Erick Lamar Nelson is facing the possibility of life in prison after a jury convicted him Tuesday of the 2016 murder his pregnant girlfriend, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
Nelson, a 31-year-old Concord resident, beat Poinsettia Gant-Parks to death with a rock and stuffed her hand inside her mouth, according to prosecutors.
Gant-Parks’ body was found in a duck pond in Newhall Park in Concord and Nelson was arrested after fleeing to Reno.
The 25-year-old victim was six weeks pregnant when she was murdered and had earlier confided to friends and family that Nelson had been violent toward her in the past, according to prosecutors.
Nelson faces 25 years to life in state prison at his May 7 sentencing in front of Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge John Cope.
He could be sentenced to 75 years to life as a result of his two prior strikes, prosecutors said.
“Poinsettia Gant-Parks will forever be remembered for her sincere kindness to everyone she met and her smile that reached from ear to ear and touched so many hearts,” said Deputy District Attorney Mary Blumberg, who prosecuted the case.
People who are being victimized by domestic abusers can find help by reaching out to the county’s Family Justice Centers in Antioch, Richmond and Concord.
photo: courtesy of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office
40 comments
He deserves everything coming his way and then some.
poinsettia was just as precious, kind and endearing a person, as she was extremely petit of stature (about 5’1″, 105lbs). i always consider myself blessed to have been well acquainted with her and her very young son, for a number of years; abusers are always cowards, as their chosen victim(s) are vulnerable to incapacitate, be their chosen victim(s) human or animal.
Stuffer her hand in her mouth? WTH? He’s an animal!
Took almost five years for a conviction, . . . .
shelf life on a baby killer inside ain’t long.
Lock him up and throw away the key…but the reality is we’ll see him again.
He’ll be out soon as all the prosecutor’s think he was just misguided through out his life.
With Becton as DA I am surprised he got tried and convicted!
Wow. He really is a mean dude. Such a violent death this poor woman had. I hope he never gets out of prison.
Two prior strikes???
California is a criminal sanctuary. Thanks liberals
Even if He gets the low end 25 to life There is no good time work credits for that type crime so We wont be seeing Him back out on the streets again. Not in Our life time anyway. What a sad shame the whole thing is anyway.
This guy would be a wast bullets!! Feed him to the pigs cause that’s what he is!!!
Would those be Wu’s pigs?
108RS
Don’t be mean to innocent pigs.
Rot in prison then hell you low life scum bag.
I’m sure there will be riots and protests over his conviction.
Thanks Gavin for removing the gas chamber when us voters wanted to keep the death penalty. I wonder if someone beat his wife / mother / sister with a rock and stuffed her hand in her mouth if he would like the guilty to go free.
Gavin has removed quite a few laws that California’s wanted. Glad they found this criminal guilty. Anyone see the clip of the Asian woman being stomped? It is violent and horrible. The stomper had killed his mother and had just recently been released from prison.
The devil just called. Reservations have been confirmed.
Maybe if our judges and D A s would keep violent criminals in prison where they belong instead of releasing them back into society over and over again that girl would still be alive . I think we need to hold the judges , D A s and politicians responsible for their poor decisions that cost innocent lives just like they want to hold police officers responsible for their poor decisions .
BLM!
He should be charged too with a racist hate crime because the poor pregnant woman was black……oh, wait ……
blm has nothing to do with this sad story, keep your negative comment to yourself
@informer: Did his victim’s black life not matter?
@Rollo Leave it to the Claycord message board trolls to happily keep everything in life one-dimensional!
So will Becton’s crew let him off again because he is racially insecure?
Throw the book and him and loose the key.
This guy was a punk. He absolutely beat the crap out of Poinsetta. She weighed less than 100 pounds. Big tough guy.
Obviously his mother failed at raising him (murderer), his other brother was killed while he was committing a home invasion robbery, and his other brother is also in prison.
Rot in hell, dude.
@Two Wheeler,
I’m not sure why you felt the need to blame his Mother for failing to raise him up properly. Some young men turn to drugs, gangs and crime early in life, and it has nothing to do with his upbringing. His brother was murdered and now this guy is in jail for murder. Don’t you think his Mom is suffering enough with the loss of both of her sons?
Keep her in your prayers, and while you’re at it, pray for Pointsettia, her family, baby and friends. RIP.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame ’cause mama tried
What WhoDat Gurl said. And on the off chance it was all the fault of one parent (and for all we know he had two completely blameless parents), How did you settle on the mother as the culpable one?
Parents can’t take all the blame (or credit) for the way a child turns out. But if he/she is raised properly, there is a strong possibility he’ll be a decent human being. Parents are blamed for a reason, and not everybody should be a parent. Somebody failed him, and he failed himself. Maybe he grew up without a dad. Kids need both parents in their life.
I’m with you Two Wheeler. I had the pleasure of of knowing Poinsetta thru my work. The justice system failed her in ways I will not mention as well as not having a very strong support system thru her young life.
Always kind, always the most beautiful big smile and a positive attitude.
Rest in Peace “angel” Poinsetta.
Wish we could have Poinsettia’s photo shown instead of that monster… https://twitter.com/CristinaKTVU/status/733777446097457152/photo/2
@Mohairs,
Amen.
God Be With Her and her family.
Thank you for that, mohairs.
Boil Him ! Slowly
If logic, reason and public safety had any voice in this case, he’d be given some ‘laughing gas’. But in the logic-free zone known as California, he will get early-release for some excuse because…this is California.
I’d be satisfied if this thug got a nice short life sentence.
He is sub-human and is a poster child for the death penalty.
.
Obama and Biden would say he just needs counseling.
.
My heart broke when I first read the news of this young woman and her baby being murdered by her “boyfriend”. There is no justice that will bring her back, but I pray that she is at peace, and that her family feels the love of our community for them. I remember this guy threw her little body in the pond and the beautiful memorial that recognized her loss, and the loss of her baby. May her family find comfort in this sentencing. Tragic young life cut short because of domestic violence. Girls/Women, please let this be a warning to you: no person is with your life. If you’re in trouble, please, get out, find a safe house and save yourself before it’s too late.
What safe place? Democrats took away womans safe places. There is no safe place for woman.
What a monster. Changing his photo won’t make what he did any better. Our sympathy go out to the victim and her unborn child and the family she was taken from.
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