Fresno man pleads no contest to murdering his 3-year-old son for soiling his pants

A Fresno man has pleaded no contest in Fresno Superior Court to murdering his 3-year-old son, Zion, four years ago for soiling his pants.

Donald Nelson, 31, also pleaded no contest on Thursday to felony child abuse. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors stipulated that Nelson will be sentenced to 19 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on July 25.

Court records say Nelson, who is being held in the Fresno County Jail without bail, faced nearly 32 years to life in prison if he had been convicted at trial. In accepting the plea agreement, Nelson waived his right to appeal his sentence.

Nelson's co-defendant, Moneesha Camp, 28, also remains in jail. On Tuesday, Camp plans to plead no contest to a charge of felony endangerment, said Fresno defense lawyer Linden Lindahl, who represents Camp.

Lindahl said on Friday that Camp didn't beat Zion, but cared for him. He also said Camp had no prior record and that she is in trouble for not reporting the beatings to police. Camp didn't report the beatings, Lindahl said, because she was likely beaten by Nelson and feared him.

Prosecutors have stipulated to a six-year prison sentence for Camp. Because of time served in jail, Camp should be released from custody after her no-contest plea, Lindahl said.

Police contend Zion, whose body was covered with scars, abrasions and bruises, died of fatal child abuse syndrome. The syndrome occurs when a child is beaten over a long period of time, causing his body to shut down, detective Michael Gebhart testified at a court hearing for Nelson and Camp in May 2015.

In the hearing, Gebhart testified Zion was beaten with a hanger, belt and electrical cord for soiling his underwear.

According to court records, Nelson and Camp lived with Nelson's two sons — Zion and his 5-year-old brother. Camp was not Zion's biological mother, but the two boys called her mother and she cared for them by feeding and bathing them.

The case began when Fresno police officers responded to a 911 call and found Zion wearing just his underwear and wrapped in a blanket in the back seat of Nelson's car at Palm and Garland avenues, a few blocks from the family home on Saginaw Way

Initially, Nelson told police he and his son were living in the car and that he spanked his son for soiling his pants during the early hours of Jan. 2, 2014, officer Ron Flowers testified in the May 2015 hearing. But prosecutor William Lacy said Nelson lied to police to cover up what happened in the family's apartment.

According to detective Ignacio Ruiz, the 5-year-old told police that he "heard whipping sounds. He heard Zion scream. And then it stopped." The boy told police he then saw his dad put Zion in the shower in an attempt to wake him up, Ruiz testified.

When Zion didn't wake up, the father took him out of the shower and put his lifeless body on the living room floor before leaving the apartment with him, the detective testified. Gebhart testified that Zion's injuries included multiple linear abrasions and bruises and hemorrhaging in his head, chest, shoulder and legs. Zion also had two cracked ribs and bleeding in his kidneys and pancreas, the detective said.

In the apartment, police found several holes caused by Nelson punching the wall.

This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Fresno man pleads no contest to murdering his 3-year-old son for soiling his pants."