Nelson Convicted of Murder, Sentenced to Two Life Sentences
JOHNSON COUNTY, MO – The Braymer man charged with the responsibility in the deaths of two Wisconsin brothers has now pleaded guilty in Cass County Court and has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
Garland Joseph Nelson had been potentially facing the death penalty and several other charges which included the abandonment of a corpse, tampering with evidence, tampering with a motor vehicle, and armed criminal action. Those charges were dropped in the plea agreement.
In the courtroom, Nelson admitted that he killed 35-year old Nicholas Diemel and 24-year old Justin Diemel in July of 2019 on his farm near Braymer. The two brothers had been involved in a cattle caretaking agreement with Nelson.
According to court documents, between 2018 and 2019, the Diemel family sent livestock to Nelson’s farm to be cared for but the animals were neglected and many died. Yet Nelson still charged the family full price.
The Diemels later asked for their money back. According to court documents, Nelson purposefully damaged a check sent to Nicholas Diemel. This led to him coming to Missouri with his brother Justin to meet Nelson in person.
The two men were reported missing when they didn’t make their scheduled flight from KCI, and after extensive searches, law enforcement officers eventually found human remains that were connected to the brothers.
In a response to the news, Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish thanked the investigators, law enforcement agencies, fire department, county road and bridge departments, and the others which aided in the long investigation.
