Gone but not forgotten: Raymond Nels Nelson: thirty-one years ago, someone killed Raymond Nels Nelson by hitting him on the head with a typewriter.
Nelson, bureau chief of the Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin in Warwick, Rhode Island, and later a member of Senatorial candidate Claiborne Pell’s team, was a dynamic man and public figure in Washington, D.C., but foremost, he was a father and husband.
His murder is unsolved and features on many websites and blogs. There is speculation galore but thirty-one years later, we still do not have any new leads. I have not been able to find anything new on the web. I checked newspaper archives, wikis, blogs, forums, etc.
Nothing.
But one thing we can do.
We can pause a moment for the family. We may not have answers for them but we have something else that they need especially now: compassion.
Here is his daughter Rebecca in her own words: “I’ve often wondered why, when it became clear that the investigation had stalled, my family didn’t hire a private investigator; given the money my father left my mother, she could have afforded one. But I remember that, with the overwhelming fear and fallout in the aftermath of the crime, there also seemed to be a tacit warning, agreed upon by family and friends, that we be silent, not ask questions, and certainly not demand answers. Over the years, when we’ve tried to re-kindle police and others’ involvement, our efforts have first been met with initial interest, followed by promises, then unreturned calls, and, finally, silence.”
The Nelson family is in my thoughts today.