Ellie Nesler: Vigilante or Murderer?
True Crime with Elli Mac
11/12/22
•14m
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On April 2nd 1993, Ellie Nesler took the law into her own hands in a Northern California courtroom, by shooting to death Daniel Driver in the head and neck 5 times.
35-year-old Daniel Driver was a Christian camp employee who in the summer of 1988 allegedly abused the then 6-year-old son of Ellie Nesler, Willie Nesler.
Ellie Nesler was praised by some as a protective mother, driven to act by the prospect of having her traumatised son testify against Driver in open court.
Others criticised her for brushing aside the legal system and taking the law into her own hands, which would then spark a national debate about Vigilantism.
The sympathetic portrait of Ellie Nesler painted by her defence team began to disappear however within weeks of the crime when tests found Ellie to have been high on methamphetamine at the time of the shooting. It had also come to light that Ellie had a criminal record with a conviction at 18 for auto theft and had served several months in a California Youth Authority facility.
Had Ellie Nesler gone too far, or was she simply protecting her son and the world from a very dangerous man?
Previous Episode
The Brutal Murder of Carol Wardell
November 7, 2022
•22m
On the evening of the 11th September 1994, a gang of at least three men, one wearing a clown’s mask and a boiler suit, brandishing a knife, broke into Carol and Gordon Wardell's home in Bonneville Close, Meriden. Only Carol was home during the break-in.
When her husband Gordon returned home from the pub later that night, he was attacked and drugged. He was overpowered and knocked unconscious with a chemical, and when he came around he found himself bound and gagged on the floor, alone, his wife Carol missing.
Only a few hours later Carol Wardell was found dead in a lay-by and the building society where she worked, had been robbed. A devastated Gordon Wardell would then go on to make a public plea to try and help catch the men who had brutally murdered his wife.
Choking back the tears he said “I still don’t believe this has happened. We must catch these men. I think they are evil”....
Next Episode
The Abduction of Daniel Handley
November 29, 2022
•47m
It was a cold and gloomy Sunday afternoon in Beckton, East London, on the 2nd of October, 1994. Daniel Handley, a helpful nine-year-old, had returned home after earning a few coins at the local supermarket, where he often helped out customers to load their cars with their shopping.
As he always did in his free time, he had then asked his mother, Maxine, if he was allowed to go to play at Alan's house, his best friend. Unknown to the dangers lurking around, Maxine had agreed to his request with strict instructions to be back at 6 o'clock.
However, by the time 6 o'clock had rolled around, Daniel still needed to come home. Four hours more passed and there was still no sign of him.
Maxine Handley, immediately knew something was wrong and started looking for him. She went door to door, searching, going to all the neighbours with whom she knew to be Daniel's playmates, yet, there was no sign of her son anywhere.
Soon hours turned into days, and then weeks, and there was still no Daniel. Witnesses would come forward saying they had seen him riding his silver saddle-less bike that night, but all the conflicting information and signs of Daniel did not help find him.
Where was Daniel Handley? Had he run away? Had he been hurt by his mother’s boyfriend?? Or worse, has he been abducted? Law enforcement would look into every possible scenario, each leading to a dead end.
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