In the pre-dawn hours of November 10, 1978, a horrific scene unfolded in the rural Rosa community of Blount County, Alabama, forever altering the lives of the Nelson family. Carl Nelson and his wife, Willene, were brutally murdered in their own home during a robbery. The couple was shot and stabbed to death, their lives cut short in a violent home invasion.
The assailants, Aaron Lee Jones and Arthur Lee Giles, showed no mercy as they moved through the house.
In addition to killing the couple, they also attacked the three Nelson children, aged 21, 13, and 10, along with their 85-year-old grandmother. All four survived the vicious assault, though they sustained critical injuries from being shot and stabbed. One of the sons, 21-year-old Tony, was awakened by the intruders and confronted them before being shot. Despite his wounds, he managed to find his younger siblings, also severely injured, at the foot of their parents' bed.
The investigation swiftly led to the apprehension of Jones and Giles. It was revealed that Giles had previously worked for Carl Nelson. The motive for the heinous crime appeared to be robbery, as Jones confessed that they went to the Nelson home to steal money, alleging Giles had not been paid sufficiently for his past work.
Both Aaron Lee Jones and Arthur Lee Giles were tried for the murders of Carl and Willene Nelson. Jones was convicted of capital murder and, after a retrial, was sentenced to death. Following numerous appeals that spanned decades, Aaron Lee Jones was executed by lethal injection on May 3, 2007. Arthur Lee Giles was also convicted and received a death sentence. The legal proceedings for Giles were extensive, involving retrials and resentencing hearings.
