On April 20, 2017, Philip Charles Borer Nelson, a 31-year-old Black male from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, was tragically shot and killed in a Columbia Heights apartment. Nelson, known for his role as a student advisor at the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, was found dead behind a couch with multiple gunshot wounds. He was remembered by colleagues and students as a dedicated mentor and a loving father of four children.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours at the apartment of Nelson's ex-girlfriend. According to reports, Nelson had visited the apartment around 3:30 a.m. Shortly after his departure, the ex-girlfriend contacted a man known to her as 'Ox,' later identified as 41-year-old Phillip Leron Miller. Miller arrived at the apartment just before 4 a.m. The ex-girlfriend reported hearing a confrontation between two men, followed by multiple gunshots. Nelson was subsequently found deceased at the scene.
Investigators identified Miller as the suspect through surveillance footage and fingerprints found on a soda bottle he brought into the apartment. A Glock. 40 caliber handgun, matching the weapon used in the shooting, was later recovered from a nearby gas station's trash can. Miller fled the scene and was considered armed and dangerous. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was charged with second-degree murder.
On July 21, 2017, Miller was apprehended by the FBI's Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force in Gurnee, Illinois. He was taken into custody without incident and held on two no-bond warrants, awaiting extradition to Minnesota to face charges related to Nelson's death.
