On the morning of Friday, February 9, 2018, the life of Maria Anita Nicholson, a 59-year-old White/Caucasian female from Daphne, Alabama, was brought to a tragic and violent end in her own home. A dedicated and long-serving employee for the city of Daphne, Nicholson had worked in a supportive role for the police department for more than a decade, where she was a familiar and valued member of the community. Her day began like any other, leaving her residence on County Road 64 before 8 a.m.
to head to her job.
The routine of her morning was shattered when she received a frantic phone call from a family member. The caller delivered alarming news: her 26-year-old nephew, Donald Nicholson, was at her house and was discharging a firearm. Upon receiving this distressing information, Maria immediately returned to her residence. It was there that she was fatally shot by her nephew.
A neighbor, who was also a family member, witnessed the harrowing events and quickly dialed 911 at approximately 9:10 a.m. Officers from the Daphne Police Department, some of whom were her colleagues, responded to the scene. They took Donald Nicholson into custody without incident. Medical personnel who arrived at the home pronounced Maria Nicholson dead at the scene. Donald Nicholson was subsequently arrested and held at the Baldwin County Jail. The close-knit community was left to grapple with the shocking loss of a beloved public servant at the hands of her own relative.
