Investigators name suspect in Winter Park woman’s slaying

WINTER PARK — For the first time, investigators identified Scott Edward Nelson as a suspect in the killing of Jennifer Fulford, whose body was found Saturday in the woods in Orange County.

Winter Park Police Chief Michael Deal said Nelson was arrested Sunday evening in a motel room in Jacksonville after traveling there on an Amtrak train. Nelson was booked into the Duval County Jail and was held with no bail for violating his federal probation, jail records show.

By noon Monday, Nelson had been released from the jail and was in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, the jail said. It’s unclear if Nelson was being taken to the Orange County Jail.

He hasn’t yet been charged in Fulford’s death.

“We have a great time line in this particular case,” said Deal, who would not provide details. “We feel pretty strongly that we’ll be able to put this together for a successful prosecution.’’

Fulford was reported missing Sept. 27 after her purse was found on the floor of her employer’s home, where she watched the children and was an assistant to the father. Her boss called police after Fulford didn’t pick up his son.

Investigators began a wideranging search for Nelson, whom they called a person of interest after he was photographed withdrawing cash from an ATM using Fulford’s bank card.

Nelson, 53, is a transient with no known address, but Deal said he was thought to be staying at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission.

The details of Fulford’s disappearance and homicide are largely unknown, as detectives continue to build a case against Nelson. It’s unclear if he knew Fulford, and Deal declined to say how she was killed.

Nelson served a five-year prison sentence for a 2010 bank robbery in Daytona Beach, court records show.

He also has a history of mental illness, substance abuse and other arrests, records show.