Omaima Aree Nelson, ex-model who killed and cooked husband, seeks parole

(CBS/AP) CHOWCHILLA, Calif. - Omaima Aree Nelson, a former model who was convicted of killing her husband and eating his remains in the early 90s, is expected to appear before a parole board Wednesday and prosecutors plan to argue she should remain behind bars.

The California woman is scheduled to appear before parole commissioners at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla where she has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life.

Nelson, who immigrated to the United States from Egypt in 1986, was convicted of second-degree murder  for killing William E. Nelson, 56, in their Costa Mesa apartment in 1991. Authorities compared the killing to the fictional slayings of Hannibal Lecter.

"There were suitcases and plastic bags soaked with dark liquid from his body parts. In the fry cooker there sat Mr. Nelson's hands, and when we opened the refrigerator there was Mr. Nelson's head with stab wounds," Orange County Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Randolph J. Pawloski told the L.A. Times. "She had his entrails in his Corvette, and she was trying to get an ex-boyfriend to yank out the dentures from the head so she could dump it in the [Newport Beach] Back Bay."

According to the L.A. Times, prosecutors plan to argue today at the hearing that Nelson has not reformed. Prosecutors say she has a pattern of violence against men, including former boyfriend Robert Hannson who she was convicted of assaulting in 1990 by him up and demanding money at gunpoint. 

Prosecutors also reportedly said Nelson failed to take advantage of prison self-help programs, did not admit drug and alcohol problems, has callous disregard for others and is still a risk to the community.  

Prosecutors had said Nelson killed her husband and likely plotted to steal from him as she had done with other middle-aged men. Nelson said she stabbed her husband to fend off an assault.

A psychiatrist testified during Nelson's trial that she told him she ate her husband's ribs but later denied it.

Nelson was denied parole in 2006 because commissioners found her unpredictable and a serious threat to public safety.

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September 30, 2011 - Omaima Aree Nelson, ex-model who killed and ate her husband, is now seeking parole