Body Parts Found in Bags; Missing Man’s Wife Arrested

A 23-year-old woman whose husband has disappeared was arrested Monday on suspicion of murder after police found trash bags containing human body parts in the couple’s Costa Mesa apartment and the husband’s Corvette.

Omaima Aree Nelson was being held in the Orange County Jail on $250,000 bail as police tried to determine what happened to William E. Nelson, 56, who disappeared over the Thanksgiving holiday. The couple had been married about a month.

Authorities said they were unable to identify the remains because the dismembered body was in too many pieces. However, they said all of the remains belonged to the same adult male.

A fingerprint and dental analysis is scheduled for today. A tentative identification has been made, police said, but they declined to release the name pending notification of relatives.

William Nelson failed to report to work Monday at Cannon Mortgage Inc. in Tustin, where he was a part-time computer programmer and messenger. Sue Swanson, president of the company, said the last time she saw Nelson was Wednesday, just before he left the office for the long weekend.

Costa Mesa Police Capt. Tom Lazar said the investigation began Sunday afternoon when a friend of Omaima Nelson reported that the woman had shown him a trash bag containing human organs, which was inside the Corvette belonging to William Nelson.

Police found the body parts in the vehicle, which was parked at the friend’s apartment complex. Police did not identify the caller. But a neighbor said that the person who called police had been asked by Omaima Nelson to help dispose of the organs, which were wrapped in newspaper. Several more bags of human remains were found during a search of the Nelsons’ home, police said.

Omaima Nelson, who was detained for questioning Sunday night, was arrested Monday morning at the friend’s home after she watched detectives sort through the plastic bag from the car.

“There is no known motive and we have no specific murder weapon at this time,” said Lazar. The cause of death has not been determined because of the body’s condition.

Acquaintances say the suspect married William Nelson three to four weeks ago in Arizona, and they honeymooned at a ranch he owns with his brother in Laredo, Tex.

“They were real quiet, mysterious people,” said Swanson, who had only seen the Nelsons together on a few occasions. “He met the girl (Omaima) and all of a sudden they were married.”