The Valley Intruder : JOYCE NELSON : Monterey Park, July 7
Joyce Nelson, a petite 61-year-old Monterey Park grandmother, loved golf and Glenn Miller music. She lived alone in a white-shuttered house in a pleasant Monterey Park neighborhood, not far from where William Doi, Dayle Okazaki and Tsai-Lian Yu had been murdered.
In the weeks before she died, Nelson and a friend talked about the rash of murders in their community. “I was fussing at her, but she told me that people can’t live their lives in fear.”
For 32 years, Nelson had worked the production line at Coast Envelope Co. In earlier years, co-workers said, she did cartwheels daily down the aisle before work.
Planned to Retire
She and a friend, who also worked at Coast, planned to retire next year so they could spend more time playing golf.
She spent hours helping friends and family with chores and teaching her grandchildren how to play Scrabble. The week before she died, she went shopping with her 13-year-old granddaughter. The last time her family saw her was July 4, when she shared a big bag of fireworks.
On the night of July 6, she fell asleep on the couch watching television. Hours later, an assailant crawled through a window and bludgeoned her to death.
Several neighbors later told police that around 3 a.m. they had heard a dog barking, bushes rustling and a scream.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
