Nanny stabbed and suffocated, records show

Jennifer Fulford’s body lay abandoned in a wooded area in southwest Orange County for three days. Her wrists and ankles were bound, court records show, and her face was wrapped in duct tape.

Fulford, who worked as a nanny, went missing on Sept. 27 in Winter Park. She was stabbed and suffocated before being dumped in the woods, according to court documents released Thursday.

Her body was spotted by a Sheriff ’s Office helicopter on Sept. 30 in a wooded area near Apopka-Vineland Road — about 20 miles from where her car was found, records show.

Fulford, 56, of Altamonte

Springs, worked for the family of a real-estate investor in Winter Park, where police think she was immediately before she disappeared. Her purse was next to the toilet in her employer’s home, but her wallet and cellphone were missing.

Her employer, Reid Berman, called police after she didn’t show up to pick up his son from school. Fulford had worked for Berman for about six years, according to the documents, and it was out of character for her not to answer phone calls and not to show up at school.

That night, Fulford’s husband, Robert, noticed a suspicious withdrawal of $300 from their joint bank account.

The man who withdrew it, Scott Edward Nelson — a 53-year-old drifter — had fresh cuts and scratches on his hands, according to surveillance video from the ATM.

On Wednesday, Nelson was charged with Fulford’s murder, kidnapping, carjacking, burglary, robbery with a deadly weapon and hindering communication with law enforcement.

Fulford’s husband didn’t know who Nelson was, police said.

“The man we suspect took her life, she probably would’ve done anything to help him out, just like she helped out other people,” Robert Fulford said in an October interview. “It’s just so indescribable. … She was just so full of life.”

On the day she disappeared, Fulford was supposed to travel to Dallas to meet her newborn grandchild.

Two days after she was slain, Winter Park authorities found Fulford’s abandoned car at a Publix parking lot in the Colonialtown neighborhood, east of downtown Orlando.

In the trunk, police recovered a bloodstained towel, T-shirt and watch — all of which Nelson was wearing on the day of Fulford’s murder. The bloodstains matched Nelson’s DNA, according to lab reports from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Authorities also found a bottle of Blue Moon beer and a comforter, which were taken from Berman’s home.

Nelson, who was arrested Oct. 1 for violating federal probation, sent an expletive-laden letter to a judge a month later claiming he was not the killer and asking for preferential treatment in exchange for information.

“Allegedly, I kidnapped/ murdered a woman in Winter Park and have spoken to no law enforcement,” he said in the letter. “Their [sic] are many things they don’t know!”

Days later, detectives said, Nelson confessed to all his crimes. He is currently in federal law-enforcement custody and has a competency hearing scheduled for Dec. 18.

Members of the Fulford family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Berman family said they are grateful Nelson has been charged.

“We continue to mourn the loss of Jen and find no comfort in learning the details of her final moments,” the family said in a statement. “But we are profoundly grateful for the unwavering commitment and hard work of the Winter Park Police and Orange County Sheriff’s departments and for bringing this man to justice.”

“Jennifer Fulford was beloved by many, and she is missed every day.”