It doesn't sound like too savory a crowd, but ". . . the plan went awry because Arty had a gun."
Jury convicts man in murder plot
Jurors sentenced Edward Harold Nelson to serve 20 years and a day
The prosecutor said the Franklin County father planned to use his son-in-law to kill his daughter's boyfriend.
By JON CAWLEY, The Roanoke Times
ROCKY MOUNT - A Franklin County man who conspired with his daughter's estranged husband to kill her boyfriend was convicted Wednesday in the botched murder attempt that resulted in the husband's death.
The eight-woman, four-man jury took about 90 minutes to find Edward Harold Nelson guilty and 15 minutes to decide his fate.
The jury sentenced Nelson, 55, to a combined 20 years plus one day in prison for breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Cletis Junior Roberts, the husband of Nelson's daughter Katherine Roberts, died early Dec. 26 after he broke down Arthur Kelly Simpson's front door and was shot.
The shooting was declared self-defense. A charge of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony was also thrown out because Simpson obtained the bolt-action rifle he used to kill Roberts after Katherine Roberts told him her father had threatened his life.
At the time, 20-year-old Katherine Roberts was living with her sons - 5-year-old Joey and 5-month-old Jessup - in Nelson's trailer. Junior Roberts - who was Joey's father - lived in Bath County but was visiting the family for Christmas.
The shooting stemmed from an argument between Nelson and Katherine Roberts on Christmas night after she left Jessup in her boyfriend's care.
Katherine Robert's friend Amanda Williams testified that Nelson and Katherine Roberts yelled at each other before Nelson pulled out a pistol and laid it on the coffee table.
Three times Katherine Roberts evaded Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood's question of whether her father made threats during the argument.
She finally acknowledged: "He didn't say he'd do anything to me. He said he was going to kill Arty."
The prosecutor suggested Nelson prodded a drunken Junior Roberts into doing his
"dirty work."
According to testimony, neither Nelson nor Junior Roberts knew where Simpson lived, so they had Joey - who remained in the car during the shooting - show them the way.
About 2:30 a.m. Dec. 26, Katherine Roberts and Simpson were watching television in his home - with Jessup in a bedroom asleep - when they heard a car in the driveway. Then the screaming began.
"I heard Junior screaming and cussing. He yelled 'We're going to kill you,'" Katherine Roberts testified.
It wasn't long before Cletis Roberts broke down the front door. Simpson fired two warning shots before shooting Roberts in the stomach.
An autopsy report stated that Roberts' blood alcohol content was 0.22 at the time of his death.
A firearm records search revealed that a .45-caliber pistol found near Simpson's home belonged to Nelson. A full magazine was found with the gun, and a second magazine and a single unfired bullet were discovered hidden at a neighbor's house where Nelson went to call 911.
Nelson has maintained since his arrest that he did not take the gun to Simpson's home. Police were unable to find fingerprints on the gun.
But Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Robertson testified that Katherine Roberts - who suffered a gash over her right eye - told him Nelson pistol-whipped her as she fled the house after the shooting.
Simpson testified that after he shot Roberts he called outside to Nelson asking for help.
"Ed said, 'If you shot Junior, I'm going to kill you,'" Simpson testified.
Nelson's attorney, Wayne Inge, did not present evidence in the trial. In his closing remarks he said an agreement between the two men to kill Simpson hadn't been proved and that Nelson couldn't be convicted of burglary because he had been given an open invitation to Simpson's home by his daughter's boyfriend.
"What we have here is two people acting in concert to commit a crime, but there is no evidence of an agreement," Inge said.
To counter that argument, the prosecutor used a hunting analogy to sum up his version of the men's plan.
"It was two drunks that were going to do something," Hapgood said. "Junior flushes and Ed finishes, and the plan went awry because Arty had a gun."
Hapgood told the jury to "consider what Mr. Nelson's selfish, controlling behavior led to."
Circuit Judge William Alexander delayed the sentencing until Dec. 18, while a presentence report is completed.
Jury convicts man in murder plot
Jurors sentenced Edward Harold Nelson to serve 20 years and a day
The prosecutor said the Franklin County father planned to use his son-in-law to kill his daughter's boyfriend.
By JON CAWLEY, The Roanoke Times
ROCKY MOUNT - A Franklin County man who conspired with his daughter's estranged husband to kill her boyfriend was convicted Wednesday in the botched murder attempt that resulted in the husband's death.
The eight-woman, four-man jury took about 90 minutes to find Edward Harold Nelson guilty and 15 minutes to decide his fate.
The jury sentenced Nelson, 55, to a combined 20 years plus one day in prison for breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Cletis Junior Roberts, the husband of Nelson's daughter Katherine Roberts, died early Dec. 26 after he broke down Arthur Kelly Simpson's front door and was shot.
The shooting was declared self-defense. A charge of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony was also thrown out because Simpson obtained the bolt-action rifle he used to kill Roberts after Katherine Roberts told him her father had threatened his life.
At the time, 20-year-old Katherine Roberts was living with her sons - 5-year-old Joey and 5-month-old Jessup - in Nelson's trailer. Junior Roberts - who was Joey's father - lived in Bath County but was visiting the family for Christmas.
The shooting stemmed from an argument between Nelson and Katherine Roberts on Christmas night after she left Jessup in her boyfriend's care.
Katherine Robert's friend Amanda Williams testified that Nelson and Katherine Roberts yelled at each other before Nelson pulled out a pistol and laid it on the coffee table.
Three times Katherine Roberts evaded Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood's question of whether her father made threats during the argument.
She finally acknowledged: "He didn't say he'd do anything to me. He said he was going to kill Arty."
The prosecutor suggested Nelson prodded a drunken Junior Roberts into doing his
"dirty work."
According to testimony, neither Nelson nor Junior Roberts knew where Simpson lived, so they had Joey - who remained in the car during the shooting - show them the way.
About 2:30 a.m. Dec. 26, Katherine Roberts and Simpson were watching television in his home - with Jessup in a bedroom asleep - when they heard a car in the driveway. Then the screaming began.
"I heard Junior screaming and cussing. He yelled 'We're going to kill you,'" Katherine Roberts testified.
It wasn't long before Cletis Roberts broke down the front door. Simpson fired two warning shots before shooting Roberts in the stomach.
An autopsy report stated that Roberts' blood alcohol content was 0.22 at the time of his death.
A firearm records search revealed that a .45-caliber pistol found near Simpson's home belonged to Nelson. A full magazine was found with the gun, and a second magazine and a single unfired bullet were discovered hidden at a neighbor's house where Nelson went to call 911.
Nelson has maintained since his arrest that he did not take the gun to Simpson's home. Police were unable to find fingerprints on the gun.
But Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Robertson testified that Katherine Roberts - who suffered a gash over her right eye - told him Nelson pistol-whipped her as she fled the house after the shooting.
Simpson testified that after he shot Roberts he called outside to Nelson asking for help.
"Ed said, 'If you shot Junior, I'm going to kill you,'" Simpson testified.
Nelson's attorney, Wayne Inge, did not present evidence in the trial. In his closing remarks he said an agreement between the two men to kill Simpson hadn't been proved and that Nelson couldn't be convicted of burglary because he had been given an open invitation to Simpson's home by his daughter's boyfriend.
"What we have here is two people acting in concert to commit a crime, but there is no evidence of an agreement," Inge said.
To counter that argument, the prosecutor used a hunting analogy to sum up his version of the men's plan.
"It was two drunks that were going to do something," Hapgood said. "Junior flushes and Ed finishes, and the plan went awry because Arty had a gun."
Hapgood told the jury to "consider what Mr. Nelson's selfish, controlling behavior led to."
Circuit Judge William Alexander delayed the sentencing until Dec. 18, while a presentence report is completed.
