Omaima Nelson was born in Cairo, Egypt. At 18, she moved to California, working as a model and a nanny. In 1991, the 23-year-old met William Nelson, a 56-year-old convicted drug smuggler. Within a few days, William had introduced Omaima to his loved ones — as his wife. Three weeks later, Omaima was both a widow and a cold-blooded killer.
On November 28, 1991, the Nelsons celebrated their first Thanksgiving together and it was certainly a holiday to remember. That night, Omaima stabbed her new husband with a pair of scissors and bludgeoned him to death with a clothes iron, splitting the latter into two pieces.
Omaima castrated William, skinned, and dismembered him. She stuffed a duffel bag full of black garbage bags containing his body parts, mixed his skin with leftover turkey, and poured it down the garbage disposal.
Omaima put the duffel bag in William’s Corvette, rushed to an ex-boyfriend’s home, and offered him $75,000 to dispose of the remains. He called the police instead and Omaima was placed under arrest.
The authorities obtained a search warrant for the Nelsons’ apartment and what they found was less than appetizing. William’s hands had been deep-fried. His head was boiled, stabbed repeatedly, and stuffed in the freezer.
A tearful Omaima told a jury that a different side of William emerged once they tied the knot — a violent side. She testified that he beat and raped her until she snapped and k*lled him in self-defense stating, “If I didn’t defend my life, I would have been dead. I’m sorry it happened, but I’m glad I lived.”
Omaima told a court-appointed psychiatrist that she wore red heels, a red hat, and red lipstick while she cooked William’s ribs, doused them in BBQ sauce, and wolfed them down while crying, “It’s so sweet, it’s so delicious!“
The prosecution argued that Omaima seduced William on Thanksgiving, shackled him to the bed, and attacked him. Bruising was found around William’s ankles corroborating their theory that he was bound when killed.
The prosecution also produced evidence that Omaima was charged with attempted robbery, false imprisonment, and assault with a deadly weapon a year earlier after she tied up an old lover and robbed him at gunpoint.
Omaima claimed to be a battered woman trying to escape her abuser’s grasp but the jury didn’t buy it. She was convicted of second-degree murder on January 12, 1993. Omaima was sentenced to 28 years to life in a California prison. She will be eligible for parole in 2026.