Jonathan Foster Update: Suspect in Death "Soulless," May Have Other Victims, Say Police
HOUSTON (CBS/KHOU) After interviewing the woman accused of kidnapping and murdering Jonathan Foster on Christmas Eve, investigators say 44-year-old Mona Yvette Nelson is a cold-blooded predator who may have had other victims.
"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," Houston Police Dept. Homicide Det. Michael Miller said. "There are few cases that impact homicide detectives in this manner, but this is one of them."
Nelson, who was charged with capital murder Wednesday, has admitted to dumping the 12-year-old's badly burned body in a ditch in North Hudson, but insists that she did not kill the young boy, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.
Foster was reported missing around 3:45 p.m. Christmas Eve by his mother Angela Davis.
Davis told police that she had received an alarming phone call in reference to her son while she was at work and decided to return home to make sure he was alright; however, when she arrived at her apartment, Foster was nowhere to be found.
Police issued an Amber Alert for Foster Monday and questioned the boy's mother, stepfather David Davis, and babysitter on Tuesday, but made no arrests.
Later that morning, the burned body of an unidentified child was found in a ditch.
Surveillance video from a business near the dump site showed a woman in a silver pickup truck stopping on the side of the road, taking a body out of the bed of the truck and leaving it in a ditch around 6 p.m. on Friday, says KHOU.
Upon reviewing the footage, detectives said it appeared to be Nelson and her truck in the video.
Although Nelson initially denied any involvement, she allowed detectives to search her vehicle, as well as her home which is located approximately three miles from where the body was found.
"Once we arrived at her house, we stumbled into a wealth of evidence - evidence that showed that Jonathan's body was burned at the residence. Evidence that showed, perhaps, the items that he was burned with. Evidence that had us fairly shaken up in collecting it," Miller said.
Detectives said Nelson implicated others in Jonathan's death but they have found no indication she had help. They are also checking to see whether she may be involved in other similar cases.
MORE ON CRIMESIDER
December 30, 2010 - Jonathan Foster Update: Family Acquaintance Arrested in Death of Missing 12-Year-Old Texas Boy
December 29, 2010 - Jonathan Foster Missing: Woman to be Charged in Disappearance of Texas 12-Year-Old, Say Sources