PROSECUTOR: You committed the worst possible crime.
[suspenseful music playing]
NARRATOR: Next, we're in Orlando,
Florida, for the trial of Scott Nelson.
The 55-year-old was charged with first degree murder
after he admitted to kidnapping and killing
56-year-old Jennifer Fulford.
During trial, Nelson took the witness stand--
You can be seated.
NARRATOR: --and delivered shocking testimony
with unsettling candor.
PROSECUTOR: Who killed Jennifer Fulford?
I did.
NARRATOR: Four months earlier, Nelson,
a career criminal, who'd spent more than a decade of his life
in prison, was released on parole after doing
time for armed robbery.
He claimed he was getting his life back together until he
lost his job, his place to stay, and ultimately, his
will to live within the bounds of society.
You kick a dog enough times they tend to bite back,
and really, they just don't care anymore.
NARRATOR: The prosecution argued Nelson was further tormented
by the wealth that surrounded him in upscale Winter
Park, Florida.
PROSECUTOR: These were the people
who had nice homes that you couldn't live in,
never would live in.
I was hungry.
I was starving to death on the streets of Winter Park.
People don't give a damn about nobody in this world.
They don't care.
NARRATOR: Nelson admitted he began plotting a home invasion
with the hope of stealing enough cash to run
away and escape his parole.
He can be seen in the security camera footage
purchasing supplies.
PROSECUTOR: You bought zip ties?
Yes, I did.
PROSECUTOR: You bought duct tape?
That'd be correct. PROSECUTOR: You bought a knife?
I sure did.
PROSECUTOR: You, at that point, formed
a plan to use those items.
You knew that somebody was going to pay
for how you've been treated.
That is very accurate.
NARRATOR: Nelson then coldly explained
how he picked a location to hit, an expensive Winter Park home
where 56-year-old Jennifer Fulford worked as a nanny.
PROSECUTOR: Your plan was you were
going to force your way in.
No, the doorbell works better.
She opened the door and let me in.
NARRATOR: But then pressed on the details of what then
happened inside the house, Nelson appeared
to have selective amnesia.
SCOTT NELSON: No.
SCOTT NELSON: I didn't do that.
Maybe she did.
Maybe she was cold.
PROSECUTOR: Say that last line again?
SCOTT NELSON: I said, maybe she was cold.
I don't know.
I know she ended up cold.
NARRATOR: Nelson's sick humor does not elicit a reaction
from the prosecutor, who lets him
sit in silence, allowing his words to sink in with the jury.
Nelson didn't take anything of value from the home.
Instead, Nelson forced Fulford into her car
and is seen here using her ATM card
to withdraw cash before driving roughly
20 miles south of the city.
[suspenseful music playing]
In a secluded area, according to Nelson,
he opened the back of the car where
Fulford was laying still alive.
PROSECUTOR: Why did you bind her hands behind her back?
I would imagine so that she couldn't leave.
PROSECUTOR: Why did you bind her feet with duct tape?
I imagine so she wouldn't walk away.
PROSECUTOR: And why did you wrap her entire head
in the duct tape?
Probably so she couldn't scream.
NARRATOR: Off a dirt road in an area thick with vegetation,
Nelson stabbed Fulford to death and left her body.
I never intended to kill that woman.
It was not in my heart to do that.
It wasn't what I had planned.
I didn't want to kill that woman.
She never done anything to me.
I believe the term is collateral damage.
NARRATOR: Surveillance video from the ATM, as well as
DNA evidence found in the victim's car,
helped seal Nelson's fate.
He was found guilty of the first-degree kidnapping
and murder of Jennifer Fulford.
Facing the death penalty, he again
took the stand during the penalty phase of the trial.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How has your mental health been affected
by your previous incarceration?
I am a homicidal maniac.
[ominous music playing]
NARRATOR: The jury sentenced Scott Nelson to life
without parole for the murder of Jennifer Fulford.