A jury trial has been scheduled in Johnson County on a felony stealing charge for a Braymer man charged in another case with two counts of murder—first degree. Online court information shows the court on March 3rd granted Garland Joseph Nelson’s motion for a speedy trial. The trial is to begin on April 20th. A pre-trial conference is on March 29th.
The court also granted a motion to record or transcribe court proceedings and a request for additional discovery.
A probable cause statement accuses Nelson of convincing another man that Nelson owned a semi-tractor parked at a Braymer residence. Nelson allegedly requested the semi be moved without the owner’s consent.
For the case involving the murder charges, the court took up Nelson’s additional discovery request. The court ordered a scheduling order be completed and filed with the court by March 15th. The case is set for review in Johnson County on March 15th.
A three-week jury trial was previously scheduled to begin on February 7th, 2022. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for December 7th.
Nelson is also charged with two counts: the abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and armed criminal action. He also faces 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 of Wisconsin, putting their bodies in barrels, and burning the bodies.
The brothers were reported missing in July 2019 after traveling to Braymer to collect on a reported cattle debt.
The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office confirmed dental records identified the Diemels remains, which were found in Missouri and Nebraska in November 2019.
