FORT WORTH -- Just one day after an Arlington church pastor was killed and his secretary badly beaten, their accused killer partied at a Dallas nightclub in new clothes, a witness testified Wednesday.
Tracey Nixon, a male cross-dresser who took the stand wearing women's clothes and bright pink lipstick, said he picked up Steven Lawayne Nelson in Arlington and they spent about three hours at the nightclub before going to Nixon's home in Forney for the night.Nixon said he and Nelson had an "on-again, off-again" relationship.Nixon said Nelson was wearing a bright green Oscar the Grouch T-shirt, new white Nike Air Jordan shoes and flashy silver jewelry -- items that other witnesses have said he purchased at The Parks at Arlington mall with a stolen Discover card just hours after the killing on March 3, 2011, at NorthPointe Baptist Church in north Arlington.Nelson is on trial on a capital murder charge, accused of killing church pastor Clint Dobson, 28, by beating him, tying him up and placing a plastic bag over his head until he suffocated. He is also accused of bludgeoning church secretary Judy Elliott, leaving her for dead and then stealing her credit cards and car.Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.Defense attorney Bill Ray on Wednesday asked state District Judge Mike Thomas to block Nixon's testimony, saying it could prejudice the jury against his client. He also asked that sometimes-racy text messages exchanged between the two on cellphones be kept from jurors."What we've got is a relationship that is not within the mainstream of society," Ray argued.Prosecutor Page Simpson told the judge that Nixon's cellphone records and testimony were crucial to creating a timeline of Nelson's whereabouts after the killing. Thomas eventually allowed the testimony but excluded some of the text messages.Evidence at the sceneOther witnesses on Wednesday gave evidence linking Nelson to the crime scene.Nelson's fingerprints were found inside Dobson's office, on a wrist rest for a laptop computer that was stolen from the office, and on receipts for the items purchased with Elliott's stolen credit cards, Robin Kasson, a fingerprint expert with the Arlington Police Department, told jurors.Homicide Detective Caleb Blank testified that white objects found at the crime scene matched white metal studs in a belt that Nelson was wearing when he was arrested on March 5, 2011. Blank said a bloody shoe print found on a piece of paper in the church bathroom appeared to match a different pair of Air Jordan shoes later seized from Nelson's home.Under questioning from Ray, however, Blank told jurors that another man -- who originally was thought to have been an accomplice to the murder -- was found to have Dobson's cellphone and the keys to Elliott's stolen Mitsubishi Galant.That man was arrested but later cleared by police, Blank said. The man told police he met up with Nelson later on the day of the killing and went with him to the mall, and witnesses verified his whereabouts.Testimony is expected to continue today in Criminal District Court No. 4.Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHuntHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
