The Other Nesler
I don't have any new news on Ellie Nesler or William (Willy) Nesler (if you do, please leave it in the comments), but I did find this old article on another member of the Nesler family:
Those who know her call Rebecca Nesler a strong, resilient and hopeful young woman. To many others, she is simply a member of one of Tuolumne County's most notorious families.
Rebecca, who goes by Becky, is the daughter of Ellie Nesler, the Sonora woman who shot and killed a man in a Jamestown courtroom in 1993. She is also the younger sister of Willy Nesler, who in May was convicted of beating a man to death near the Nesler family's Shaws Flat Road property in Sonora....
Her family's troubles have made her a stronger person, she said. While she realizes what her mother did 12 years ago was wrong, Becky said she understands, now more than ever, what her mother felt in shooting Driver.
Becky said her mother still contends that Driver would have gone free and preyed on other young boys, including Willy, again.
"I think killing is altogether wrong, but if I would have to be wrong to save my child, that's what I would do," she said.
Becky concedes that her brother has taken many wrong turns in his life. She is also well aware of the effect her mother's actions had on Willy, who ran away from home shortly after Ellie Nesler was incarcerated.
For that reason she said she struggles with the issue of vigilantism.
She is clear about her feeling on another issue. She said she does not believe Willy, 23, killed anyone. Instead, she believes someone else killed David Davis and that her brother was wrongly convicted. She said Willy has been branded a criminal ever since their mother took the law into her own hands....
Willy Nesler's troubles eventually landed him behind bars but they've inspired Becky to help others. After graduating from high school in 2003, Becky took several criminal justice courses at Remington College in Arizona.
She said she would like to continue with college because she believes she can make a difference in young people's lives. Ultimately, she hopes to become an attorney and work with young offenders. That sort of work, she contends, would have made a huge difference for Willy....
Since her brother was sentenced to prison nearly two weeks ago, Becky said she's visited him twice. Becky said they've discussed an appeal but Willy is not optimistic about his chances.
Becky's not been able to visit her mother since Willy's sentencing. She said her mother is now receiving chemotherapy treatments while imprisoned near Chowchilla. Ellie Nesler only served three of her 10-year sentence for manslaughter after winning an appeal based on jury misconduct. But she was then convicted of drug charges and again incarcerated.
Talking to her just before Willy's sentencing, Becky said her mother expressed no surprise that Willy had been convicted of murder. She said her mother felt Willy would always have trouble in the county because of his last name and had urged Willy to leave Tuolumne County....
Previous Nesler blog posts here.
P.S. I purposely entitled this post "The Other Nesler" rather than "The Good Nesler." Not knowing any of the three of them, I can't make a value judgment and say that Ellie and Willy are "bad" and Becky is "good." While acknowledging that Ellie and Willy have done bad things, who am I to value one over the other? And, as a parent, I wonder if I would have done what Ellie did....
Comments