Profile

Name: William "Willie" Nesler
Aliases: Willie
Sex: Male
Race: White
Age Now: 27
Height: 6'2\"
Weight: 225
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Brown
Wanted for: Murder, Sonora, CA; Jul 25, 2004

Locations

Last seen: Sonora, CA Nesler lived in Sonora, his alleged victim was a neighbor, he was last seen around the crime scene.
Possible location: Tuolumne County, CA Nesler lived in Sonora, and police believe he may still be in one of the communities in the foothills of the mountains.
Last known: Unkown

Traits

Case Story

Nesler's Mother Convicted of Vigilanteism

This story begins sixteen years ago when Willie Nesler was 6 years-old.  At that time, a man named Daniel Driver molested Willie and a group of other boys.  The molestation remained secret for years, but in 1992, Driver was finally charged and arrested for the crimes.  But that wasn't good enough for Willie's mother, Ellie.  She was so distraught over the ordeal Driver had put her son through, that she took a gun to the court where Driver was appearing, walked in and shot him five times in the head, killing him. Ellie became a national figure.  Some applauded her actions as justice for her son.  Others derided the shooting as vigilanteism against a man who had not even been convicted of the crimes.  Ellie was arrested and convicted of manslaughter.  She was sentenced to ten years, but after three, her sentence was overturned due to juror misconduct.

Bad Behavior Follows Willie

Despite or maybe because of the notoriety of Willie's molestation case and the subsequent actions by his mother, Willie himself found himself in court on many occasions.  The Tuolumne Sheriff's department and the Sonora Police Department each had run-ins with Willie.  He's been in lock up 18 times since he turned 18 years-old in 1999.  The charges range from drunk driving to weapons possession to drugs.  Ellie Nesler's life didn't turn out much better.  She is now in prison following a conviction of dealing in methamphetamines. On June 24th, police were called to Willie's property because he and his neighbor, David Davis, were in a fight over some tools.  When police got there, Willie allegedly rushed Davis and started beating him in front of police officers.  Willie was taken into custody and booked on battery charges.  \"He's lucky I didn't kill him.\"  Willie is reported to have said to cops as they took him away. Four days later, Willie pled guilty to battery and was given a 60 day sentence.

Jail Doesn't Cool Nesler Off

32 days later, on July 25th, Willie was released from jail for good behavior and due to jail overcrowding.  The 32 days in lock-up hadn't calmed Willie down any.  The moment he was released, police believe he went to confront Davis again.  Police got a call an hour after Willie's release from someone reporting a violent attack.  When police arrived at Willie's neighborhood, they found Davis bleeding and severely beaten.  He was transported to the hospital where he later died. Police are now searching for Willie.  Willie's family believes that he may be afraid of law enforcement due to his long record, and has pleaded for Willie to turn himself in to a local bail bondsman who once helped Ellie Nesler.  \"We love you. We want you to come home,\" said Jan Martinez-Starr, Nesler's aunt. \"We'll work through this.\"