FORT WORTH -- Steven Lawayne Nelson told a new acquaintance that he killed a pastor and believed he also killed a woman during a robbery at an Arlington church, the acquaintance testified Thursday in Nelson's capital murder trial.
"He said that he hit a lick," Brittany Bursey, 23, told jurors. "Somebody was strangled and somebody got beat half to death."He said, 'I think I killed her, too.'"Bursey said Nelson "shrugged off" her questions about the stolen white car he was driving and changed the subject."What was his demeanor?" prosecutor Page Simpson asked."Nonchalant," Bursey said. "He didn't really show any emotion or any care about anything."Nelson, 25, of Arlington, is on trial in the March 3, 2011, slaying of Pastor Clint Dobson, 28, who was bound, beaten and suffocated with a plastic bag in his office at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington. Church secretary Judy Elliott was beaten and left for dead but survived.Elliott's white Mitsubishi Galant and credit cards were among items stolen.Because Dobson's death occurred during a robbery, Nelson was indicted on a capital murder charge. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.Defense attorneys Bill Ray and Steve Gordon have tried to suggest during questioning that another young man, Anthony "A.G." Springs, was involved in the crime. Simpson and co-prosecutor Bob Gill have submitted evidence that Springs had an alibi for the time the crime occurred.First meetingBursey testified that she first met Nelson the afternoon of March 3, 2011, the day of the killing, when he showed up at her house with her nephew and Springs. She said Nelson was introduced to her as "Romeo" and was driving a white Mitsubishi Galant.Bursey said Springs told her that the car was stolen and that Nelson had credit cards and was offering "free gas."Bursey said that she questioned Nelson about the car and that he admitted the killing.Also Thursday, witnesses tied Nelson to the crime scene with DNA and other evidence.Forensics experts testified that blood from Dobson and Elliott was found on a pair of black and green Air Jordan shoes in Nelson's apartment, about a mile from the church, and that a bloody footprint on an envelope in the church restroom appeared to match the pattern on the bottom of the shoes.Dobson was bound with a computer power cord and masking tape, and Elliott was bound with masking tape during the assault, but investigators could not lift fingerprints from those items.Testimony is expected to end today and closing arguments to begin Monday before state District Judge Mike Thomas.Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHuntHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
