The person of interest in the death of a nanny and assistant to a Winter Park family is in federal custody.
Scott Nelson, 53, was apprehended in a Jacksonville motel over the weekend.
The search warrant to look for evidence came about 18 hours after Nelson was arrested at the Sunshine Inn.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and a CSI team were executing a search warrant at the motel Monday.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police: Missing woman's body found; person of interest identified
Detectives said Nelson used his real name to check in.
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“He was very silent, very nice, very peaceful,” said motel owner Vijaykumar Patel.
Patel said Nelson paid cash to rent a room. He had paid $280 since checking in last Thursday, one day after victim Jennifer Fulford, 56, disappeared from her employer’s Winter Park home.
“He came out with his hands up,” Patel said.
Answers about Fulford’s disappearance and death are hard to come by.
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She was employed by Reid Berman and his family. Fulford took care of a child along with other duties at the home on Webster Avenue.
It’s where Berman found her purse and where she seems to have disappeared, allegedly at the hands of Nelson, who was recently released from federal prison.
“We have recovered some evidence we believe will be valuable from both the home, from the scene where Ms. Fulford was recovered, from her vehicle and also, we anticipate, from that hotel room in Jacksonville,” said FDLE Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks.
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Investigators are not yet saying what happened inside the home, though they now believe it’s possible Nelson went to Jacksonville after Fulford’s death and funded his flight with money he’s accused of stealing out of Fulford’s bank account at a Winter Park ATM.
Read: Person of interest in the death of Jennifer Fulford has violent criminal past, records show
Nelson has a lengthy criminal history that includes assault and robberies.
He was taken from the Jacksonville jail Monday and turned over to Orange County.
He’s expected to appear before a judge Tuesday.
Investigators haven’t said what charges Nelson will face.
Cox Media Group
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