A woman who was guilty of fatally shooting her “off and on” boyfriend in the back of the head as he was seated in a chair in his living room in 2024 has been sentenced.
On October 24, Janel Marie Nelson, 53, of Thorp, Wisconsin, pled no guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of release after 18 years for the murder of Michael James Corrigan, 55, of Beavercreek, Ohio, according to a statement from the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“By entering pleas of no contest, Nelson did not admit guilt,” the statement continued. “Rather, she admitted the truth of the facts alleged in the indictment.” Based on this, the Court found her guilty.
The crime occurred on the night of August 22, 2024, when police were called to Corrigan’s home after his family discovered him dead in his living room, according to the prosecutor’s statement.
His family were anxious when he failed to return calls and text messages.
When police arrived, they discovered Corrigan had died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his skull. According to an affidavit received by the Dayton Daily News, he was shot the day before, on August 21, with a.380 caliber bullet from 10 feet away.
During the subsequent inquiry, a Beavercreek Police Department detective identified Nelson as a suspect.
They traced her down to Omaha, Nebraska, after a 30-year-old woman posted a selfie with Nelson on Facebook with the caption, “Seeing my mother for the first time in 16 years,” according to the affidavit, the Dayton Daily News reported.
The woman informed the investigator that her mother came up at her residence “out of the blue” after not seeing her for a long time, according to the affidavit.
Nelson was later discovered by detectives at a church in Omaha and detained for interrogation.
Nelson “admitted to several key facts, including that she was with Corrigan just before his murder,” according to the prosecutor’s statement.
According to the affidavit, her connection with Corrigan was “off and on,” as reported by the Dayton Daily News.
Nelson was detained in Omaha on a warrant for voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and aggravated assault.
Investigators issued a search warrant and discovered a gun inside Nelson’s vehicle, which was identified as the murder weapon. Nelson was subsequently extradited to Ohio.
Corrigan was described as “happy-go-lucky” on the National Gun Violence Memorial page.
“Mike was taken long before his time,” one reader wrote. “I will miss him every hour of every day.”
