Warrant: Suspect in Wake Forest triple stabbing threatened to kill 7-year-old daughter

Note: This story was updated on Feb. 8, 2020, for several corrections. Rebecca Nelson, while being transported to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, told police she had been in an argument with her wife and stabbed another family member, according to a search warrant. The name of the woman being transported and the name of the hospital were incorrect in earlier versions of this story. Police said they found Rebecca Nelson at the Poppe Shoppe in Mebane. The name of the shop was misspelled in earlier versions. Also, the ownership of a vehicle confiscated by police in the case was misstated in earlier versions. The vehicle is registered to both Rebecca Nelson and Suzanne Nelson, according to the warrant.

The woman charged with murder in Tuesday’s triple stabbing is accused of threatening to kill her 7-year-old daughter during an argument with her estranged wife, according to a search warrant released Friday.

Rebecca Nelson, 38, is charged with one count of murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

She was arrested Friday after being discharged from UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, a Wake Forest spokesperson said. She made her first appearance in Wake County court Friday afternoon.

Rebecca Nelson, 38, is accused of stabbing her estranged wife, Suzanne Nelson, and Suzanne Nelson’s uncle and aunt, Terry and Susan Carter. Terry Carter died of his injuries. Susan Carter and Suzanne Nelson were released from WakeMed with stitches, the warrant from the Wake Forest Police Department says.

Suzanne Nelson was staying at the Carters’ house in Wake Forest on Fairway Villas Drive in a neighborhood off Capital Boulevard. Rebecca Nelson pulled up with their 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, the warrant says.

An argument broke out in the front lawn and Rebecca Nelson pulled out a knife and threatened to kill their daughter, the warrant says.

Rebecca Nelson stabbed Suzanne Nelson in the neck, the warrant says. When the Carters intervened, she stabbed Susan in the arm and Terry multiple times in the torso area, the warrant says. Suzanne Nelson directed the children to go into the house, according to the warrant.

Later Tuesday night, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies found Rebecca Nelson at The Poppe Shoppe, a convenience store in Mebane, about 44 miles west of the incident in Wake Forest. She was covered in blood that was not her own, the sheriff’s office said, and told the clerk that police might be looking for her.

Rebecca Nelson was taken to UNC Hospitals, the sheriff’s office said. On the way, she told a deputy that she had been in an argument with her wife and stabbed another family member in the heart and neck, according to the warrant.

Rebecca Nelson is being held in Wake County Detention Center without bail. Her next court appearance will be Feb. 27.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 5:21 PM.