A Braymer man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two brothers from Wisconsin now faces a charge of stealing a motor vehicle after a semi-tractor was allegedly stolen from a residence in Braymer in September.
Twenty-six-year-old Garland Joseph Nelson is being held on no bond on the recent charge, and a plea or trial setting is scheduled in Caldwell County on November 5th.
A probable cause statement from Sergeant Tony Kirkendoll of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office accuses Nelson of convincing another man he owned a semi-tractor that had been sitting at a residence in Braymer. He allegedly told the person he owned the vehicle to have it removed without the actual owner’s consent or permission. Law enforcement found the vehicle at a residence in Marceline.
Kirkendoll reports Nelson said he purchased the semi-tractor for $500 from someone who was also incarcerated at the time. That inmate claimed he lived across the street from where the semi was sitting, and he did not know what Nelson was talking about.
In the case involving the murder charges, Nelson is scheduled for a motion hearing in Johnson County on December 1st. He also faces two counts each of abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and armed criminal action as well as one count each of tampering with a motor vehicle—first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm.
A probable cause statement accuses Nelson of shooting Nick and Justin Diemel, putting their bodies in barrels, and burning their bodies.
