THE VICTIM’S FAMILY. YEAH, I VISITED WITH THE FAMILY BRIEFLY AFTER THIS HEARING TODAY, AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY EMOTIONAL FOR THEM. IT WAS THROUGH THESE DOORS AND ON THE SECOND FLOOR WE HEARD THE FAMILY SPEAK DIRECTLY TODAY TO THE MAN RESPONSIVE. WHAT HAS BEEN STOLEN BY THE MONSTER IN THIS ROOM IS UNIMAGINABLE AND FOREVER IRREPLACEABLE. NO PUNISHMENT WILL EVER BE ENOUGH. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THE FAMILY COULD SPEAK TO GARLAND, JOSEPH NELSON AND SHARE THE PAIN HE CAUSED THEIR FAMILIES. NELSON PLEADED GUILTY TO TWO MURDERS FRIDAY. HE FACES TWO LIFE SENTENCES CONSECUTIVELY WITHOUT PAROLE. NOW I SPEND OVER HALF MY LIFE LOVING YOU AND NEVER WOULD HAVE IMAGINED RAISING OUR FOUR CHILDREN OF MY OWN, THOUGH NO, NELSON SHOT, THEN BURNED. 24 YEAR OLD JUSTIN DEMEL AND 35 YEAR OLD NICHOLAS. NICK LEFT BEHIND FOUR CHILDREN. WHAT IS REALLY SAD IS WHEN THERE IS TO CHURCH AND PARENTS MINDS, IT’S NEVER EASY TO SEE BECAUSE THEIR FATHER WAS THERE FOR PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING. JUSTIN WAS PREPARING TO GET ENGAGED TO HIS GIRLFRIEND OF EIGHT YEARS. HE WAS ON HIS FRAISER IN AUGUST OF 2019 AND ASKED HER TO MARRY HIM. THE GUILTY PLEA COMES MONTHS BEFORE A JURY TRIAL SET IN FEBRUARY. IT’S THE START OF SOME CLOSURE FOR TH
Missouri man charged in slaying of two Wisconsin brothers pleads guilty, will serve two life sentences
Garland “Joey” Nelson previously admitted to disposing of the brothers’ bodies
A Missouri man charged in connection with the murders of two brothers from Wisconsin over cattle has pleaded guilty to his role in their deaths.Garland “Joey” Nelson of Braymer, Missouri, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder Friday in Cass County. Nelson was facing the possibility of the death penalty in the killings of 24-year-old Justin Diemel and 35-year-old Nicholas Diemel. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle, abandonment of a corpse and stealing of a motor vehicle. In a release, Caldwell County Prosecutor Brady Kopek said Nelson has been sentenced to two terms of Life Imprisonment. He will serve those terms consecutively – one right after the other. Kopek added that all remaining charges against Nelson will be dropped. The brothers were in Braymer on business in July 2019 to collect a $250,000 debt stemming from a cattle deal when they went missing. They had rented an F-250 truck for that trip. It was later found parked in a commuter lot in Holt, Missouri, with the keys still in the ignition. Nelson previously admitted to driving that truck from his farm to the commuter lot, however, he pleaded not guilty to that charge. Then, human remains were found both on his farm and in a livestock trailer in Nebraska, which the owner said he’d recently bought in Missouri. Nelson told prosecutors in 2020 that he’d disposed of the brothers’ bodies but denied killing them.In Friday’s plea hearing, Nelson admitted to shooting both of the brothers as part of the dispute over the cattle agreement. Nelson said after shooting them, he placed their bodies in barrels, burned them, then dumped the remains. One set of remains was dumped in a large pile of cow manure on the Nelson farm. The other was dumped in a mineral supplement bucket that was eventually located in Nebraska. “The matter has been pending for over three years, and it is now finally over,” said Special Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff. “I am hopeful that the Diemel family will now be able to return to their lives without this hanging over them.”I know that no sentence will bring Nick and Justin back to them, but they can sleep knowing that Nelson will be behind bars for the rest of his life.”
BRAYMER, Mo. —
A Missouri man charged in connection with the murders of two brothers from Wisconsin over cattle has pleaded guilty to his role in their deaths.
Garland “Joey” Nelson of Braymer, Missouri, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder Friday in Cass County.
Nelson was facing the possibility of the death penalty in the killings of 24-year-old Justin Diemel and 35-year-old Nicholas Diemel. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle, abandonment of a corpse and stealing of a motor vehicle.
In a release, Caldwell County Prosecutor Brady Kopek said Nelson has been sentenced to two terms of Life Imprisonment. He will serve those terms consecutively – one right after the other.
Kopek added that all remaining charges against Nelson will be dropped.
The brothers were in Braymer on business in July 2019 to collect a $250,000 debt stemming from a cattle deal when they went missing. They had rented an F-250 truck for that trip. It was later found parked in a commuter lot in Holt, Missouri, with the keys still in the ignition.
Nelson previously admitted to driving that truck from his farm to the commuter lot, however, he pleaded not guilty to that charge. Then, human remains were found both on his farm and in a livestock trailer in Nebraska, which the owner said he’d recently bought in Missouri.
Nelson told prosecutors in 2020 that he’d disposed of the brothers’ bodies but denied killing them.
In Friday’s plea hearing, Nelson admitted to shooting both of the brothers as part of the dispute over the cattle agreement. Nelson said after shooting them, he placed their bodies in barrels, burned them, then dumped the remains. One set of remains was dumped in a large pile of cow manure on the Nelson farm. The other was dumped in a mineral supplement bucket that was eventually located in Nebraska.
“The matter has been pending for over three years, and it is now finally over,” said Special Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff. “I am hopeful that the Diemel family will now be able to return to their lives without this hanging over them.
“I know that no sentence will bring Nick and Justin back to them, but they can sleep knowing that Nelson will be behind bars for the rest of his life.”
