken of her children and said she recently had a grandchild. Another co-worker said Nelson talked about how she used to box in Detroit.
On her MySpace page, Nelson lists herself as single and her interests as working out, going to the beach and watching forensic science TV shows.
Nelson was friends with Jonathan's mother's roommate, Sharon Ennamorato, who also was Jonathan's frequent babysitter. Ennamorato has said she knew Nelson as a maintenance worker at an apartment complex across the street from the cottage Ennamorato shared with Jonathan and his mother.
Police believe Nelson kidnapped Jonathan from the cottage - where she found him home alone around 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve - and killed him at a two-unit garage apartment in the 8800 block of Allwood, in northeast Houston, later the same day.
Being held without bail
A neighbor who declined to give her name said she thought the home and garage apartments were vacant. Another said Nelson lived in a rear apartment but "kept to herself."
Nelson had been scheduled to appear in a court hearing Thursday, but officials said she had a medical issue and was not brought to the courtroom.
They didn't release details of her condition. She was ordered held without bail.
Prosecutors said Nelson admitted to police that she dumped the boy's body in a ditch in the 9900 block of East Hardy.
Footage from surveillance cameras at a business nearby shows Nelson's silver pickup pull up at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, a few hours after Jonathan disappeared, police said. The video shows Nelson taking the boy's body out of the truck bed and placing it in the ditch, they said.
Evidence detailed
Investigators also found burned carpet at Nelson's apartment, twine that appeared to match the string used to bind Jonathan's hands, and a stun-gun in the glove compartment of Nelson's truck, Miller said.
Arson dogs detected no accelerant on Jonathan's body, he said, adding that Nelson possibly used welding torches at her home. An autopsy found no soot in the boy's lungs, so Miller said Jonathan likely was not alive when he was burned.
Nelson has not confessed to killing Jonathan, and investigators have yet to determine a motive.
"I still don't know how the hell you could do something like that," Miller said.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Well, even though she very strongly resembles a "dude" (as the step-father put it), she must be a female if she is a mother & grandmother! :lol!:

However, her story about someone paying her to dump the boy's body sounds rather far-fetched & I hope that LE is able to get the truth out of her. I shudder to think about what poor Jonathan went through!!

Arson dogs detected no accelerant on Jonathan's body, he said, adding that Nelson possibly used welding torches at her home. An autopsy found no soot in the boy's lungs, so Miller said Jonathan likely was not alive when he was burned.

Thank God he was not alive when she burned him! How could anyone burn a little boy's body (or anyone's for that matter) with a welding torch?

I also read that there was a stun gun in the glove compartment of her truck. She might have used that
to subdue the boy before she took him out of his apartment.

A next door neighbor of Jonathan's mother, Angela Davis, told KTRK that Nelson was with the family when they were looking for the missing boy on Christmas Eve.
"She [Nelson] was just sitting there, looking at what was going on," Rita Jackson told KTRK.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I am still unclear on how well Mona knew the Davis family and exactly what happened with the phone calls.

This case is just heartbreaking and sordid all at the same time.

And for that monster to say she was paid $20 to hide a plastic container is ridiculous! WHO asked her to hide it? I think this woman may be schizophrenic.

I also don't buy Cowboy Davis' story that he didn't really know her. He came on a little bit too strong. It almost reminded me of Ron Cummings crying when HaLeigh first disappeared. I was half expecting Davis to fall to his knees and start sobbing.

Someone up thread said that the stepfather had slapped Jonathan - do they have a link to that story?
Also I read Mona said she "partied" with both the mother and stepfather, of course, I dont believe a word she says either.

Also I read Mona said she "partied" with both the mother and stepfather, of course, I dont believe a word she says either.

Artgal, do you remember where you read that? Can you get us a link if possible? Thanks in advance!!

I thought I read it at one of those links up thread
but Ive been to so many sites I cant remember!

Thanks, BJ!!

And Artgal, I know exactly what you mean!!

So, they DID know each other. This is all very confusing.

My opinion:

Whilst "partying," Mona and stepfather commiserated regarding their "situations." Mona was mad that her crush Ennamoratto became Jonathon's mother's roommate. Stepdad is pissed because his wife is gone. Why? He slapped Jonathon.
I see Mona and stepfather in collusion to get rid of the boy to bring him closer to his ex-wife and Mona into the arms of her crush.

The body of a murdered 12-year-old boy will be laid to rest in Pearland.

A funeral for Jonathan Foster will be held in Garden Oaks Baptist Church in the 3200 block of North Shepard at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 4.

Visitation will occur earlier beginning at 10 a.m. Foster will be buried at South Park Cemetery in Pearland.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Nelson's mother, ex-husband, two adult children and five grandchildren live in Mount Pleasant, Texas. One of her grandchildren is an 11-year-old boy.
Michael Nelson married Mona Nelson in 1983.
He had a hard time finding words to describe his feelings for Jonathan's family.
"There's no words for that," he said. "There's no comfort that I can give them other than to lift them up to the Lord and offer our prayers up to touch their heart."
Michael Nelson said he knew about Mona Nelson's lengthy criminal history, and that some of her crimes targeted her own family. Mona Nelson's daughter said her mother assaulted her in 2008.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, the officer "observed multiple injuries to her daughter's face, arms, neck and hands."
The daughter was also bleeding and had a knot under her right eye, according to the document.
A Titus County Judge said Mona Nelson is well known in the county's judicial system.
"When you mentioned her name, I remembered her instantly," Judge Kay McNutt said. "You know, it is a small town and if you talk to some of the older law enforcement and the judicial people, then you'd see that they, too, remember."
Most of the charges Mona Nelson faced in Mount Pleasant were misdemeanors, and McNutt said the severity of the charge did surprise her.
Michael Nelson said the son he shares with Mona Nelson plans to go see his mother in jail.
"He was going to go down there and sit in front of her and speak to her and see," he said.
Michael Nelson said the last time Mona Nelson visited the family was when she went to Mount Pleasant around Christmas 2009.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Homicide investigators said a welding torch is the likely weapon used in 12-year-old Jonathan Foster's death, Local 2 Investigates reported Friday.
"We're talking crematorium-type of hot," said one Houston Police Department Homicide Squad officer assigned to the investigation.
Police said they confiscated a badly burned section of carpet from the home of Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, who stands charged with capital murder.
She had a welding background and police found welding equipment in her home on Allwood Street in the Fifth Ward area of Northeast Houston. Police said a section of carpet was badly burned and the smell of a human body filled the area around that carpet.
DNA tests are being ordered to analyze any bodily fluids.
One investigator assigned to the case said it now appears Foster was killed at that spot in Nelson's home within hours of being kidnapped from his family's home near Shepherd Drive and 43rd Street in Northwest Houston.
Police say she was acquainted with some members of the boy's family.
One officer said on Friday that the autopsy has ruled out any trauma on the child's body. There were no broken bones or any signs of strangulation or head wounds, so officers said it now appears the child was killed with a welding torch that could be capable of 6,000-degree flames.
"I've never seen burns like this," said one officer who viewed the boy's body after it was found in a ditch off the Hardy Toll Road on Tuesday.
He said that killers often try to cover their tracks by burning the victim's corpse, but in this boy's case, the burning was so intense and thorough that many veteran homicide investigators are struggling with the notion of such a grisly and painful way to die.
Nelson told a community activist from behind bars that she had nothing to do with killing the boy, and she mentioned her own grandchildren as proof that she would never harm a child in such a manner.
As for a motive, one HPD investigator said officers believe sexual abuse was behind the crime.
The officer said there is no evidence to confirm the theory at this point, but police say there was no ransom demand after the boy was kidnapped, so one officer said, "That's the only other motive (that makes any sense)."
Neighbors near the home where police believe the child was killed with a torch are struggling with the new details of the crime.
"That's sick. That's really sick, and I think the person who did it needs to pay for it. Pay dearly," said one business owner on the same block.
Connie Morris also works nearby, saying, "That's just cruel and mean if anybody would do that to a 12-year-old innocent boy."
Nelson is jailed without bond with a court appearance set for Monday.
Police spent Friday interviewing the child's family once again, shoring up the timeline of events and filling in routine gaps in the statements that were given immediately after the crime.
They also spent several hours organizing the carpet and other evidence confiscated from Nelson's home. One officer said, "We got all we need (from there)."

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It makes sense that sexual abuse was the reason for the kidnapping and murder. I remember she stated he answered the door without his shirt. Why would that be an important fact for her mention except that was on her twisted mind. It's hard to believe there is such evil in this world just walking around among us until one day....

I just read through 2 pages of this story and have tried to sum it up. I'm sure I've left important things out, but here are my thoughts and questions:

Why haven't we heard from Ennamorato? She probably has some answers.

Nelson went to the house looking for Ennamorato. Jonathan called his mother to get Ennamorato's ph#.
Phone went dead. Who hung it up?

Angela Davis called back and raspy-voiced woman asked, Jonathan said yes, mama's name is Angela. Mama hears threats toward Jonathan. Phone went dead. Who hung it up?

Step-dad checks on Jonathan about 1:45pm. Then what, he disappears??

Mama arrives home abt. 2pm and nobody's there. Nelson takes Jonathan to her place?? Step-dad??

Mama reports missing child to police about 3:45pm.

Surveillance video shows that Nelson dumped Jonathan's burned body abt. 6pm Dec. 24th.

That evening, Nelson arrives at the house while the search is going on for Jonathan. She tells Mama that she saw Jonathan that afternoon abt. 12:30. She said Jonathan had no shirt on and she thought someone was there with him. Was Ennamorato there? Step-dad?

Who killed Jonathan Foster? I think it narrows down to Mona Nelson or step-dad David Davis. He seems pretty stupid to me, but if he is guilty of abusing the boy, why can't he be guilty of killing him? Happens all the time.

Mona's criminal record and demeanor during this investigation shows it's possible that she might hurt a child. Having the cutting torch, burned carpet and having been seen dumping the body shows at least part of her involvement.

OMG, are they saying now that she killed him by burning him with the welding torch!? Sounds like it. How horrible is that?! I really believe that they should do the same thing to her.

I cannot believe this method of death -I read there was no ash or smoke in the lungs meaning he was dead before he was burned. I wish I could remember where I read that, but its highly unlikely she burned him alive. I also read somewhere that a motive might have been sexual assault. There have been allegations
that because of the way she dressed she might have been gay. Incidence of a gay woman molesting a young boy is extremely rare - I tried to look it up but couldnt find much. There has to be a lot more to this story to come.

I too had read that he had no ash in his lungs surmising that he was dead b4 he was burnt. But the above article states the welding torch was the actual murder weapon and the area of burnt carpet was where he actually died. That is horrendous.

He might have been bludgeoned with the torch.
Horrible.