3 Questioned In Woman’s Shooting

By Denise Yost
Managing Editor, nbc4i.com
Published: January 4, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio—A vehicle stolen from a Dayton-area home where a woman was found shot to death was found in Franklin County Sunday, and officials are questioning three people in connection with her death.

The vehicle was found in the parking lot of a flea market on West Broad Street at about 3:30 p.m., NBC 4‘s Lauren Diedrich reported. It matches the description of a car police were searching for in connection with an incident that began Friday night.

A 4-year-old boy was found abandoned at a rest stop along Interstate 70 near London and told police that someone broke into his house and shot his mother. After the shooting, the suspect apparently took the boy in his family’s vehicle and fled the area.

The boy’s mother, Jennifer Nelson, was later found shot to death at their home in Dayton.

Officials said the FBI was questioning three people in connection with Nelson’s death Sunday evening. Officials said the people were found at a home on McMillen Avenue just south of The Ohio State University campus. No charges have been filed.

Investigators were searching for a vehicle—described as a black Oldsmobile Alero with license plate AJ13VF—that was stolen from the home Friday night. The vehicle found at the Columbus-area flea market matched the description and license plate number, NBC 4 reported.

Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said the car was towed from the parking lot to the sheriff’s impound lot where it will be searched. He wouldn’t say how authorities were alerted to the car’s location.

Officials said they do not know who left the vehicle in the parking lot, but the area is monitored by surveillance cameras. Invesigators will examine the footage to attempt to identify the driver.

The victim’s mother said that police who arrived at her daughter’s house Friday found another car that had been stolen from Columbus two weeks before Christmas.

The boy’s father was at work at the time of the shooting. The toddler has since been returned to his dad.

According to the Madison County sheriff, the child described the man who took him as a “skinny” white man.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

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