Sword and Scale - Episode 191

Episode Date: July 5, 2021

When personal assistant Jennifer Fulford mysteriously disappeared from her wealthy employer’s house, everyone was puzzled by the strange trail of strange clues left in her absence. Had Jennifer run away? Had she been hurt? The truth behind her sudden disappearance would be far more devious, deranged, and senseless than anyone could have imagined.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences Listener discretion is advised In September when you went to the Walmart and acquired the knife and the duct tape and the zip ties remember the zip ties. Yeah, never leave home without them Ties remember the zip ties. Yeah never leave home without them. All right this is it welcome to season 8 episode 191 of sword and scale. I show that reveals Well, we have a big announcement today. It is the return of Sword at Scale Rewind! Veteran co-host Matt Fondlear of Adam Krolofame returns to weave us through the intricacies of each Sword Scale episode.

This time, he's joined by a very funny man named Ian Bag. He was a finalist of last comic standing season 9. He's been on the tonight show, the late show, several movies and comedy specials, and now he's here with us. If you've never heard of Rewind, it is an after show, which means that every episode of the show corresponds to the same numbered episode of our regular show. So if you want a little extra, after listening to Sword and Scale, head on over to your favorite podcast app and subscribe right now to Sword and Scale rewind.

The first episode with the new hosts will pick up where the last one left off at episode 143 and it will drop the same day that this current episode you're listening to now drops on the regular feed which is July 4th. God Bless America. So do not forget, subscribe right now so you won't miss out. Do it, go do it right now. Alright enough of this nonsense. Let's get into some murder right now. In 2017, Reed Berman was the president of Tower Realty Partners in Winner Park, Florida, an affluent

suburb just north of Orlando. Reade was divorced with two small children and living in a spacious $2.3 million home. Being president of a major real estate company kept him extremely busy. So Reade had a full-time nanny and personal assistant named Jennifer Fulford. Jennifer had been working for the Burman family for seven years and she loved her job. She was a healthy 56-year-old woman with a blonde pixie cut and beachy tan. Jennifer was a hard worker who reed treated as part of a family. Now that her own children were grown and living their lives, she poured all her maternal energy into reads,

kids, and managing the family's busy schedules. She would come early in the morning and get my children ready for school, cook them breakfast, drive them to school. She would come back and work at the house through projects. She cleaned the house, picked up the kids from school. She would come back and work at the house, do projects, clean the house, picked up the kids from school. She did everything. She's been a lot of time with my younger child, but she also helped my older daughter with homework and other things. September 27, 2017 started off like any other morning at the Burman Residence.

Jennifer showed up early and got busy tidying the house, while simultaneously getting reads younger son Oliver ready for school. Now, at some point, she and Oliver left the house. Correct. Do you recall if you saw them before they left the house for her to take him to school? Um, he would usually, uh, after breakfast or when he finished getting ready, he would come to my room and give me a hug goodbye. Okay.

And so Jennifer was the one who took him to school that day? Yes. After dropping off Oliver, Jennifer returned to the Burman home and informed Reid of her schedule that day. She told me she was going to the dentist for an appointment. And after that, she would return home just in time for an important delivery. I had a piece of art that was being framed. She had scheduled them to come to the house to deliver the art.

Then she would get Oliver from school, like she always did. After you left for work that morning, did you ever see Jennifer Fulford again? I did not. But he didn't hear from her. Later that morning, she sent him his monthly text reminder to pay his child support. Other than that text message, did you ever hear from Jennifer Fulford again? I did not. That afternoon, Reed got a call from his ex-wife.

Jennifer hadn't come to pick up Oliver from school. Was it out of the ordinary for Jennifer to not pick up your kids when she was scheduled to do so? Yes. Had that ever happened before? Never. Reed was worried. Jennifer hadn't missed a day of school pick up in seven years. As he

drove to the school to get his son, he kept trying to reach Jennifer. I first called and it went straight to voicemail, which never happened either before. Any other methods? Did you try anything else? I text also. So did she ever answer her phone? Did she ever respond to the text messages that you sent? No. When Reed and his son got home, they searched for Jennifer, but she was nowhere in the house. Her car was also gone. The kitchen was spotless, but the bedrooms were still messy, which was odd.

Jennifer always made up the beds and cleaned their rooms before anyone got home. Her handbag was in the, in the powder room downstairs. In the bathroom. The bathroom. And by her handbag, you mean her purse? Her purse. Though Jennifer's purse was in the bathroom, her wallet, tablet, and cell phone were missing. But the debit card she had been given by Reed for household expenses was still in the

purse, removed from her wallet, along with a pile of receipts. I would deposit money and she would use it for her. Okay, so this was not an account that she contributed money to. This was an account that you had set up that she had access to in order to work for you. Yes. Then Reed noticed FedEx package from his bacon of the month club sitting by the front door. I know, right? I got to try that, too. Where was that FedEx package located when you saw it?

It was inside the house. You know where it was right next to the front door. Right next to the front door. Yes. Yes. Okay. Was that something that would have needed to be refrigerated? Yes.

And would Jennifer, having worked for you for that long, is that something that she would have opened the package and known to put it in the refrigerator? Because it's making. Yes. What was going on? Reed tried to get a hold of Jennifer's husband at his office, but he had left for the day.

Fearing she had been in a car accident, Reed called a few local hospitals to see if anyone matching Jennifer's description had been admitted. Nothing. It was like she just vanished. That's when Reed decided to call 911. Meanwhile, Jennifer's husband Robert had arrived home at 6.30pm to an empty house. He figured Jennifer

was just running late and went on with this after work routine. I turned on the TV, wanted to watch a program that I liked that Jenny didn't like. What show was that? Uh, the Walking Dead. Suddenly, the police knocked on Robert's door and shook his entire world apart. He was blindsided and the police had little information to give him, other than the fact that Reed had just reported his wife missing. What did you do upon learning that information

that your wife might be missing? I tried to call her. Any luck contacting her? No. Okay, and about how long were the law enforcement officers at your house, the ones that first came from the Alta Mont Springs Police Department? 30 minutes.

And after they left, were they able to give you very much information about what was going on? No. After the police left, were they able to give you very much information about what was going on? No. After the police left, Robert began calling all of Jennifer's friends, her sister, her children. No one had heard from her. Earlier that day, Jennifer's daughter-in-law had gone into labor and given birth. Jennifer had plans to fly to Texas the following morning to meet and help care for her new grandchild. Had she changed her flight and left early to surprise her son and his wife? After all, she was ecstatic to have a new grandbaby. When was his second baby born? That same date. Austin's child was born on September 27,

2017. Yes. Austin's child was born on September 27th, 2017? Yes. And when you talked to Austin, had he heard from his mom after his baby was born? No. Jennifer's husband logged into his online banking to access the checking account that he shared with Jennifer. That's when he noticed a withdrawal of $300, which was the couple's daily withdrawal maximum.

Why was she taking out that much cash? Back at the Berman residence, it was discovered that the frameurge and if her head arranged to come over had not shown up to hang Reeds art. But this wasn't a mistake. At the last minute, Jennifer had called the frameamer and told her not to come to the house. She was very, very upset. She said that Oliver was sick and that she had to go to the school and pick him up. Okay? Did she say anything else?

She told me not to come. Why had Jennifer canceled on the framer and lied about Oliver being sick? None of it made any sense. And there was one more suspicious detail that the police and Reed had yet to notice. The Duvet was missing from Reed Berman's king-sized bed. Florida Personal Assistant Jennifer Fulford had been reported missing, leaving in her mysterious absence little clues. It was like she had vanished into thin air, leaving her husband, employer, and police stunned as to where she could have gone. Jennifer Fulford didn't seem like the type to run away without notice.

She was a busy 56-year-old woman who looked after two different households, where she was lovingly referred to as Jenny Poppins by the kids. She was happily married to her second husband and had not only children but grandchildren. She was a super mom who loved Barbara Strysan and gardening. No one pegged Jennifer as the type to keep secrets, but could she have been hiding something? Where was she? Jennifer had taken her wallet, tablet, car, and cell phone with her. But now the cell phone was switched off

as she run away. Where was Jennifer? This was just so out of character. The whole thing felt strange. There was no sign of forced entry into Reed's house. None of his expensive luxury items were stolen, and there were plenty of valuables to steal, by the way. With no signs of Jennifer police used the only clue they had, a $300 ATM withdrawal from

her joint checking account with her husband. They soon retrieved a video of a white male in his early 50s, taking out the money from Jennifer's account at a Wells Fargo ATM in Windsor Park. Police immediately showed the footage to Jennifer's husband, Robert. And at some point, you were shown photographs still shots from an ATM camera. Is that correct? That's correct. And did you recognize the person in the photos of the ATM?

No. And was it your wife? No. Neither Reed nor Jennifer's husband Robert recognized the ponytailed man at the ATM videos. He was a total stranger. Who was this guy? He looked like your average Disneyland dad, bright blue sneakers, thin rimed glasses,

and unnecessary athletic shorts. In the video, the man squinted against the floor to sunshine as he casually punched in Jennifer's debit code and withdrew $300 and cash. Why did this man have Jennifer's pin number? How did they know each other? And where was Jennifer? There were a million questions and no answers.

That is, until police made a crucial and startling discovery, they found her car. And Jennifer's car was found on September 28, during the next day. found or car. When police located Jennifer Fulford's SUV abandoned in a parking lot in Orlando, Florida, they found inside an empty bottle of beer, a men's wristwatch, some men's clothing, a towel, and reeds missing duvet. Whose things were these in her car? Two days later, the police finally located Jennifer,

but this wasn't the happy reunion her family hoped for. Jennifer was dead. The beloved grandmother was hogtied like an animal with zip ties and duct tape, stabbed multiple times, then dumped in a remote field in Orlando. When the police found her body, she was faced down, smothered in the sticky grass as her swollen remains slowly decomposed in the swampy heat. Her limbs and stomach were puffy from decay, turning black and purple as flies buzzed on her bare legs. When they turned her over to transport her into medical examin' in the office, they saw

that she had duct tape wrapped around her entire head. They covered her face, her fur chin, do her eyebrows. She did not have to be able to see. More importantly, she would not have been able to prove. She had two superficial savorous to her back. Anyone could. But she had five penetrating staff members to her chest. Two of which directly appears for the heart. The medical examiner will tell you that one of two means possibly a combination of both of whom caused her death. One, the saddles.

She would have left it. Two, asphyxiation. The duct tape was so tight, her gift for nose and her mouth, she couldn't bring it she was summative to death. Jennifer's demise was nasty and malicious. Why had this happened to her? The police had also looked into the ATM footage

and realized that the mystery man had tried to take out more money from Jennifer's account just four hours after withdrawing the initial 300. In this second ATM clip, he was dressed in a different shirt. Yet he had scratches and cuts all over his hands. Police put a picture of the mystery man on social media, and tips came flooding in. They quickly identified the thief as Scott Edward Nelson.

Though Scott looked like your typical Florida dad, he was actually a childless, transient career criminal who had spent his life in and out of different prisons between his home state of New Hampshire and Florida. Fresh out of jail for yet another failed robbery attempt, Scott had recently been fired from his painting job and was homeless, bouncing around local shelters. He also had some medical issues which forced him to use a colostomy bag, how ironic, a human bag of shit carrying another human bag of shit.

By the time police identified him in the ATM video stealing money from Jennifer Fulford's checking account, Scott was already on an Amtrak train headed to Jacksonville. Police obtained an arrest warrant for the theft charges, and soon busted Scott hiding out at a motel. He was arrested and thrown back in jail. Born on February 28, 1964, Scott Nelson was raised in New Hampshire. He was the youngest of three brothers. According to Scott's oldest brother, James Nelson, their father had a nasty alcohol habit and a propensity for beating his sons when he was drunk or irritated. Here's Scott's brother, James. It ranged from slapping and pushing to where I was hit with a 2x4 and more than

one occasion. He would throw things at you. He would get you into a corner and he would beat you with a belt and he would hit you with the buckle end of the belt. I grew up hearing my my mother will repeatedly be saying to my father when he was doing this, don't hit them in the head. My father just lost control and he just keep going and going apparently until he tired of doing it. According to Scott and his brother, Scott was spared a lot of the beatings from his father. His brothers took the brunt of his father's abuse because they were much older. Scott got babyed. He was his father's favorite son. Scott also sought and desired the attention of his father. Like most young boys, he looked up to his dad.

He wanted to be just like him. Though Scott didn't get beat by his father, he claims he was a punching bag for his brothers and older kids at school. He was beaten up by an older boy. He was taken into the woods at approximately age seven by a 15 year old, and Beaton was basically a rubber whip, leaving waltz and bruises.

So to very young age, there was physical trauma by an outsider. This is Dr. Valerie McCain. She examined Scott Nelson and later testified at his trial. I am a licensed psychologist in the state of Florida, and I've practiced for approximately 30 years in Florida. I specialize in the area of neuropsychology and forensic psychology.

McCain believes that Scott Nelson is more of an underdeveloped child than a grown man. He's a fractured person who doesn't have a stable identity, and he's like a little child saying, someone pay attention to me. Police searched the grassy field where Jennifer's body had been dumped and soon found the murder weapon, a black and green pocket knife.

There was no question that Scott Nelson had not only kidnapped Jennifer Fullford and stolen from her, but he was the person responsible for her murder. His DNA was all over the evidence. On the beer bottle in her car and on the steering wheel, her keys, her remains, the knife, it was everywhere. Was Scott that brazen or just that stupid? Why would he do this?

What did he have to gain from murdering Jennifer Fulford? So Mr. Nelson decides at least as early as September 26th, if not earlier, we don't really know that. But at least as early as September 26th, that he's gonna do a home invasion to get money so he can upscone from his probation. Scott Nelson was bitter and angry. After being released from prison in mid-May of 2017, he said he had big plans to change

his life around. It seemed like Scott always said he had big plans to change his life around. It seemed like Scott always said he had big plans to change his life around whenever he got out of prison for a robbery attempt. But his plans failed like clockwork when things became challenging and he would resort to what he knew best crime and more prison time. While awaiting charges in the kidnapping and murder of Jennifer, Scott Nelson decided to write a letter to one of the homicide detectives in Orlando.

He was willing to talk to police about why he had murdered Jennifer. In November of 2017, detectives paid a visit to Scott behind bars. Turns out Jennifer's death was just all about money. This caring, sweet grandmother lost her life for $300. Scott Nelson was willing to admit what had happened, but he wanted something known. None of this was his fault. His probation officer had sabotaged his plans, so it was really the probation officer's fault, this cost me. I mean, nobody cared if I lived or died.

Sorry, yeah. The probation officer's no one. Okay, no one cared if I lived or died. The probation officer did everything he could, and his power is a man. Yeah, got that point. Just the screen-managed is I did. Yeah.

Okay. I knew what I was going to do. All right. I needed money. Okay. And I knew what I was going to do. I needed money. And I did what I had to do to survive. He did what he had to to put me in a position. I was never on the right medication to begin with. And there's still not giving them right medication.

They sent me down here for a psychological evaluation. All of them did this taking off medication I adjusted. I've given the same thing I had before. I mean, if no one is trying to name it, I don't care about the health. So I would say for Dominic, the everything that I've done, these charges and everything, this is really wrapped around this probation ward. This isn't it? Holy Odeningas.

Scott's logic was that had his probation officer,io Dominguez not meddled in his affairs and told his new employer that he was a criminal, then he wouldn't have been fired, which would have never forced him to be desperate enough to kidnap Rob and murder Jennifer. See the pattern here? Nothing is ever Scott Nelson's fault. Scott told detectives that as he walked around the wealth and luxury of winter park, he seethed with anger and resentment for all the rich, happy people who he perceived to have everything he didn't. Money, love, friends, family.

That's funny that we're living in a society where there's a lot of that going around these days, isn't there? In any case, that's when Scott decided he would get revenge on the citizens of Winter Park with a home invasion. The next day, Scott said he noticed Reed Burman's house that was massive, a gorgeous mansion. After watching the FedEx guy leave a package on the front doorstep, Scott walked up and made his move. tell me this and then when I got pushed towards him and pushed him and I went and shut the door and she screamed, she was you know frightened, sure and I had a knife. Okay so I told him to lay down on the floor and I bought him some sit-ties. I said I'm not going to wake him, I can hurt you, I'm just here for the money. Oh, yeah. She was not very helpful with my needs.

Okay. Oh, she would have given me any direction as to, you know, what was in the house? If there was anything in the house. Did you hear that? She was not very helpful with my needs, he said. Don't you just want a bitch slapped this guy? The entitlement is off the chain.

Well Jennifer laid hog tide in the entryway floor scared for her life, Scott pestered her with questions. and giving me any information about who sounded it. She went to me, she was a man named, or that was for a son, or whatever. She made an education that, you know, she had a way out of it on 2.30. Okay, now I don't know if it's true or not, it's true or from what it is, but she was, see what I guess, I mean, she was doing everything. I mean, he heard us in his honest citizen

and she probably never told me he lies in her whole life. Sure, in all of a sudden, she runs into a bad guy, now she wants to fly over her ass. It's like, what was the other thing? And what was that? I mean, what if I happened to give the guy what he wants, what I believe, no? Did that just make the situation worse?

Yeah, it was a dead man who got worse because I was just trying to get some food some money and whatever. I don't know. I don't know. But it didn't go well. She wasn't doing it until I protect the older of house. She was doing it until I got to some armistice me and you know, an accurate information. So I, I asked her, she said, gee, I'm not tired. She said, yeah, she did. I said, wait, I got a pin number and stuff.

And I said, well, I'm going to get that. Scott's assumption of what is going on in Jennifer's head here is beyond me. The mental gymnastics, you have to do to convince yourself that A, this woman is in fact actually lying to you, and B, if she is lying to you, it's because you are a homeless criminal and not because you've just hogged her and threatened her life. The whole world is out to screw with Scott Nelson. Even Jennifer Fulford was screwing with them right here and now, as she lay helpless on the floor. It's hard to fathom how someone could be this damaged and

this deranged. After getting Jennifer's pin number, Scott continued his home invasion. I got the brown comforter on the dead. I ran through the brown comforter, but I got to go to the wrong vehicle. I loaded her onto two to front to work. And then I left. Scott stuffed Jennifer into the trunk of her car, wrapped in Reeds thick duvet cover and drove to the Wells Fargo ATM.

I got the money Fargo ATM. here. And I can feel her. I know this whole fun, but I can really feel for her situation. But in all reality, I have a hard time having to caption because I've been influenced for so many years here. I don't even know what compassion is anymore. Despite knowing right from wrong, Scott took Jennifer out to a remote grassy field, dragged her out of her own car and pushed her down on the ground as he contemplated how he was going to eliminate the only witness

to his crimes. So I finally found a place to put Jennifer wherever that road is. Do you know where it was by? Yeah, that's okay. Somewhere in Disney. So I went back to see that. Because there were signs for Disney. Yeah, okay.

Okay, okay. So I brought her there. I brought her in there. I got a cut in the... Those were really tough. Yes. Yes. And I brought her there.

And I was at the end of it. In the quiet peaceful field, it was just Scott, Jennifer, and the hot floor to sun shot. There was no one around for miles. Imagine just how terrified Jennifer must have been. She would have done anything to save herself from this monster. Jennifer began screaming, begging for her life. Her pleas became louder and louder and louder. Finally, Scott couldn't take it anymore. That's when he pushed her down and wrapped her entire face in duct tape, smothering it so tightly that her nose was completely squished to the side. After stabbing her to death, Scott left Jennifer face down in the field and walked away

to find a place to wash up. He told officers he went back to the gazebo where he hid everything he owned in the bushes and he thought about what he had done, but he didn't feel bad about it. In fact, he felt avenged. He had righted a wrong. With the highest level of grace that I had mastered, I was actually proud of what I did. Because of that, after all the years that I've been kicked

in the face when I fell over your presence in all the years years, that not attaching my colossal to me, my probation office, doing what they've done to me, and all the years of being a tormenting everything. I finally had a certain level of self-respect. I felt like good. I finally made someone pay for all this shit that I've been through. I finally made someone pay for all the shooting I've been through. He finally made someone pay. Well, that someone, Jennifer Fulford had nothing to do with the injustices of the federal prison system, or was she responsible for Scott's misery. She wasn't even a wealthy resident of Winter Park.

She lived in a modest suburb called Ultima on Springs. Jennifer was a kind of woman to help a homeless person in need by buying him a sandwich or giving away some of her spare change with a smile. But somehow, for Scott, her murder was justified. Jennifer deserved to die to make Scott feel better. And now he had enough money to buy some food, so he got a pizza. So I would walk down and I'm holding the veer and I'm walking but I'm dressed back because I've washed myself and everything in public. And I'm walking down the street while all these rich people are walking around by jewelry and they're having their goods with my wife and all this stuff and we give up grass fuck about me. And it's not carrying my pizza, but only the faster it's known what I have to do for this pregnant pizza. And I walked out of that and said, oh, when I ate that pizza, everybody had been, I enjoyed everything I've had, but I really did.

My only regret is that I hadn't killed 30 more sons of bitches later. It's infuriating to listen to this asshole. He is a selfish, vengeful, whiny monster so divorced from reality that he can only see himself as the victim. Why are people like this? But before your rage boils over and makes a mess all over your kitchen floor, there's a few things you should know about Scott Nelson. Because aside from his family trauma, he's not exactly playing with a full deck. I think he's very historic. He's very dramatic in his self-presentation. He wants

his story heard, is very embellished. It's about him. You know, there's a lot of on eco-centricity. And I think that goes back to developmentally. He's like a young child. Dr. McCain believes that Scott is not only emotionally stunted but also intellectually, how should we say? Doll. He has an IQ of 82. To put that into perspective, the American average is about 100. Most people score between 90 and 119. Anything above 130 is considered highly gifted, while anything below 85 would indicate a person is lacking in problem-solving skills, cognitive ability, and reasoning. Now, we all know that IQ tests are somewhat controversial, and of course have been debated in the field of neuropsychology for decades, but it's no question that Scott is functioning

at a, let's say, lower level. Many years ago, low average was considered to be mentally retarded. If a person was in 80- 85, they were mainly retarded. We've evolved and we've decided that it's now, you know, 70 plus or minus five points. But lower intelligence impacts the ability to problem solve and impacts the ability to anticipate consequences, to complete adaptive skills, such as feeding, dressing, grooming, getting jobs.

I think it was brought up in the context of executive dysfunction because he had executive dysfunction according to one of the doctors. And that means given that battery power, say that he's got a six volt, not an eight volt battery, and the lowest being four-volt, then his ability to mobilize and use the intelligence he has is impacted by any brain trauma. There's a lot of trauma for him, and the way trauma affects people is to stunt their emotional development, so he definitely had a history of trauma. Aside from his angry alcoholic father, Scott's mother was a diagnosed schizophrenic who would tether between functioning and off the rails.

Her mental problems were quite severe. Scott's brother James recalls that there was a serious lack of affection between not only their parents, but also towards the children. I never once in my life saw my father, a mother, kiss, share a, any type of embrace, old hands. Never once are anything like that at all.

The very rare opportunities, my father would, it put his hand in my shoulder or give me a little hug. And it was usually following some incident where he was abusive and it say to me, as the oldest and go, oh, come on, you know you're my number one son. And that was the extent of any affection he ever showed in the home. Scott's father worked as an engineer for most of his life but lost his job in the mid-70s.

Life was hectic until he started a company building houses with his brother-in-law. Things were good during that time. Work with study and Scott's parents seemed like they were happy. Then Scott's father met another woman. My father started building a custom home in a different town for a woman in her husband. The woman became a friend of my mother's and they would go out and eat sometimes or go shopping and it ended up that my father started having an affair with her and she divorced her husband and spent time with my father and after a period of years they ended up getting married.

Scott's father didn't hesitate to ditch the family he had raised for the last 20 years for his new wife and her kids. It was like he flipped a switch. The bond Scott had with his father had been severed overnight. Preteen Scott and his mother were now on their own and without any help from Scott's father as he refused to pay child support. Dr. McCain argues that this made a big impact on Scott's life. Father kind of left the family at an important point at which Scott would have been able to benefit from role modeling of a good role model, but Dad kind of left Scott in the role of parenting the mom and being husband to the mom. So there was no period at which he was given this role model

where you develop these skills of adapting and coping with the universe or hearing a social environment. So in other words, I think they left him quite underdeveloped. And unfortunately, that happens in families where the parents separate or divorce. So I think he kind of was just kind of out there without any significantly stable mother or father figure. Scott's mother's mental health took a serious swan dive during these years and she began acting out.

He would leave the bathroom light off all the time because she thought people could see in her bathroom, although it was a bathroom that had no window in her. She started having ants going into her apartment and she thought that the woman that lived in the apartment below her had somehow trained the ants to go up the stairs and to go into her apartment. Scott's mother was convinced that the lady downstairs was infecting her house with ants, and in some vengeful ploy to destroy her. Hmm. Doesn't this kind of blame game sound familiar? The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

She would wait until a woman would go to leave her apartment, and my mother would go and take the rug in front of her door to the entrance to her apartment, and she would shake it over the hallway banister, so dust and whatever would fall on top of the woman's head when she went to go out. But I, for an eye, like mother, like son, Scott's mom had so many delusions. She believed that all the senior citizens in her apartment building were plotting against her as they sat outside in the courtyard socializing. She would leave threatening notes on her neighbor's

doors and obsessed about all the people who were out together, which was pretty much everyone. No matter how hard Scott and his brothers tried, they could not pull her out of her delusions. You try to explain to her why these things could possibly be happening, but she wasn't willing to accept it. And sometimes you would get the feeling that maybe she was thinking that you were in on whatever the problem was. Sometimes it was very overwhelming. I couldn't, I couldn't take it. And sometimes I would just, when I would visit her, I'd have to go, well, I've got to go now. I just couldn't take it and sometimes I would just, when I would visit her I'd have to go

well I've got to go now, I just couldn't stand it anymore. So regardless when Scott was living with her, particularly in the trailer, I don't know how he dealt with it. He was a kid and the stuff just went on and on and on. As Scott grew into a teenager, he found ways to escape his mother's mental illness, mainly through pot and alcohol. He flouted his way through high school without any great plans for his future. Scott wasn't academically skilled, but Dr. McCain argues that a lot of his potential was never realized because it was interrupted by the trauma of losing a father

and having to take care of his mentally ill mom. If you have trauma for a young age, it interrupts brain development. In other research areas of the brain physiologically that if they get stimulated, they override higher levels of brain development, meaning that it's survival. So if you feel traumatized to see young child say you're subjected to physical or sexual abuse, chaotic environment, to go to school the next day for example, you can't concentrate, you can't focus, and they often call it learning disabilities or emotional behavioral handicaps.

But the environmental holding tank is what's causing the inability to focus. So, for Scott Nelson, I think there were a lot of those issues that he was subjected to the trauma and his ability to focus or benefit from formal training was interrupted by that. And it doesn't go away. That's a permanent embedding in the brain. In other words, the brain stores that and it's like the dinosaur brain fight or flight, you know survival mode and it's gonna affect things if you try to learn or proceed academically, you know, or vocationally. But I definitely think for him that's a huge component of what happened. Scott's father rarely spoke with him.

That was as if he and his mother had never existed. With his brothers in another state all he had was his mom, and his growing resentment for life. Like many children in this situation, Scott began to get into serious trouble with the law. In 1984, he was arrested for an assault conviction, and then five years later, he decided to try his hand at robbery. Scott Nelson has never had a career in his 57 years on this planet, but the

closest he got was being a professional robber, and not a very good one. Scott first tried his hand at robbery in 1989 and was sent to prison. After being released, he geared up some stamina to try again. But this time, the target was personal. In 1994, Scott decided to go visit his father. He hadn't seen him in a long, long time. Fresh out of prison and aimless, Scott needed a place to stay and figured his own dad would let him crash. My brother had gone to my father's home and asked if he could stay there for a little while.

My father denied him. My father had lots of camping equipment, which Scott was aware of. The next few days Scott stood in his father's rejection. The dismissal Scott had been subjected to by his father for the last few decades finally at a boiling point. Scott wanted revenge. Missles Scott had been subjected to by his father for the last few decades finally hit a boiling point. Scott wanted revenge. He wanted to teach his father a lesson. A few days later, Scott made his way back to see his dear old dad.

But this time, he was armed. Scott barged into his father's house, hog tied and duct taped the old man, then took his debit card to a local bank and withdrew $10,000. Scott was caught, of course, and sent a jail for 15 years. During this time, the family had lost touch with him. When Scott was released, he had no ties keeping him in the northeast, so he bought a bus ticket to Daytona, Florida. Hey, why not go to Florida if you're batshit crazy?

And a criminal? And a little slow. It's hard to say why Scott decided to go to Florida. He had no money, no plans, no job, no prospects. He hadn't been out in the world in 15 years. Dr. McCain argues that someone who's tried and failed as many times as Scott had by this point would take on the attitude of why bother when nothing ever goes right anyway. There was significant body of research concerning conditioning of an individual to become depressed

and over time, aversively triggering that response by shocking, for instance, an animal. So that when they would try to approach food, they'd be shocked, when they try to get out of the cage, they'll be shocked. So eventually the animal would just basically sit still and not attempt to exit the cage and or attempt to get the food. The primary people who did the research were sailing in a mayor and two major figures in the area of psychology. Those studies turned out to be very important in terms of understanding how an individual

and adult child can in fact develop these symptoms like apathy, helplessness, hopelessness, why try low motivation, because they've been conditioned to not be able to have controlling their environment. In other words, they haven't been able to accomplish things, get the necessary prison feedback, to feel motivated to do something with their life. Scott Nelson needed money and he needed it quickly. 11 days after being released from prison, Scott Nelson walked into a local bank in Daytona Beach and asked to open a checking account.

When he sat down with the bank employee, he handed over a five-page letter demanding money. Then he said he had a bomb in his bag, powerful enough to light everything in this place on fire. Police caught him in the parking lot while he was leaving the bank. The so-called bomb Scott had in his bag was actually just two empty propane canisters. Scott pleaded guilty and was sent back to prison for another seven and a half years.

While incarcerated, Scott was put into isolation both voluntarily and involuntarily, often for his own protection. Just like he had been the punching bag for his older neighborhood kids and his mother's mental illness, he was falling into the same role behind bars. Other inmates could tell he was a weakling. This made him easy prey. But what was worse, sitting in isolation being depressed and suicidal, or toughing it out in the general population fearing a beating or a rape?

Mr. Nelson described that he had been hit in the back of the head, lost consciousness, and was sexually assaulted. Was Scott a victim of life, so brutalized by his mother's mental illness, his father's rejection, and the rape and torture of prison that he didn't know how to function, that he deserve some sympathy for his crimes? Was all the harm he had caused really his fault if he only had an IQ of 82. Soon, it would be up to a jury of his peers to decide. Failed career criminal Scott Nelson had admitted to kidnapping and murdering Floridian Nanny Jennifer Fulford. Scott had robbed her of $300, then duct taped her head and stabbed her to death before leaving her in a field to rot.

Scott told detectives that he did this because his probation officer had caused him to lose his job, which left him homeless again and desperate for cash. He needed money and he was angry at all the rich, beautiful people in Winter Park. So he decided to get his revenge. In almost every way, Scott was a 13 year old boy trapped in a man's body. He was underdeveloped both emotionally and intellectually with an IQ of 82, which put

him on the very low end of the spectrum. He had poor cognitive skills, and his impulse control was near non-existent. Still, Scott Nelson's approach to life is nasty attitude and his poor me victim outlook made it impossible to feel bad for him. He was a very selfish person. For example, while in jail awaiting trial, Scott wrote obscene letters to the judge in his case complaining about his prison cell conditions and his diet. He said he wasn't getting enough calories. He was starving and claimed the prison refused to change his diet despite his

requests. Poor Scott. Maybe he just wanted a couple nuggies. Scott also complained that he was being bullied by the black and Latino inmates because he was one of the only white men in the prison. He ended one letter in all caps writing, cholesterol, it is up to me if I want treatment, not to be retaliated against because I am hungry and white. I think he's still back in maybe 13, 14 years old, like take care of me, white and she take care of me, like a thing. And so the way he thinks is, you know, the air is not cracked, you know, the conditions

aren't cracked. But from my perspective, it's like a child in a little cage. And it's like, in my little neck of the woods, distance isn't correct, that isn't correct. And also, why would you subject me to this? So I think he's functioning from, like, such an underdeveloped age, that that's part of the issue. Scott was also unhappy with his defense team.

Are you surprised? They were taking too long, according to him. In another letter to the judge, he wrote, And my insane defense team wants me to wave my right to a fast and speedy trial. No way. Speaking of Scott's defense team, they argued there was no question that Scott Nelson

committed the heinous crime that he did. However, he is mentally damaged and should be spared his life. Scott did not agree. He wanted the death penalty. He told the court that he was a homicidal maniac and wanted to die. Was this another dramatic cry for attention? Or was he really done with life? I think he asked for the death penalty because he's like, he knows he's preempted. It's not going to go further than where he's at in terms of his evolution as a person. And so I don't think it was like, oh, I want the life sentence. I mean, honestly, I think he wanted the death penalty because he doesn't really have a life. And I don't think there's a lot of chances for me to be able to take it for him,

but that's just, you know, my personal viewpoint as an expert. Scott's trial began in June of 2019. The entire fair was incredibly painful for Jennifer's friends and family, as they had to be live, her horrid, and senseless murder. Scott Nelson didn't make it any less painful, lonely, as they had to be live, her horrid and senseless murder. Scott Nelson didn't make it any less painful by keeping his mouth shut like he should have. Had he done so, perhaps the jury would have felt some compassion for his upbringing and lack of social skills.

Instead, he insisted on taking the stand. Scott acted like a smug, selfish brat, erasing any hope of gaining the sympathy he so desperately wanted from the world. You tell me who Julio Dominguez is. Julio Dominguez is employed by the U.S. Department of Justice, United States probation office in Orlando, Florida. And how is he related to this case? Well, well sir, he was my probation officer. I was on supervised release. Okay, and what is the importance of his involvement in this case? Well sir, I'll be very frank with you. Jennifer Lynn Fulford would be alive today had it not been for Julio Dominguez. And reason for that statement, sir. I think the world should know that. I mean, it's justice. The truth should be known, sir.

Scott told his sob story about being fired and homeless by his probation officer. Like anyone decent listening to this excuse, the prosecution also didn't buy it. Oh, and by the way, Scott wasn't penniless when he robbed and murdered Jennifer. Before his employer let him go, he issued Scott his last paycheck of $500. So your employer paid you, however,

for the time that you had worked there prior to your being thrown out onto the street. Yes, I was I received I believe one paycheck. Was this the paycheck that you used to open up an account in Winter Park? Yes, yes, ma'am it was. Thank was that? I'm sorry. I don't recall. All right, is this the account that provided you with the check that you used to make purchases at Walmart in September of 2017?

That would be correct. The account balance was what, $500? I don't recall, but it sounds realistic. Sounds about the approximate dollar value of the paycheck that you would have gotten and then deposited into this bank account. Yes, Miss Berwick. All right. So with that money in the middle of September, September 14th or 15th. Sound about right? It sounds right. All right.

You went to Walmart and we saw a video of an individual making purchases at Walmart. Was that you? That was me. Right. And you used a check from that checking account and signed it right there at the register, correct? That's correct. What did you buy?

A very long list of material, all different kinds of odds and ends. All right. Well, a lot of it was cigarettes, right? Cigarettes are very expensive. Yeah, they are. You bought a pair of blue tennis shoes? Yep. You said, man, I did.

You bought zip ties. Yes, I did. You bought duct tape. That would be correct. You bought zip ties? Yes, I did. You bought duct tape? That'd be correct. You bought a knife? I sure did. Every time this guy opens his mouth, it becomes tougher and tougher to not hate him. You should see his face.

If you haven't already, go ahead, go ahead and Google him. The Germans have a word for a punchable face. I'm going to try to pronounce it and completely butcher it, I'm sure, but it goes something like Bach 5 in Geest. If you can memorize that, it's a pretty sweet insult next time you need one. And like I said, it roughly translates to a face that needs a fist. Scott Nelson should be in the German dictionary under the word back Fife and Geist. I bought that material because I had a plan in mind of how I was going to survive being thrown on the street again for what?

The third or it was at the fourth time by the government, be it state or federal. And you know, once you kick a dog enough times, they tend to bite back. And really, they just don't care anymore. Tell us about your plan. My plan was to get some money and abscond. Scott used that $500 paycheck to buy all the material he would need for a home invasion. So unlike the story he had told detectives. He had been planning this for weeks.

I suffered to work my way up to the top of the mountain in this maniac comes and cuts it out from underneath me. I mean, what am I going to do? Go get another job. Let him do it again. No, we're going to fight back. Scott's original plan was to rob Reed Berman, not Jennifer. He knew Reed was rich, but Jennifer had spoiled that plan by leaving the debit card Reed gave her at the house after Scott kidnapped her. In a final, selfless act, she left the card behind

because she didn't want Scott to clean out her boss's bank account. She knew her own card had a limit of $300. Jennifer also took a risk by making that call to the art dealer. Jennifer didn't want her to meet the same fate she had when Scott walked through the front door. The prosecutor pointed out that Scott had cased Reed Burman's house the day prior to the kidnapping. When he saw Jennifer in the driveway with a young Oliver, that's when he decided she would be his way into this wealthy home.

I think you told the detectives you saw them in the driveway about five o'clock in the evening. A lot of what I told the detectives was untrue. Because if I may, a lot of what I told the detectives was untrue because we started off with a quid pro quo and they started whistling out and playing their games and started giving me a little enjoyment watching them squirm. Because some of the answers I gave them, the blood pizza, come on.

That's a lot of inaccurate information I gave them because they weren't being forthcoming with my needs. They weren't trying to help me. They just wanted to squeeze me. So I just gave them a lot of BS back. A lot of what I told those investigators as the confession went on, minute by minute, the more and more BS I would throw into it because they were giving me BS and I was giving it right back to them.

That's how that interview went and that's the truth. The prosecutor presses on and my God, does this woman have some serious patients dealing with Scott Nelson? As the prosecutor tries to coax the story out of Scott, she intelligently presses all of his buttons, cracking the defense's argument of pity into a million pieces. Scott can't keep his cool. He can't even fake remorse for what he did to Jennifer Fulford. So let's go back to how that occurred.

Holy Odomingas. We're past that. Let's get back to September 26th of 2017. You're on foot, correct? Yeah. You have your duct tape and zip ties and knife with you? What does this have to do with Julio Dominguez? I mean, if you want to sit here and talk to me and grill me for the next three hours, I'm not doing this. I came up here for one reason. Julio Dominguez is the reason Jennifer Lin-Fulfo died.

That's it. That's all I have to say. All right. If you want to name anything more, talk to my lawyers. That's it. Your honor. With the court direct, Mr. Nelson to answer the questions of all attorneys, not just as lawyers. Well, need to my memories getting real foggy right now. Sorry, I must need my medicine. Nelson, don't speak when I'm speaking, you understand, sir? Do you understand, sir? Yes.

You don't remember how Jennifer Fulford got out of the car? Is something wrong with my brain? Did you have her duct taped at the ankles and zip tied behind her back while she was in the car? I don't know. Check the medical examinist's report. They can't determine either. Well, you're the one who put the duct tape on the ankles. No question, right?

I don't know. You're the one that put the zip ties on her wrists. I don't know. You're the one who dropped the zip tie at the tree line, right? I don't know. I can't remember everything. There's something wrong with my brain. I would never justify what Scott Nelson did. There's not one part of me that would. And it's devastating to me for the victim and the victim's family. And for Scott Nelson, because I don't want to see anyone in that position where they're going to do something like that. There's no justification. There's other options. But because of his particular development in skill set, he didn't think there were other options. And, you know, that to me is very concerning and but very bothersome. So I work more on looking at how can we change things structurally in the system to possibly anticipate some of the impact if we put people in desperate situations.

Did you carry Jennifer Fullford from the back of the car through that patch of trees and vines to the open field, or did you have her walk under her own power? I think what was going on, ma'am, was that at that point, I was not in the right state of mind. And when I get to that point, like when corrections abuses you or does things to you, you, it gets me in that state of mind where you know that you just can't see things clearly. And you just don't understand things. And you do things that you really don't want to do or understand why you do them. And that's where 25 years in custody has brought me.

By the end of the trial, the jury found Scott Nelson guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison. Perhaps if Scott had not asked for death, he may have received it. He will be in jail for the rest of his adult life, on the taxpayer dime, of course. But I guess that's better than him being free free and capable of harming more innocent people, like Jennifer. Jennifer Fullford was a kind, giving woman who left behind many heartbroken family members and friends in her absence. Her daughter Hannah spoke at Scott's Set and Sing and recalled a story from when she was

12 years old. Jennifer and Hannah were watching a movie, what dreams may come. Even though Jennifer was hesitant to let her daughter watch such a grave film about death, during the movie Hannah started crying, so Jennifer paused the VCR and wrapped her daughter in a hug. The movie was making her think about things that she couldn't handle if they happened in reality. But that there we were together, playing on the Usha-Busha palette and it was just the movie we were watching.

I'm right here baby. I'm not going anywhere. I will be with you until you're old and very hard sitting next to you, sitting next to me on a big front porch and a rocking chair, watching all of your grandchildren play. When I talked about the word grandchildren and started wiping my tears away, she said, what? You don't believe me? You just watch. I will be a great grandma. I will live so long you'll be tired of me being around. I'm telling you baby I'm not going anywhere for a long long time.

But my mom never got to see me turn 30 years old. She will never dance with me at my wedding. We will never sing another song together. She won't be there for the birth of my children, and they will never know her vast love and the soothing sound of her voice. I will never see the wrinkles on her face, or curl her silver hair for her, because her hands have aged. I will live the rest of my life without having my biggest supporter there

to cheer me on and lift me up. To put a loss like this into words feels like a disservice to the apple of the best human being I have ever known. It's a tragedy. It's foreign. It's a language that I don't know how to speak. It was never supposed to be this way. The world tends to give you back exactly what you put into it. Karma they say is a bitch. Scott Nelson lived his life focused on revenge, spite, and anger instead of trying to make things better for himself and those around him. There are so many people who grow up with unfit parents, how I would

know, at least partly. My mom is wonderful, but my dad, a complete pile of shit. But people grow up as products of divorce, bullying, or sexual trauma. And yet they work hard and somehow they break the cycle instead of carrying it on. Karma failed Jennifer Fulford. She did not deserve to suffer the horrific death that she did. Thanks to the selfish monster named Scott Nelson, the world will be an empty place without her. But as he spends the rest of his life in prison, rotting away behind those cold steel bars, one can only hope the collective weight of his choices and failures away heavily on Scott Nelson and that every minute after every infinitely long minute that he spends either in isolation or being bullied and

beaten by other inmates are a slow, steady torture and constant reminder that karma will eventually pay you back every penny of pain you chose to unleash on the world around you. Alright, this is it. We gotta go, but thank you so much for joining us. Do not forget to check out Rewind and subscribe today. And also, support the show, join Plus. It starts at only five bucks a month and you get all kinds of bonus content.

Over 90 something episodes like, I look, I lose track. Early releases, commercial free, 320 kilobytes. Get it now, swimskill.com slash plus stay safe. Bye My, my, it's Brenna, Taney and Marissa from Boston Math, baby. We love you. We love you, Mike. You're the best. You get us through our days. Who's through our road trips that we're on right now.

Say yes. Yeah, come stay high to us in Boston. And don't ever stop and who knew that horrible, horrible, scary stories could be the best things to ever happen. You are live. Thanks Mike. We love you.

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