The Braymer man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Johnson County for the death of two Wisconsin men pleaded not guilty October 12 to a felony stealing charge in Division One of Caldwell County Circuit Court.
Twenty-seven-year-old Garland Joseph Nelson waived formal arraignment. The case was continued to November 9th for a plea or trial setting.
A probable cause affidavit accuses Nelson of convincing another man that Nelson owned a semi-tractor parked at a Braymer residence. Nelson requested the semi be moved, allegedly without the actual owner’s consent.
In the murder case, Nelson has also been charged with two counts each of abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and armed criminal action. He also faces one count each of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm.
A jury trial is scheduled to begin in Johnson County in the murder case on June 6. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for May 2nd.
A probable cause statement accused Nelson of shooting Nick and Justin Diemel, putting their bodies into 55-gallon barrels, and burning the bodies. The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office reported the remains were found in Missouri and Nebraska.