Okla. Dad Who Killed 6 Kids Wore Gun on Hip 'All the Time' — Even While Playing Basketball: Neighbor

Mar. 15, 2025

The Nelson Family.Photo: Andrea Eger/Tulsa World via AP

A former neighbor of the Oklahoma couple accused ofmurdering their six young childrenin a murder-suicide said the family father was noticeably controlling.

When news broke of last week’s murder-suicide on Hickory Avenue, Kucera said his thoughts “immediately… went to one particular neighbor who lived across the street from me.”

While he said the Nelsons mostly kept to themselves, there were a handful of interactions with Brian that stuck out to him.

“As I was crossing the street, his wife basically retreated to the other side of the yard behind the car, and eventually made her way into the house, like she didn’t want to engage in a conversation,” Kucera told the outlet. “It, to me, felt like she had been conditioned to not interact with people.”

“As I got to know the family a little bit, he just seemed really controlling,” Kucera said.

Kucera said that when he’d run into Brian, the father always had a gun on him.

“What was really unusual was the man of the house wore a gun all the time,” Kucera said, per the station. “He had a pistol on his hip all the time. Playing basketball with his kids, just walking around, every time I saw him.”

Kucera said that one time, he questioned Brian on why he always carried a gun.

Brian’s response: “You just don’t know when stuff’s gonna go down,” Kucera recalled.

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Brian’s parents, Danny and Marilyn Nelson, confirmed their grandchildren Brian II, 13; Brantley, 9; Vegeta, 7; Ragnar, 5; Kurgan, 2; and Britannica, 1, as the victims, according toTulsa World.

Danny said the family had financial troubles, and also said Brian had sustained a workplace head injury, which may have been a factor in the violence, the outlet reports.

The couple was unemployed at the time of the filing and receiving financial assistance from the government, the outlet reports.

“I think the stress was what got to them — trying to figure out how to make it from one month, to one month, to one month,” Danny told the outlet.

Firefighters responded to last week’s blaze only to discover the lifeless bodies of the Nelson children in the rear of the home, where much of the fire was contained, while Brian and Brittney were found dead in the front.

Firearms were also recovered from the scene.

Broken Arrow police told PEOPLE Thursday the investigation remains ongoing.

source: people.com