Jury deciding murderer’s fate in 2013 machete death of elderly woman

UPDATE: Carmelita Kaser was left to die Easter Sunday in 2013.

The first witness to address the jury in Randolph County Courthouse Friday was Kaser’s daughter, Phylis Self.

Self sat quietly as the defendant’s attorney and prosecutors asked questions regarding her mother who was killed by Jeffrey Nichols with a “machete-like knife.”

Two officers with the Marion Sheriff’s Office also came to share incidents they had with Nichols while he was incarcerated awaiting trial.

Moberly Police Department Sgt. Mark Arnsperger was next to take the stand. Arnsperger sat as the jury watched an interview he had with Nichols shortly after he was taken into custody five years ago.

Those in the video were Nichols, Arnsperger and another Moberly Police Department officer.

In the video, Nichols told his side of the story, claiming he was sober and wanted money. At one point, he shouted to officials, “Who the h*ll did I murder?”

Mike Fusselman, the prosecutor for Randolph County and others in the room sat through the nearly two-hour video.

Once the video was done playing, three additional witnesses were called: Georgia Jones who is the founder of Souls Harbor in Joplin, Missouri, where Nichols’ mother often received housing, and two witnesses who testified via Skype.

According to Jones, Souls Harbor is a Christian ministry that houses homeless people and Nichols’ mother attended on and off.

Jones said Nichols mother had a complex personality when things didn’t go her way and who often had a temper tantrum and had no problem telling lies.

Jones said it was during Nichols’ mother’s stay at Soul Harbor when Jones found out she was pregnant and said, “The child (Jeffrey Nichols) wouldn’t have a chance.”

Shortly after Jones’ interview, two additional witnesses spoke to the jury via Skype.

Prosecutors said they plan to wrap up by Wednesday as three experts will begin to arrive over the next few days.

Those experts will be there to explain to the jury about Nichols’ social influence, how it shaped his decision-making and any physical impairments that might affect the process.

Once the experts are done testifying, attorneys will hand over the punishment phase to the jury on Wednesday.

Court will reconvene Saturday at 9 a.m.

ORIGINAL: A man who has been charged with the murder of Carmelita Kaser in Moberly on Easter Sunday in 2013 will have his fate decided today.

A jury will decide whether Jeffrey Nichols should be put to death or get life in prison for the murder.ABC 17 previously reported that Moberly police said Nichols and the other man charged in the case, Christopher Lewis, stole a “machete-like instrument” from Moberly’s Walmart Supercenter before the murder.

The Moberly Police Department’s probable cause statement quotes both men as admitting that they entered Kaser’s house to steal money. The court documents say the men assaulted the woman with a “machete-type knife” in her neck, then struck her with the butt of a pistol. The men also allegedly robbed Kaser and “left her for dead,” before taking her vehicle.

Judge Kevin Crane sentenced Lewis to life in prison for the murder charge, along with three consecutive 30-year sentences for other crimes.

Nichols was 22 years old and Lewis was 18 years old at the time of the murder.