DALLAS — An execution date has been set for a North Texas man convicted in a pastor's murder in 2012.
Steven Nelson's execution has been scheduled for Feb. 5, 2025, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Judge Steven Jumes on June 10 granted a motion that was filed by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office, ordering the execution date and issuing the death warrant for Nelson.
The February execution date -- as opposed to the October dates requested by prosecutors -- will allow Nelson's attorneys more time to develop arguments about the sentencing, one of Nelson's attorneys told the newspaper.
Nelson in 2012 was convicted of killing the Rev. Clint Dobson at NorthPointe Baptist Church, according to WFAA's previous coverage of the case.
Prosecutors said Nelson entered the church and immediately attacked Dobson, allegedly knocking him out, binding him and then suffocating him by placing a trash can liner over his head.
Nelson was also accused of assaulting Dobson's assistant, Judy Elliott. Her husband had testified that he was the first person to enter the church and that he found his wife badly beaten on the floor of the pastor's office.
However, he said his wife's face was so swollen he did not realize it was her, even as she asked him for help. He called 911 still not knowing it was his wife as her car had been stolen from the lot, he said.
"I really didn't recognize her at first," he told the jury. "I didn't recognize her at first. An officer went over and roused her. Then I said, 'Oh my God... that's my wife!'"
Prosecutors said Nelson stole Elliott's car and went on a shopping spree with her credit cards, buying shoes and cheap jewelry.
Nelson was found guilty and sentenced to death in the case. The Star-Telegram reported that when the verdict was announced, Nelson broke a fire sprinkler in his holding cell and flooded the courtroom.
