Boy, 3, Reportedly Thrown From Bridge; Dad Charged

February 6, 2008 - 5:51am

BALTIMORE (AP) - A father faces homicide charges as police continue searching the Patapsco River for the body of his 3-year-old son, who reportedly was thrown off the Francis Scott Key Bridge, police said Tuesday.

Stephen Todd Nelson, 37, was in police custody at the University of Maryland Medical Center Tuesday night, said Cpl. Jonathan Green, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Nelson was in critical condition Tuesday night, a hospital spokesman said. A Baltimore city police spokeswoman said she did not know why Nelson was hospitalized.

"Our investigation leads us to believe that he is involved," Green said. "We have been consulting with the city state's attorney's office about this case and homicide charges are pending against Nelson."

The body of the victim, 3-year-old Turner Jordan Nelson, has not been found. Green said police will continue search efforts in the area of the bridge in Baltimore.

Police have been investigating the case since late Sunday, when they received a 911 call about the possibility that a child had been thrown from the bridge.

"We have interviewed several witnesses that observed a vehicle matching the suspect's vehicle on the Key Bridge within the time frame in which this incident occurred," Green said.

The vehicle, a 2001 silver Mitsubishi Gallant, is in police custody, Green said.

"We have that vehicle in custody and it has been processed to locate any possible evidence," Green said.

Nelson's mother reportedly called Baltimore police after hearing from her son about what had happened, police said.

Nelson had been in a custody battle with his wife, according to records in Baltimore County Circuit Court. There was also a domestic violence complaint against Nelson that was dismissed.

In September 1999, Richard Spicknall, against whom his wife had obtained a restraining order, confessed to killing his 3-year-old daughter, Destiny, and 2-year-old son, Richard, near Cambridge. He originally told state police a carjacker attacked him, threw him off a bridge over the Choptank River and drove away with the children. The story fell apart under questioning by state troopers and Spicknall later said he killed the children and tried to commit suicide. They were found in the car.

Spicknall was killed in prison in 2006.