A Wisconsin woman who admitted to key details in the killing of her on-again, off-again boyfriend has officially learned her sentence.
Janel Marie Nelson, 53, pleaded no contest on Oct. 24 to murdering 55-year-old Michael James Corrigan in his Beavercreek, Ohio home. A judge sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 18 years, according to the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
A no-contest plea doesn’t require Nelson to declare guilt, but it does acknowledge the truth of the facts laid out in the indictment — enough for the court to convict her.
The case began on Aug. 22, 2024, when Corrigan’s worried family went to check on him after he stopped responding to calls and texts. They discovered him dead in his living room, shot once in the back of the head while sitting in a chair. Investigators determined the shooting happened the day before, from roughly 10 feet away, using a .380-caliber weapon.
Detectives quickly zeroed in on Nelson. Their search took an unexpected turn when a Facebook post surfaced — a selfie of a 30-year-old woman with Nelson, tagged with “Seeing my mother for the first time in 16 years.” The woman told detectives her mother had abruptly shown up without warning.
Police tracked Nelson to a church in Omaha, Nebraska, where she was brought in for questioning. Investigators say she admitted to several crucial details, including being with Corrigan shortly before he was killed. She described their relationship as “off and on.”
A warrant was issued, and Nelson was arrested on multiple charges, including voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and aggravated assault. A search of her vehicle uncovered the gun later confirmed to be the murder weapon. She was extradited to Ohio shortly after.
Friends and family remember Corrigan as “happy-go-lucky” and deeply missed. “Mike was taken long before his time,” one person wrote on the National Gun Violence Memorial.
Nelson’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
Maybe she would come to her senses now while in prison..She needs to repent