HERMANTOWN, Minn. — A judge had issued a warrant to apprehend a man about 30 minutes before he was found dead with his wife in an apparent domestic violence shooting Friday.
Bradley Duane Nelson, 63, was under a civil commitment for mental illness and had been off his medications and acting aggressively toward family members, according to court records.
His wife, Lissette Joy Nelson, 62, had been staying away from their Hermantown home out of fear for her safety, authorities wrote, and she had called police on Thursday after being confronted by her husband.
The Hermantown Police Department said the couple was found dead from gunshot wounds in the home following a domestic violence report, but police have not officially confirmed the circumstances of their deaths.
Bradley Nelson, who was reported to have suffered from major depressive disorder and other conditions, had been hospitalized and placed under civil commitments twice since November 2023.
“His family has expressed concerns regarding Mr. Nelson’s erratic behavior and non-compliance with prescribed medication,” St. Louis County social worker Natalie Listemaa wrote to the court hours before the deaths.
“He has not been in contact with his case manager and has had his wife engage on his behalf. Family members indicate that he has not taken his medication regularly for weeks, is not eating or bathing, and has a myopic fixation on his finances. Most recently, his paranoid ideation that his family has stolen money is resulting in aggressive, violent behavior that causes his family to fear for their safety.”
The social worker said Bradley Nelson had confronted Lissette Nelson over money on Thursday morning and “harassed her to the point of (her) calling both Hermantown police and the St. Louis County sheriff because she does not feel safe in his presence.”
That afternoon, he also reportedly “showed up at his daughter’s place of employment and caused a scene, demanding ‘his money’ and insisting that she stole it and is keeping it in her house.”
“Without active support to stabilize his mental health symptoms and ensure he is on the correct medication, Mr Nelson is at risk of further psychiatric and behavioral decompensation which puts himself and others at risk of harm,” Listemaa wrote in the Thursday evening letter.
Bradley Nelson had been under a provisional discharge — conditional release from a treatment facility while still under court jurisdiction for mental health care. But the county requested an apprehension order to return him to a hospital or mental health facility.
Judge Theresa Neo signed the warrant around 8:30 a.m. Friday. Hermantown police said the 911 call was placed just before 9 a.m.
The Nelsons had been married since 1991, according to public records, and Bradley Nelson operated a logging business.
He was convicted three times for domestic assault and once for violating a no-contact order in the early 2010s. At least seven domestic violence orders for protection were sought against Bradley Nelson around the same time, including four filed by Lissette Nelson, who also filed for divorce but did not complete it.
Full court records from those years are not immediately available.
More recent records indicate Bradley Nelson had attempted suicide several times while struggling with depression and anxiety. In November 2023, it was reported he had been admitted for psychiatric treatment three times in three months.
“Mr. Nelson has not engaged in recommended treatment in the community, only to experience ongoing rumination and thoughts of hurting self,” wrote Anjenette Dreiling of St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services. “He has attempted to strangle self, has cut his arms and has banged his head on the walls of his home.”
Nelson, who also reportedly attempted to start his home on fire, had a commitment order stayed in 2023 on conditions that he participate in treatment and meet other requirements. However, that was later revoked, and he was ordered to receive neuroleptic medications and undergo electroconvulsive therapy.
Another commitment case was initiated last September as he was under an emergency hold at the locked psychiatric unit at Aspirus St. Luke’s. It was reported that Nelson had stopped taking his prescribed medications some four months earlier and was experiencing worsening depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.
Nelson later agreed to a six-month commitment, as well as a six-month extension in March.
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