Paynesville mother gets over 21 years for 2nd-degree murder for ignoring disabled child’s medical needs

A Paynesville mother found guilty of second-degree murder for ignoring her disabled child’s medical needs will spend over 21 years in prison.

Elise Nelson was in Stearns County Court Monday, where she was sentenced to serve over 21 years(261 months) in connection to the death of her child with disabilities.

She will also have to pay more than $12,000 in restitution.

The charges stem from a June 2020 incident when Nelson’s child, who had cerebral palsy, chronic respiratory failure due to aspiration and severe developmental delays, was declared dead at the hospital.

It was later determined that Nelson, who was alone with the child at the time leading up to her death, had repeatedly ignored warnings made by a pulse oximeter machine that routinely monitored her child’s blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate.

On June 20, according to charging documents, Nelson had manually dropped the oxygen alarm parameter from 90% to 87% saturation after warning alarms went off.

At-home care nurses for the child told police there was no medical reason for the limit to be lowered.

The child’s oxygen saturation dropped below the 87% limit before Nelson turned off the machine.

The next morning, Nelson again lowered the limit multiple times after turning the machine back on, manually silencing the machine when the alarm sounded.

At 6:43 a.m. on June 21, the machine indicated a status of “LP,” which indicates that the sensor is attached, but no pulse can be found.

Nelson did not make a call to 911 until 1:07 p.m.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death as being caused by bilateral bronchopneumonia related to injuries suffered during delivery and determined that because Nelson intentionally deprived care, the manner of death was a homicide.