Full Notification

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION
JACKSON POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: July 15, 2014
BY: Chief Gill Kendrick

Point of Contact: Capt. Tyreece Miller 731-425-8676 [email protected]

Son Charged with Felony Murder in Father's Homicide

Jackson police have charged Clayton Nelson, 29, in the murder of his father Jeffrey Nelson, 57, inside Jeffrey Nelson's duplex on Westwood Avenue.

Clayton Nelson is in custody at the Madison County Jail and is scheduled to be formally arraigned via video link at 8 a.m. Wednesday in Jackson City Court for first-degree murder in perpetration of theft.

Nelson will also be arraigned on an unrelated charge of felony theft for stealing a television last Wednesday from the resident who lives in the opposite side of the duplex from Jeffrey Nelson.

Around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to a duplex at 809 Westwood Ave. to check on the welfare of Jeffrey Nelson. Officers arrived to find the side door ajar. There was no sign of a forced entry. Officers checked inside and found Nelson dead from an apparent homicide.

Investigators determined that Jeffrey Nelson's 2001 Infiniti QX4 SUV was missing. Clayton Nelson was developed as a person of interest. Police began searching for Clayton Nelson and the missing SUV.

Around 10 a.m. Sunday, Clayton Nelson surrendered to Nashville police. He was driving his father's SUV, which was towed to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for a forensic examination. Jackson investigators traveled to Nashville and brought Clayton Nelson back to Jackson.

The investigation has shown that Clayton Nelson fatally beat and stabbed Jeffrey Nelson at 809 Westwood Avenue. The investigation further revealed that Clayton Nelson took Jeffrey Nelson's cell phone and laptop computer, and left in Jeffrey Nelson's SUV.

Clayton Nelson also has a hold for a violation of state probation. In 2009, Nelson was placed on eight years' probation after being convicted of felony theft and worthless checks in Sumner County. Nelson violated the conditions of his probation, and the violation warrant was issued for his arrest on July 7.