A Massachusetts woman accused of stabbing her lover on his houseboat is now facing new charges, and she has pleaded not guilty.
Nora Nelson, 24, appeared in court on Friday to face murder charges in connection with the death of her live-in boyfriend, Boston attorney Joseph Donahue, 65. In February, Boston police officers were dispatched to Donahue’s houseboat in the city’s Charleston neighborhood to conduct a welfare check. Nelson reportedly greeted them at the door, telling officers contradictory stories and using a false name.
Officers discovered Donahue’s body on the boat, wrapped in a carpet secured with duct tape and attached to dumbbells by a jump rope, police said.
Law&Crime was in the courtroom as prosecutor Rita Muiz described in graphic detail what allegedly happened to Donahue. Muiz told the court that when officers encountered Nelson on February 2 at approximately 10:43 p.m., one of Donahue’s dogs, a golden retriever, was with her. When they asked her to secure the dog before continuing their conversation, she appeared to comply, but was caught through a slit in the door running around inside, “cleaning up or picking up different items.”
Muiz claimed that when Nelson returned to speak with police and was asked where Donahue was, she gave officers “inconsistent, contradictory, and frankly nonsensical answers” and told them her name was “Casey.”
Officers then entered the houseboat and conducted a sweep of the premises, which resulted in the discovery of Donahue’s body outside the glass doors to his bedroom.
Muiz released the results of an autopsy, which revealed 67 stab wounds to Donahue’s head and chest. A knife blade fragment was lodged in Donahue’s forehead, and it matched a knife discovered in the water at the marina that housed the boat.
The autopsy also revealed that Donahue had two pink fake fingernails on his body. Muiz claimed Nelson identified them as hers. Officers found “significant amounts of reddish-brown stains” throughout the houseboat, particularly on a bedsheet used as a curtain hanging in a doorway.
Investigators also discovered the body of Champ, one of Donahue’s dogs, in the water near the boat. A necropsy on Champ, a golden retriever, revealed that he had been strangled.
Nelson’s questionable responses continued at the police station, where she was read her Miranda rights and questioned about the days leading up to the last time Donahue was seen by anyone else, on January 31. She allegedly gave officers a second false name, “Mary.”
Nelson’s mental state has been the subject of multiple hearings since her arrest in February. In April, the suspect was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation after her defense attorney filed a motion questioning her competency to stand trial. These findings were not discussed at Friday’s hearing, but a court clinician stated that Nelson “lacks understanding of the seriousness” of the charges against her.
The clinician stated that Nelson may have been exhibiting symptoms of a psychotic disorder, but that those symptoms became “less genuine” after she began taking medication.
Nelson is being held without bail after missing a court appearance in May. She has been charged with both murder and animal killing. Her next court appearance is scheduled on July 15.
