Youth Held Pending Court Conference in Mother’s Stabbing

‘It just appears he was responding to some pressures in his life.’

--Detective Mike Major

Mouthing “I love you” to some family members present in court, a Fountain Valley youth pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he tried to kill his mother last weekend by stabbing her 15 times with a martial arts knife.

John Clifton Nelson, 18, a senior at Fountain Valley High School, was ordered held in Orange County Jail under $250,000 bond pending a judicial conference scheduled for Friday on whether his case can be resolved without going to trial. Besides attempted murder, he is charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

His lawyer, Marshall M. Schulman, asked that bail not yet be reduced because the youth suffers from “some very serious mental problems.”

Martha Nelson, 38, survived the Saturday attack and was listed in serious condition Tuesday at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital & Medical Center.

No Warning

The attack occurred at 11:10 a.m. Saturday, moments after John Nelson and his mother had been involved in a non-argumentative discussion over an undetermined topic at the family’s home in the 17500 block of Santa Rosalia Street, said Fountain Valley Detective Mike Major. John’s father, Peter Nelson, was at work at the time.

With no warning, John Nelson grabbed his martial arts knife and stabbed his mother in the face, neck and back, Major said. Most of the wounds were found on her back.

Police said they then received a call to the 911 emergency number in which a male voice said, “I stabbed my mother.” Nelson surrendered when police arrived, they said. His mother, found lying on a bedroom floor, was rushed into surgery at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. Police have not yet had a chance to question her.

Fountain Valley detectives said Nelson gave them a statement saying he did not know why he attacked his mother. As far as police have been able to ascertain, Nelson and his mother had had recent disagreements over his choice of clothing but there had been no major rifts. Major said Nelson, an only child, also apparently got along with his father.

“It was a relatively harmonious family,” Major said.

Major said the motive was especially puzzling because the youth seemed to be making a smooth transition into adulthood: He had a girlfriend. He had a car. He maintained a B-plus average in school, where he was set to graduate in one month. In just two weeks he was to attend his senior prom. And, Major said, there was no indication that Nelson used drugs, drank heavily, ran with street gangs or experienced any serious family problems at home.

“As far as we can tell, he was just an 18-year-old boy with all the pressures brought on an 18-year-old,” Major said. “It just appears he was responding to some pressures in his life.”

‘Not a Problem Kid’

Nelson’s academic life was also seemingly harmonious at Fountain Valley High School, where school officials said he was a member of the marching band for two years and maintained good grades. Nelson told police that he planned to attend college and major in physics after graduation.

“He was not a problem kid,” said school principal Michael Kasler. “It’s just one of those things that’s real difficult to explain.”

In his neighborhood, a resident said, “He was just an ordinary kid. They were just an ordinary family.”

The only known blemish was John Nelson’s driving record. According to Department of Motor Vehicle records, Nelson has been cited twice for speeding within the past six months and in January was involved in a traffic accident in Fountain Valley. Police did not cite him in that accident.

Nelson’s friends and family members, meanwhile, have rallied to his side. From behind a shatterproof glass retainer in West Orange County Municipal Court in Westminster, Nelson mouthed “I love you” to two female family members seated in the courtroom. After he was led back with other prisoners to Orange County Jail, the family and two teen-aged friends hugged one another and cried.

They all declined comment.