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This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

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Rest Easy: Orange County's Female Hannibal Lecter Will Not Be Released Early on Parole

Omaima_Aree_Nelson_mugshot.jpg
Omaima Aree Nelson. California Department of Corrections.

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You can sleep well tonight with the knowledge that Orange County's own ex-model-turned-Hannibal Lecterwill not be released early on parole.Omaima Nelson dined on her newlywed husband's flesh dipped in BBQ sauce after killing him during Thanksgiving weekend twenty years ago. She was sentenced to 27 years in prison, but she has twice requested — and has now been twice denied — early release from her sentence.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Randolph J. Pawloski, the veteran prosecutor who sent her to prison, personally opposed any effort to let her out. To do that, he reminded the parole board of all the grisly slasher-film details of the murder of Nelson's husband: the way she killed him, chopped up his body for days while wearing red shoes, a red hat and red lipstick and then ate his flesh.

"It is certainly one of the most gruesome and notorious crimes ever committed in Orange County, and sometimes people need reminding of that," he said. "It is probably the most egregious mutilation murder we've had here."

There is no word yet on whether or not wardens at Chowchilla have given any thought to PETA's suggestion that they put Nelson on a flesh-free vegan diet to curb her bloodlust.

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