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Background: Nora Nelson appears in court on June 13 (Law&Crime). Inset: Joseph Donahue (Photo provided by family).
A Massachusetts woman accused of stabbing her lover on his houseboat now faces new charges, to which she pleaded not guilty.
Nora Nelson, aged 24, appeared in court on Friday facing murder charges related to the death of her partner, 65-year-old Boston lawyer Joseph Donahue. In February, Boston police visited Donahue’s houseboat in Charleston for a welfare check. Upon arrival, they were met by Nelson, who reportedly gave inconsistent statements and used a false name.
The police eventually discovered Donahue’s body on the houseboat, wrapped in a carpet secured with duct tape and anchored with dumbbells using a jump rope, according to police reports.
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In court, prosecutor Rita Muiz vividly described the alleged events leading to Donahue’s death. Muiz stated that when officers initially encountered Nelson around 10:43 p.m. on February 2, she was accompanied by one of Donahue’s golden retrievers. The officers requested that she secure the dog to continue their conversation. While she appeared to comply, she was observed through a crack in the door moving around inside, seemingly “cleaning up or gathering various items.”
Muiz stated that when Nelson finally came back to speak to police, including being asked where Donahue was, she reportedly gave officers “inconsistent, contradictory, and frankly nonsensical answers” and told them her name was “Casey.”
Officers then entered the houseboat where they did a sweep of the premises, a search that culminated in the discovery of Donahue’s body outside the glass doors of his bedroom.
Muiz shared the findings of an autopsy, which included 67 stab wounds to Donahue’s head and chest. Part of the blade of a knife had been lodged in Donahue’s forehead; that knife fragment matched a knife that a dive team found in the water at the marina that housed the boat.
The autopsy also revealed that two pink fake fingernails were found on Donahue’s body. Muiz stated that Nelson identified them as hers. At the scene, officers observed a “significant amount of reddish-brown stains” throughout the houseboat, especially on a bedsheet that acted as a curtain hanging in a doorway.
Investigators also found the dead body of Champ, one of Donahue’s dogs, in the water near the boat. Champ, a golden retriever, had been strangled, according to a necropsy conducted on him.
Nelson’s questionable responses continued at the police station, where she was read her Miranda rights and asked about the days leading up to the last day Donahue was seen by anyone else, Jan. 31. She allegedly gave officers a second fake name, “Mary.”
Nelson’s mental state has been the subject of more than one hearing since her arrest in February. The suspect had been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation in April after her defense attorney filed a motion questioning her competency to stand trial. Those findings were not mentioned during Friday’s hearing, but a court clinician stated that Nelson “lacks understanding of the seriousness” of the charges against her.
The clinician stated that Nelson was possibly exhibiting symptoms of a psychotic disorder, but that those symptoms became “less genuine” after she began taking medication.
Nelson is being held without bail after she missed a court appearance in May. She is charged with murder and with killing an animal. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 15.
