Christian Charles Nielsen

Last updated

Christian Charles Nielsen
Christian Charles Nielsen.png
Christian Charles Nielsen
Born (1975-05-02) May 2, 1975 (age 48)
Rumford, Maine, U.S
Conviction(s) Murder (4 counts)
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment
Details
Victims4
Span of crimes
September 1 –September 4, 2006
CountryUnited States
State(s) Maine
Weapon.38-caliber revolver
Date apprehended
September 4, 2006
Imprisoned at Maine State Prison

Christian Charles Nielsen (born May 2, 1975) is an American spree killer who fatally shot four people, dismembering three, over the span of four days around the Black Bear Bed & Breakfast (B&B), a remodeled farmhouse and Inn located in the resort town of Newry, Maine, United States. [1] On September 1, he murdered a handyman and attempted to incinerate his corpse. Over the next three days, he murdered and dismembered three women – including Julie Bullard, the lodge's owner – to cover up his first murder. On September 4, 2006, Nielsen invited his father and stepmother to the property for Labor Day. After they arrived at the lodge and found one of the victims, Nielsen's father immediately called the police. Christian Nielsen was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to the murders in 2007. The motive behind the crimes was never established. [2]

Contents

Personal life

Christian Charles Nielsen was born on May 2, 1975, in Rumford, Maine. When he was four-years-old, Nielsen's parents divorced. Two years later, a Rumford district court judge ruled that Nielsen's father would gain custody of Nielsen and his little sister, stating that his mother did not have the emotional stability to care for young children. Nielsen's friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates, and others described him as acting normal in his youth. [3] Between 2001 and 2004, Nielsen studied English at the University of Maine, but did not earn a degree. [4] He said during an interrogation, that he had fantasies about murdering people and desired to be a serial killer from ages 13-26. [5]

As an adult, Nielsen worked as a line cook for the Sudbury Inn, in Bethel. A co-worker of his described him as a "reliable, soft-spoken and quiet guy." He had been staying at the Black Bear for two months before the murders. His license had also been revoked for driving under the influence. [6]

Murders

On September 1, 2006, Nielsen invited James Whitehurst, 50, to fish with him in Upton, the neighboring town. Whitehurst, a native of Arkansas, had been temporarily living at the Inn and working as a handyman for the owner. [7] After Whitehurst accepted the offer, the two went to a local Subway restaurant for lunch. After they finished eating their sandwiches, they went to a wooded area of Upton that was about 15 miles away from the Black Bear inn. Nielsen proceeded to shoot Whitehurst multiple times in the head, killing him. He then left Whitehurst's corpse there to go to his job. The next day, Nielsen returned to Upton to dig a grave. However, he instead decided to burn Whitehurst's body with gasoline. [8]

The following morning, Nielsen murdered Julie Bullard, the owner of the inn, because he suspected that she would be suspicious of Whitehurst's disappearance. Nielsen broke down her bedroom door as she slept and fatally shot her three times in the head, chest, and back. After killing her, he dragged her body into the nearby woods, cut it in half with an axe and a hacksaw, and wrapped her body with a tarp before leaving for his job. [5]

On September 4, 2006, Nielsen went to his father's house to borrow a chainsaw. When he returned to the inn, where Julie Bullard's daughter, 30-year-old Selby Bullard, and her friend, Cindy Beatson, showed up unexpectedly for Labor Day. Fearing that Bullard would wonder about her mother's whereabouts, he shot both guests in the head. Afterwards, he dragged both bodies outside and dismembered them with the chainsaw and hacksaw. He also cut off their fingers and removed their rings, placing them in his duffel bag. [8]

Capture

Later that day, Nielsen called his father and claimed that he was temporarily running the inn while Julie Bullard was in California. That night, Nielsen's father and stepmother arrived at the inn, whereupon they found a body outside and immediately called the police. Before law enforcement arrived, Nielsen's stepmother called 9-1-1 again, stating that he confessed to her that he was behind the murders. [8] Nielsen was arrested without resisting. He gave the police a two-hour long confession detailing how he committed all of the murders. [9] He also told law enforcement the location of Whitehurst's body, which had not been found by that time. [2]

Initially pleading not guilty to the four counts of murder he was charged with, Nielsen was to be held in the Oxford County Jail until his trial. However, he attacked another inmate, causing him to be transferred to the Cumberland County Jail. While in jail, he lost 55 pounds during a hunger strike, dropping from 158 pounds to 103 pounds, before the sheriff of Cumberland County obtained a court order to insert a feeding tube. He began eating again on his own before the tube could be inserted. In December 2006, Nielsen used a disposable razor to carve the letter "x" onto his scalp. Because of this, he was placed on suicide watch. [10]

After an examination at the Riverview Psychiatric Center, Nielsen's lawyer changed Nielsen's plea to "not criminally responsible" after he was found to have Schizoid personality disorder, Asperger's, and other mental illnesses. [11] In spite of this, Nielsen was deemed competent to stand trial because he was not suffering from a psychotic episode at the time of the murders, meaning he was able to willingly make decisions. [12] Nielsen, wishing not to stand trial, changed his plea to guilty. [13] On October 18, 2007, Nielsen was sentenced to four concurrent life terms prison. [14] He now resides at Maine State Prison. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Dahmer</span> American serial killer (1960–1994)

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismembered seventeen males between 1978 and 1991. Many of his later murders involved necrophilia, cannibalism, and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Shepard</span> Gay American murder victim (1976–1998)

Matthew Wayne Shepard was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998. He was taken by rescuers to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries received during the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Julie Ward</span> 1988 death in Masai Mara, Kenya

Julie Ward was a British woman who was killed whilst on safari in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya in September 1988. The subsequent investigation into her death was notable for the campaign by her father, John Ward — firstly to persuade the Kenyan authorities to recognise that his daughter was murdered, and secondly to try to identify the killer or killers. Three people were charged with her murder, although none have been convicted.

Azumi Muto was a Japanese pin-up model and aspiring actress for an agency in Tokyo, Japan. She was murdered by her 21-year-old brother Yuki Muto on December 30, 2006. Her death aroused the tabloids' notice for the circumstances surrounding the crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Tynesha Stewart</span> 2007 murder in Texas, United States

Tynesha Stewart was a 19-year-old student who was murdered on March 15, 2007, by her 27-year-old former boyfriend Timothy Wayne Shepherd when she came home for spring break as she had started a new relationship. Stewart was a first year student at Texas A&M University studying civil engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Tobin</span> Scottish serial killer (1946–2022)

Peter Britton Tobin was a Scottish convicted serial killer and sex offender who served a whole life order at HM Prison Edinburgh for three murders committed between 1991 and 2006. Police also investigated Tobin over the deaths and disappearances of other young women and girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucious Boyd</span> American murderer on death row

Lucious Boyd is an American convicted murderer, rapist, and suspected serial killer. While convicted and sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of 21-year-old Dawnia Dacosta, he is a suspect in at least ten other homicides or disappearances. He was acquitted for the 1993 murder of a man whom he claimed he stabbed in self-defense. He was profiled on Forensic Files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilgo Beach serial killings</span> American serial killer case

The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of killings between 1996 and 2011 in which the remains of 11 people were found in Gilgo Beach, located on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, United States. Most of the known victims were sex workers who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer (LISK).

Zahra Clare Baker was a schoolgirl in Hickory, North Carolina, United States, who was reported missing on October 9, 2010. Only 10 years old at the time of her death, her dismembered remains were found in November 2010. Because of the crime's gruesome nature and the series of events leading up to her death, Zahra's murder received worldwide media coverage.

The murder of East Moline, Illinois, teenager Adrianne Leigh Reynolds made national headlines. She was beaten, strangled, burned, and dismembered by her classmates Sarah Anne Kolb and Cory Gregory on January 21, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Keyes</span> American serial killer (1978–2012)

Israel Keyes was an American serial killer, bank robber, burglar, arsonist, kidnapper and sex offender who murdered at least three victims and committed dozens of felonies including armed robbery, arson, rape and burglary across the United States from July 2001 to February 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Becky Watts</span> 2015 murder of British student

Rebecca Marie Watts was a British student from Bristol who was murdered in 2015 at the age of 16. In November 2015, her step-brother, Nathan Matthews, was found guilty of her murder and was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 33 years. His girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 17 years in prison, although Hoare had insisted to police that she had nothing to do with the killing, or dismembering Watts' body and hiding the parts. Both Matthews and Hoare were also convicted of conspiracy to kidnap, preventing the lawful burial of a body, perverting the course of justice and possession of two stun guns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Wozniak (murderer)</span> American convicted of murder on death row

Daniel Patrick Wozniak is a former American community theatre actor who was convicted of two counts of murder in September 2016. In May 2010, Wozniak killed his neighbor and friend, Private First Class Samuel Eliezer "Sam" Herr, and Herr's friend, Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, as part of a plan to frame Herr for Kibuishi's murder and steal his combat pay. Wozniak was deeply in debt and wanted money to finance his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Wozniak and his then-fiancée, Rachel Mae Buffett, lived in the same apartment complex as Herr in Costa Mesa, California.

Patrick Tissier is a French serial killer and rapist who was convicted of killing three people from 1971 to 1993 in the southern regions of France. His case, along with that of Christian Van Geloven, led to a reform in the penal code in regards to the treatment of child murderers.

The Lewis–Clark Valley murders refer to a cluster of unsolved murders and disappearances that occurred in the Lewiston-Clarkston metropolitan area of northern Idaho between 1979 and 1982. Law enforcement investigators have identified four victims and possibly a fifth that are connected to a single suspect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Hilton</span> Convicited American serial killer

Gary Michael Hilton, known as the National Forest Serial Killer, is an American serial killer responsible for four known homicides between 2007 and 2008 committed in three states, all of which occurred within the premises of national forests. Sentenced to death in Florida and to life imprisonment in Georgia and North Carolina, Hilton remains a suspect in several other killings, including that of Judy Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Perkins</span> Executed American serial killer (1955–2009)

Reginald Perkins was an American serial killer and sex offender who was executed in Texas for the December 2000 murder of his stepmother. He was also linked with DNA to the murders of two women in Fort Worth in 1991, and he is suspected of killing a further three women in Ohio in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Rogers (serial killer)</span> American serial killer (born 1950)

Richard Westall Rogers Jr., known as The Last Call Killer, is an American serial killer who murdered and dismembered at least two gay and bisexual men between 1992 and 1993. His modus operandi consisted of luring men from piano bars in Manhattan, murdering and dismembering them at an unknown location, and dumping their bodies in garbage bags along highways in New Jersey. He is suspected of murdering several other men in Maine, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York from the 1970s to the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Mailhot</span> American serial killer

Jeffrey S. Mailhot, also known as The Rhode Island Ripper, is an American serial killer who murdered three prostitutes in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, between 2003 and 2004. After strangling his victims to death, Mailhot dismembered their corpses with a saw, placed them in garbage bags, and threw them in dumpsters. After one of his victims survived, Mailhot was arrested on July 17, 2004, and later sentenced to three life terms in prison. Only the remains of one victim have been found.

Harold David Haulman III is an American serial killer. Originally convicted for the murder of a fellow countryman in Germany in 1999, he was paroled and returned to the United States, where he murdered at least three women in Michigan and Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2020.

References

  1. ↑ Sharp, David (October 10, 2007). "Maine man pleads guilty to killing 4 people in Maine resort country". New Bedford Standard-Times . Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Malhotra, Noor (August 28, 2020). "Where is Christian C. Nielsen Now?". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  3. ↑ Thistle, Scott (September 16, 2006). "A troubled childhood". Lewiston Sun Journal . Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ Levenson, Michael; Mishra, Raja (September 7, 2006). "Rent dispute may have preceded Maine deaths – The Boston Globe". Boston.com . Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Langeveld, M. Dirk (October 17, 2007). "Nielsen's thinking 'chilling'". Lewiston Sun Journal . Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  6. ↑ Sabar, Ariel (September 6, 2006). "Man Is Charged in Killings at Maine Bed and Breakfast". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  7. ↑ Vanapalli, Viswa (July 22, 2021). "James Whitehurst Murder: Where is Christian Nielsen Now?". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Nielsen said he bought gun and ammo on day he killed Whitehurst". New Bedford Standard-Times . November 7, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Police say accused recounted slayings". The Bangor Daily News . July 5, 2007. p. 11. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Insanity Plea entered in B&B slaying case". The Bangor Daily News . May 17, 2007. p. 16. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Langeveld, M. Dirk (October 30, 2007). "Nielsen team files appeal". Lewiston Sun Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ Williams, Christopher (July 3, 2007). "Nielsen attends hearing". Lewiston Sun Journal. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Man accused of killing 4 in Maine deemed competent to stand trial". Arkansas Online . September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  14. ↑ "STATE of Maine v. Christian NIELSEN". Findlaw . May 6, 2008. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Nielsen, Christian Charles". Maine Department of Corrections. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.