Dec 30, 2008 5:25 am US/Pacific
Ellie Nesler's Daughter Talks About Her Mom
SONORA (CBS13/AP) ―
-
-
Ellie Nesler gained notoriety for shooting her son's alleged molester in a Jamestown courtroom. She shot Daniel Driver five times in the head during a break in his preliminary hearing on charges of molesting four boys including her son.
AP
Ellie Nesler, who sparked a national debate about vigilantism after killing her son's accused molester in a courtroom in 1993, has died of cancer. She was 56.
Nesler died Friday morning at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, according to hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Brown. She had battled breast cancer since 1994.
"It's sad to see her go but she was really, really sick. She was very ill," said Rebecca Nesler, Ellie's daughter.
Rebecca is still recovering from two major events over the weekend: the birth of her son and the death of her controversial mother.
Nesler made headlines when she shot Daniel Driver five times in the head in a Tuolumne County courtroom during a break in his preliminary hearing for allegedly molesting four boys, including her then-6-year-old son William, at a Christian camp. Some hailed her for exacting her own justice, while others condemned her for taking the law into her own hands.
"She was a lot of people's hero," said Rebecca. "I just remember how much people would say, 'You're mom's my hero.' I had classmates, teachers all through grade school telling me how she was their hero."
Nesler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, but her 10-year sentence was later overturned because of jury misconduct. She cut a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to manslaughter and get out after serving three years because she had breast cancer.
The case became a 1999 TV movie, "Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story," on the USA cable network.
After the shooting, the Nesler family remained entangled in the legal system. In 2002, Nesler was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to selling and possessing methamphetamine. Outside of the courtroom, she maintained her innocence, saying she felt she couldn't get a fair trial in Tuolumne County.
Nesler was released from the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla in 2006.
Meanwhile, her son got into legal troubles of his own and was convicted of first-degree murder in 2005 for stomping to death a man hired to clean the family's property in Sonora. The 23-year-old said he believed David Davis was letting people pick through the family's belongings.
William Nesler killed Davis less than an hour after he was released from a 30-day sentence for an earlier assault on him. He is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence at High Desert State Prison near Susanville.
"She had just such a heavy heart with my brother's situation," said Rebecca. "Honestly, the only regret I think is that she wasn't able to be there for me and my brother. That's the only regret I think she ever had."
Prison officials allowed William Nesler to speak with his mother on the phone when she was hospitalized, and he spoke to family members Christmas night about her condition, said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
"He knew she was very ill, and he knew her death was impending," Thornton said.
William Nesler has asked for a temporary leave to attend the funeral, and the request is being reviewed by prison officials, Thornton said.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
