A man reported his girlfriend died by suicide on Sunday, but investigators found evidence at the scene that was “inconsistent” with his story.
FOX ISLAND, Wash. — A 29-year-old man has been charged with murder after claiming his girlfriend died by suicide inside a Fox Island home, according to new documents.
“He had called stating that his girlfriend had shot herself,” said Deputy Carly Cappetto, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. “It wasn’t consistent with a suicide.”
Over the weekend, Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in the 800 block of Fox Drive just after 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 20 for a death investigation. Deputies found the victim, a 27-year-old woman, dead inside an accessory dwelling unit on a property owned by Nelson’s father. Both Nelson and the victim lived in the unit, documents state.
When Nelson called 911, he said his girlfriend had died by suicide. Nelson then reportedly told his father, who was inside the main residence, the woman had shot herself and that he owned a Glock handgun.
When examining the unit where the victim died, investigators located a Glock firearm and a 9mm live round on the bed near the victim, documents state. Several more bullets and shell casings were found on the floor near the bed and under the victim once she was moved. Officials said they observed three bullet wounds on her head.
“They had narrowed it down that she was not the one that shot her,” said Cappetto. “There is real scientific proof.”
Investigators determined the evidence was “inconsistent with her allegedly committing suicide as described by Lars Nelson,” documents state.
Deputies asked Nelson’s father to show footage from surveillance cameras around the home and unit, but he declined, documents state.
At least three people, including the woman’s mother, called 911 in recent days to report a person with suicidal ideations and to request a welfare check on the woman.
The victim’s parents told deputies she and Nelson were “co-dependent” and that she had a history of depression and suicidal ideation. The woman’s mother said she had spent six hours on the phone with her daughter on Friday and that the woman allegedly said Nelson would help end her suffering, documents state. According to the deputy, she said, “it was possible Lars assisted [her] in taking her life.”
Later on Sunday, Nelson was arrested and booked into jail. He is charged with second-degree murder, according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. During his arrest, deputies wrote he “did not seem surprised and did not have … [a] concerned reaction.”
Medical examiners said they would not rule the woman’s death as a suicide, documents state. The woman has not yet been identified.
Assisted suicide is legal in Washington, but only doctors can legally end the lives of certain terminally-ill patients.
“We are all mandated to be reporters and get help for those people, or make a 911 call,” said Cappetto.
You can make a 911 call, or if you’d prefer, a 988 call.
“We are a free resource, available anytime. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Wynonna Susilo, clinical manager of dispatch hub services at Crisis Connections.
Suicide rates tend to spike in the spring, she said.
“We do see an uptick in calls or crises during this time. I know there’s some science behind it, and some something to do with the weather changing. It’s getting lighter outside, but some folks who suffer from chronic mental illnesses, it’s all year round. So some of them who hope and wish it would get better with sunlight, and then they don’t get better, they do then feel like things are never gonna get better,” explained Susilo.
Susilo said she wants the public to know that even if you’re a loved one of someone in crisis, you can still contact 988.
“We can also give coaching, give some type of guidance, or encouragements on what to do next, and also give them resources on what is available,” said Susilo.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Visit Vibrant Emotional Health’s Safe Space for digital resources.
