Jan. 17--Obsession unleashed a deadly rage that swelled in Darek Nelson and ignited his relentless knife attack on a fellow restaurant coworker who rebuffed his romantic pursuits, according to criminal charges filed Tuesday in southwestern Minnesota.
Squad car video from the vehicle of the first arriving Montivideo officer Friday night shows Nelson, 24, gripping a hunting knife and standing over 18-year-old Vinessa Lozano's collapsed and bloodied body outside Pizza Ranch, the criminal complaint read.
Nelson crouches down and gets in one more thrust with his weapon before he followed the officer's order and dropped the knife, the complaint cited the video as showing. Lozano was taken to the Chippewa County-Montevideo Hospital, where she died.
Nelson remains jailed on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and two counts of assault. State records show Nelson had no convictions or arrests in his past.
According to the complaint:
In early January, Nelson became angry when Lozano didn't follow through and stop at his home. It was because of that rebuff that he began to contemplate killing her.
Lozano had an 18-month-old son and was engaged to be married, family said. She graduated from Montevideo High School last year and had started classes at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Granite Falls. In addition to working at Pizza Ranch, she also had a job as a certified nursing assistant at the Luther Haven nursing home in Montevideo.
Paul Walsh --612-673-4482
Copyright 2012 - Star Tribune, Minneapolis
